03 November 2025
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At only 22 years old, E.J. Lagasse has become the youngest chef ever to lead a kitchen with Two MICHELIN Stars. Along with that achievement, he is also the 2025 MICHELIN Guide American South Young Chef Award Winner, presented in partnership with Sysco!
Growing up with his father, the renowned Chef Emeril Lagasse, E.J. was surrounded by food at an early age. After setting his mind on becoming a chef himself, he began cooking as a teen at his father’s restaurants, including Meril in New Orleans and Emeril’s Coastal in Florida. He then graduated from Johnson & Wales, just like his father did.
Taking his father’s advice to never stop learning, E.J. embarked on an international journey to learn from some of the best chefs in the world, training at the world-renowned Le Bernardin (Three Stars), CORE by Clare Smyth (Three Stars), Frantzén (Three Stars) and Café Boulud (One Star).
Three years ago, he returned to New Orleans to become chef and co-owner at Emeril’s, which recently celebrated 35 years of history. E.J. is now building upon his father’s legacy, leading the restaurant into the future. He preserves the flavors of New Orleans while also putting his own spin on dishes, including his father’s classic salmon cheesecake, which he thoughtfully added a layer of caviar to.
Below, we spoke to E.J. Lagasse more about his journey to leading Two-MICHELIN-Star Emeril’s.
How did you first get interested in becoming a chef?
It started at home. Dad was always cooking and having me taste things. And I'm like four. We have so many family pictures of me sitting on a countertop and peeling carrots.
I grew up surrounded by food. I spent a lot of time running around the set of Emeril Live and here at Emeril’s. I fell in love with food in this restaurant.
I had dinner at Café Boulud when I was eight. Gavin Kaysen was a chef, and the last course was a pomegranate-glazed duck. It was amazing. Afterwards, I was like, “that's what I want to do.”
What did you learn from…
Emeril Lagasse?
Everything that I know in terms of how to run a restaurant, from gumbo to business finances. He and I have a deep understanding that at the end of the day, it's our family restaurant, and there's the legacy of that. Family is really the epicenter of this whole thing – food of love and passion. 35 years of that. I grew up with my dad teaching me respect about the most humble of ingredients. And my dad has always said, “you're never going to stop learning.”
Eric Ripert?
I worked for two and a half years at Le Bernardin. Chef Ripert’s mentality in the way that he conducts himself in the kitchen is widely known in the industry. The guy floats around the restaurant. And he really wants the people that work for him to learn and to be shown the proper technique and care for ingredients.
Clare Smyth?
That never ending pursuit of a standard. She's going to decide what that is and looks like, and it's going to get there every time. If it doesn't get there, it's going to be changed, fixed, redone. I've never seen somebody be able to hold a standard like that. That's wildly impressive to have the discipline to be able to do that.
Björn Frantzén?
His team embodies that you can't be afraid to have fun while you're doing it.
Daniel Boulud?
Classics never die. Nothing's better than a perfect sauce Béarnaise. Execute it well and do that classically.
What’s your culinary philosophy? How is it similar and different from your father’s?
It’s quite literally out of the family tree, so it's very similar. From a cooking standpoint, it's the best ingredients that we can find, not overworking things and keeping it very simple. Using the flavors of Southeast Louisiana and Gulf South to highlight the produce, fish, ducks. Understanding that we represent 35 years of history. My goal every single day is, what can we do to celebrate the 70th anniversary? Refining is a way to get there, but from a philosophical standpoint of cooking, it's a simple thing.
How do you decide when to innovate classics?
It all begins with a dialogue with him. We try to make everything as timeless as JFK’s Ray-Bans. It's a delicate balance and always a conversation of what we're going to tweak. We're always looking to refine things.
In terms of the classic New Orleans stuff, you're always going to see your gumbo, po’ boys and canapes. We try to represent New Orleans classics here at the restaurant, just by applying some modern techniques. I speak to guests, especially if they're local, what they feel like they want to see on the menu. It is really dictated by what the farmers are growing here, particularly when it comes to the wildlife and livestock. We're in “Sportsman's Paradise.”
Personal favorite on the menu? Fan favorite?
I'm partial to the oyster stew. We use herbsaint, which is an anise liqueur from New Orleans. And it's got foie gras and oyster. That was the first dish that I really put on the menu.
The fan favorite is probably the salmon cheesecake.
What have been some favorite memories so far at Emeril’s?
Doing this with my dad has been the most fulfilling thing that I'll probably ever do. I grew up in this restaurant. I have memories from him picking me up so I wouldn't get hit by the fish cook 20 years ago. And I have memories of last week, when we were laughing at wagyu, how incredible it looks.
The food, the menu, stayed really consistent for many years. I was able to smell and taste and hear the same things in the kitchen. The reason we have trout almondine on the menu is because it was on the lunch menu for so many years. My dad would be working on chef things, and I would hang out in his office and eat a trout almondine and chat with him.
It's been three years now, which has been so much fun. I think New Orleans is the best city in the world, one of the great food cities in the world. We just celebrated 35 years in March, and my birthday is four days after the restaurant anniversary.
What advice would you give to young chefs?
Listen to everybody that's been doing this for a long time's advice. Make your own opinions from your gut and form them from the conversations you have with others that are smarter than you. And never give up.
Who would you want to dine at Emeril’s who hasn't already done so?
Björn Frantzén. I’ve had everybody that I've had the pleasure of working for except for him.
Paul McCartney. He’s a Beatle.
What’s your dream for Emeril’s?
The vision for the restaurant is the same that it has been for 35 years. In 1990, we opened to be a new New Orleans restaurant. I want to be the restaurant that people think about when they think about New Orleans. I want people to feel like there is a restaurant in New Orleans that can keep up with the highest achieving restaurants round the world. I want to represent our city, the people and the food on that sort of stage. Every single day, I try to push a little bit closer.
Hero image: Zack Smith / E.J. Lagasse
