The One Recipe Emeril Lagasse Wishes We All Forgot
Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse is perhaps best known for his former show, Emeril Live, and his influence in the culinary industry. The chef has restaurants spread across the country. Lagasse, according to Biography, opened his first eatery back in 1990 in New Orleans, and the establishment was known for having an eclectic menu that took inspiration from French, Caribbean, Spanish, Asian, and Portuguese cuisine. A few years into his restaurant venture, he started becoming a popular face after taking part in shows on the Food Network.
Some of the chef's favorite dishes to cook include kale soup; banana cream pie with banana crust and caramel sauce, and Southwest chicken with salsa, black beans, fried tortillas, and guacamole (via First We Feast). However, even a chef as talented and experienced as Lagasse has some cooking stories that he probably wishes everyone would forget about. Read on for all the details.
Viewers weren't impressed by his 'recipe' for cooking on television
Well, the answer isn't as simple as it may seem. According to the book, From Scratch: Inside the Food Network by Allen Salkin, there was a time when Lagasse was doing really well on television and was calling shots on Food Network (via NPR). Long story short, his "dump and stir" demonstrations – which were typical of the network's shows more generally – were boring for viewers, and Emeril Live got canceled in 2007.
How could someone who served up so much "Bam!" be boring? One unexciting example is this light and fluffy omelet recipe by the chef. Cooking it is a quick and simple process that requires you to mix heavy cream, eggs, salt, and white pepper in a blender, cook the mixture with butter, and top it with cheese if you choose. Buzzfeed's Jesse Szewczyk followed all two steps of Lagasse's recipe and thought the finished product didn't stand out in the least. Instead, Szewczyk said, "it tasted just like an omelet you would get at a hometown diner — cheesy, a bit browned on the top, but nothing special. It was good, but it didn't wow me — literally anyone could make this." That doesn't sound nearly as impressive or memorable as what you'd expect from someone like Lagasse. Sigh.