KEY TAKEAWAYS: Emeril’s earns two Michelin stars as the guide debuts in the American South Executive chef E.J. Lagasse becomes the youngest chef to lead a two-star kitchen Restaurant was reimagined as a chef’s tasting menu highlighting local Gulf South ingredients Michelin recognition spar ks surge in demand and boosts New Orleans‘ national food profile   When Michelin, the world’s most prestigious restaurant guide, announced it would review the American South for the first time, 22-year-old executive chef E.J. Lagasse began scanning the Emeril’s reservation list with a keener eye. Somewhere among the diners could be a Michelin inspector — the culinary equivalent of Roger Ebert — capable of putting his father’s flagship Creole restaurant in New Orleans on the global stage. “No one knows who they are,” Lagasse said in an exclusive interview at the Food Wine Classic Charleston in South Carolina. “Believe me, I tried.” The stakes were historic. Michelin had never reviewed New Orleans or the broader American South before its announcement that it was coming in April 2025. It was roughly a year-and-a-half after the younger Lagasse had renovated Emeril’s into an intimate, all-in chef’s tasting experience with just 52 guests served nightly. Under his leadership as executive chef, the fine-dining institution was reimagined as a tightly curated, multi-course tasting menu featuring playful but precise dishes. When Michelin entered the region — in a push encouraged by tourism departments, including New Orleans Company — it was anyone’s guess which establishments they visited, or who they were. Still, E.J. Lagasse checked the books for a “tell.” International area codes making reservations. London. Canada. Mexico City. Groups, solo diners. A “Michelin” credit card receipt. “(Whoever they were), they paid for their own dinners,” he laughed. Long before Michelin entered the picture, the younger Lagasse had been quietly honing his craft overseas. His initial spark to enter the kitchen, he says, traces back even earlier — running around the set of his father’s Emeril Live on-air cooking television set and enjoying childhood meals at fine-dining temples like Daniel Boulud’s flagship restaurant in New York. “I was eight years old in a suit,” he said. “We did a tasting menu, and afterward I told my dad, ‘That’s it. That’s what I’m going to do.’ My dad said, ‘Come on, kid — you’re eight.’” The spark stayed. After cooking as a teenager at his father’s restaurants, including Meril in New Orleans and Emeril’s Coastal in Florida, Lagasse graduated from Johnson Wales like his father and had international training at some of the world’s most acclaimed kitchens including Michelin-starred restaurants in New York, England and Sweden. Then an opportunity came in 2021 that even caught the young chef off guard. During what was an otherwise normal birthday lunch in London, Emeril “asked what I wanted to do next,” E.J. Lagasse recalls. “I said, ‘Maybe Sweden for a few more years.’ And he said, ‘What if you came back to New Orleans?’” Standing together inside the Julia Street restaurant Emeril Lagasse founded in 1990, father and son decided Emeril’s would return to a tasting-menu format — a nod to its earliest days. There’s a myriad of ways a chef’s tasting format creates an ideal playground for chefs, from creativity to keeping food costs tight. The dishes still reflect a hyper-local philosophy, spotlighting farmers and fishermen across Louisiana and Mississippi. With a chef’s tasting menu, ingredients can be turned around and used the same night. “When the seasons are jumping around — 49 degrees at night and 74 in the daytime — you have to adjust the menu,” E.J. Lagasse said. It’s a very New Orleans way of life, one of many he’s experienced since returning stateside. “I remember getting duck from our famer from Mississippi and he shows up in his little truck at the restaurant and we started unloading ducks and a wedding second line started coming down the street,” E.J. Lagasse said. “We’ve got this soundtrack as we’re covered with ducks. I remember thinking, ‘Yea, this is pretty incredible.’” The reimagined Emeril’s reopened in late 2023 with classic Creole dishes reimagined, like bite-sized BBQ shrimp tarts and oyster stew with foie gras, and a constantly evolving seasonal menu rooted in New Orleans culture. “It’s amazing to see E.J. and the team with that same philosophy,” Emeril Lagasse said. “Our lamb, our ducks, our quail, all raised for us, that’s special.” There’s a collaborative spirit in the kitchen, where a whiteboard invites ideas for dishes from sous chefs and senior staff alike. For diners and the Michelin inspectors — unseen and unnamed — the hard work paid off. Emeril’s was awarded two Michelin stars. With the honor, E.J. Lagasse became the youngest chef ever to lead a kitchen with that designation. Additionally, Lagasse received the inaugural Michelin Guide American South Young Chef Award. The announcements at a high-profile awards ceremony in Greenville, S.C. on Nov. 3 unfolded in reverse order. “We were onstage after the young chef award and someone said, ‘turn around.’ And there were two stars on the screen,” E.J. Lagasse said. “It was surreal.” Social media videos capture the moment: the Emeril’s team erupting in glee, hugging and cheering as the two-star award is announced. The Michelin reviewers praised the entire dining experience — the open kitchen, soaring glass walls, service and storytelling. “This is cooking that bursts with personality and class, never at the cost of flavor,” the guide wrote. “(E.J. Lagasse’s) determination is palpable as he charts a new course, bringing contemporary refinement and vibrant originality to the fore. BBQ shrimp tarts, deep-flavored gumbo and superb, golden-brown cornbread paired with French butter feel familiar and new at once.” Emeril Lagasse, who turned down a scholarship the New England Conservatory of Music to pursue the kitchen four decades ago has built an empire that now spans 11 concepts, 600 employees and over 2,000 Food Network episodes filmed. He counts the Michelin recognition among his proudest achievements. “I’ve been chasing Michelin Star restaurants for close to 40 years,” Emeril Lagasse said. “I never thought that we would have Michelin come to Louisiana. This just puts a stamp on what we’ve always known — New Orleans is one of the great food cities in the world.” The “Michelin Effect” hit Emeril’s immediately, with diners flocking to experience the newly minted two-star restaurant, which filled up to capacity during the holidays and nearly booked solid through January. The restaurant hasn’t released February reservations yet. Overall, the Michelin Guide recognized three New Orleans restaurants with stars and 32 with nods of excellence. Emeril’s two-star rating was the highest rating given to any restaurant in the American South, just one star shy of the guide’s highest honor. Emeril Lagasse says the Michelin impact reaches beyond his own restaurants. “When I travel, I open the Michelin app first,” he said. “We have friends that have restaurants in a small town in Mississippi who have just been recommended in the Michelin Guide and now they have guys United Kingdom area code phone numbers coming in.” The banner year continued for the Lagasses as Michelin also recognized their newest concept, 34 — a Portuguese restaurant inspired by Emeril’s mother —as among the city’s best. That restaurant opened in 2024. “To be mentioned by Michelin so early — that means a lot,” Emeril Lagasse said. “It’s been educational teaching New Orleanians about Portuguese food.” The Lagasses continue to expand what their hospitality brand represents, including creating school gardens across 18 states to inspire the next generation and the philanthropic work of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation. Emeril himself has returned to his roots, filming recent YouTube videos to teach a new audience how to cook and how to enjoy food and wine. E.J. Lagasse said isn’t chasing television despite following in the footsteps of one of the most recognizable names in American food on the small screen. At least not yet. Beyond a few viral social media clips of the wonderkid chef, the Michelin nod has only sharpened his focus on Emeril’s. “We’re very eager, very hungry and pushing the envelope every day,” E.J. Lagasse said. “And we’re going after that third star.” ...read more read less