OUR TEAM

Some of the important players who make the service and food what is . . .

Emeril Lagasse, Executive Chef/Proprietor

Chef Emeril Lagasse received his first culinary experience from his mother, Hilda, when he was a boy growing up in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts. As a teenager, he worked at a Portuguese bakery where he mastered the art of bread and pastry baking. Upon high school graduation, Lagasse was offered a full scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music, but decided to pursue a career as a professional chef.

Read complete biography in the Emerilology Section »

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Gregory Richie, Chef de Cuisine

Gregory Richie began working in restaurants at age 15, as a dishwasher at a local Italian restaurant in his small Georgia hometown. After a few short months, he was promoted to line cook and was instilled with the time-honored practice of preparing everything from scratch – from sauces to handmade pasta.

While attending Johnson and Wales University, he continued to hone his skills as a young chef, working full time in kitchens in Georgia and South Carolina. Richie trained as a butcher and made his way through every kitchen station, from sauté, to line cook and saucier. After culinary school, to balance his hospitality experience, he assumed front of the house posts as server and bartender, but soon returned to the kitchen as a sous chef.

In 1995, Richie became chef de cuisine at the renowned Atlanta Athletic Club, one of the regions most exclusive country clubs, where he would craft seasonal menus and refined tasting dinners. He then moved to Hawaii Kai, Hawaii in 1997, and began training under Chef Roy Yamaguchi. He soon mastered Yamaguchi’s Hawaiian fusion cuisine as was promoted to sous chef, executing nightly tasting menus and helping with the development of some of the restaurant’s signature dishes. This experience led him to become a corporate trainer, in which he helped open new locations.

In July 2000, Richie was part of the opening team at Roy’s Restaurant in Orlando, as executive chef and partner. He began to receive accolades for his inspired Hawaiian and Asian fusion cuisine, including “Best New Restaurant in Orlando”, “Best Local Chef”, “Chef of the Year”, and “Best Seafood” restaurant.

Drawing upon his experiences in the cultures of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, and his deep knowledge of modern Asian cooking, Chef Emeril Lagasse enlisted Richie to lead the team at Emeril’s Tchoup Chop in January 2009. As Chef de Cuisine, he shares his exacting skills in the kitchen as both chef and creative leader, and oversees all facets of Chef Emeril’s Polynesian-Asian restaurant at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort.

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Lee Kaleel, General Manager

Biography coming soon!

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