He is a regional James Beard Award winner, known for his mastery of Creole and Cajun cuisine and his self-developed "New New Orleans" style.

[5] Lagasse worked in a Portuguese bakery as a teenager where he discovered his talent for cooking and subsequently enrolled in a culinary arts program at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School.

[1] His talents as a percussionist earned him a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music,[6] but he chose instead to attend Johnson & Wales University in hopes of becoming a chef.

[7] Lagasse graduated from the culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in 1978 and became executive chef at the Dunfey's Hyannis Resort in 1979.

[8] In 1982, Lagasse succeeded Paul Prudhomme as executive chef of Commander's Palace in New Orleans under Richard Brennan, Sr.[9] He led the kitchen there for seven and a half years before leaving to open his own restaurant.

[12] In August 2006, Lagasse contributed several recipes to the meal selection aboard the International Space Station, as part of a general NASA effort to improve the quality of the food supply for astronauts.

Lagasse's cuisine in particular was selected in the hopes that the spicier fare would offset the reported tendency of microgravity to deaden flavors.

He also often suggested that viewers of his show create their own spice blends that reflect their personal tastes and be unafraid to use them to customize the dishes he would teach.

Emeril's signature catchphrase began simply as a means of keeping his studio crew awake, alert and focused.

When frying or making dishes like sausage, Lagasse advocated using genuine lard, boasting, "Pork fat rules!"

The show focused on cooking with organic, locally grown and seasonal produce, and was filmed on location at Whole Foods Markets across the United States.

In 2017 the show won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Culinary Program[26] as well as for Single-Camera Editing[27] The television show features Emeril and internationally known chefs such as Angela Dimayuga, Danny Bowien, Mario Batali, Aarón Sánchez, José Andrés and others, traveling the world and trying local favorites.

[30] Lagasse briefly starred on Emeril, a TV sitcom on NBC during the 2001 fall season with Robert Urich, in which he played a fictionalized version of himself.

The Emeril Lagasse Foundation, founded in 2002, supports non-profit organizations and educational initiatives that create opportunities for children, especially for those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential.

Projects funded by the Foundation include an outdoor classroom, gardens, fresh foods cafeteria and teaching kitchen at Edible Schoolyard New Orleans and the Orlando Junior Academy's Edible Schoolyard as well as a new culinary kitchen house, an accessible learning kitchen for special needs students at St. Michael Special School, a four-year culinary arts program for high school students at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Hospitality Center at Café Reconcile, and hospitality training at Liberty's Kitchen for at-risk youth preparing healthy school meals.

Also starring in the commercial were Sandra Bullock, Peyton and Eli Manning, Jack Del Rio, Drew Brees, James Carville, Blake Lively, and John Goodman.

On June 8, 2000, he signed a deal with B&G Foods to create a line of dry grocery products marketed under the label "Emeril's.

"[39] The product line includes pasta sauces, marinades, salsas, and Lagasse's signature "Essence" spice blend.

[41] Lagasse met his first wife, Elizabeth Kief, while working at the Venus De Milo Restaurant in Swansea, Massachusetts, to pay his way through school.