First, the obvious: I can't stand him. Must he punctuate every event major and minor with a "Bam!"? I appreciate his liberal attitude towards flavoring and fat content but that don't make him no Messiah. BUT.... he knows what he's doing, especially with spices. Go to foodtv.com and check out "Emeril's Essence". Works like a charm. So he's sort of like Britney Spears, better seen and not heard.
When I first got my DirecTV system back in 1999 or so one of the very first channels I got hooked on was the Food Network and it was cuz of Emeril's show. I love the guy. His show is very entertaining.
his live show used to be better before he started taking himself too seriously, and the audience's reactions didn't seem so forced. i like watching the Essence shows where he doesn't have an audience to play up to, but i can't stand to watch Live anymore.
Agreed. Essense of Emeril showed that he can cook, but it takes the world's best topic to force me to watch Live. Emeril tapes his Live show (yes, that's an oxymoron, I know) in NYC on the West Side, and one day I was waiting with a co-worker as she was getting her punctured car tire replaced across the street from the studio. People were lined up outside five hours before taping so that they could sit in the front seats. He's obviously got fans.
His restaurants in New Orleans are great, but I still give the nod to Commander's Palace as the best in the city.
My friend was down in N'awlins last week, and hit Emeril's restaurant - his verdict was: good, but nothing life-changing. Except for the dessert, a banana cream pie which he described as the best dessert he's ever had in his life - but he can't give Emeril credit for that, as he's not a pastry chef. I found him very entertaining in the past, but it seems to me that he's just a little played-out now.
When "Essence" first came out, it was a more serious show. Later on, Emeril became more animated. Maybe the network liked it so much that they gave birth to "Emeril Live". Nowadays, Emeril & "Live" are such an abomination full of mindless chatter. "Bam!" "Pork fat rules!" "I don't know where your flour come from, but mine don't come seasoned . . ." Emeril acts and looks like a buffoon. But hey, he's a success story. I wonder what kind of douchebag buys "EmerilWare".
How about when he takes the knob off of the oven to demostrate that you don't need to cook everything on high heat? Also, the crowd used to just cheer for garlic. Now they cheer for just about anything he puts in the meal. There's absolutley no need to cheer for fresh ground pepper.
He puts that g-damned "essence" in every dish. "making chocolate cake? sprinkle a little essence in there. ah yeah babe!" the boston accent is grating. as is the fact that he's not nearly as good a chef as the emeril publicity machine makes him out to be.
It seems like Emeril's been out of the kitchen for too long. The flames are always set on high. You want lower heat - you set the pan a little away from the flame.
We recently saw an old episode of Julia Child with a young Emeril as a guest chef. Man, was he humble and quiet, and had no TV presence. I agree that he's played out now, but it's still funny to watch the show once in a while if there's nothing else on. Where else are you going to see a large gathering of morbidly obese knobs cheer things like bacon and butterfat (other than at a Galaxians tailgate)?
Nola - one of his other restaurants - has been better than Emeril's lately, according to people I know in NO.
Emeril comes through. I had a taste for jalapeno poppers to go with the college basketballt tonight, and made some according to this recipe. They're all about the Bam! Never will I go back to frozen now.
Give me Drago's in Metairie any day. Drumfish Tommy is the most amazing seafood ever. Best thing is, you don't need to mortgage the home to eat there.
The triumph of style over substance A couple of chef's I know mentioned that Emeril is more showman than chef. They said that they tried cooking several of his dishes and that they would not serve it in their restaurant.