Awesome Fat Guy of the Week.

As you can see from the picture above today's Awesome Fat Guy of the Week is none other than Emeril Lagasse. A man who is a TV personality, a musician, an entertainer, a restaurateur, an author, and most importantly a Chef.

Emeril John Lagasse was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on October 15, 1959 to a Canadian father and a Portuguese mother. As a teenager he worked in a bakery. While their he discovered his talent for cooking and enrolled in a culinary arts program at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School. He then attended Johnson & Wales University, hoping to become a chef, after turning down a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music. He earned the scholarship thanks to his skill as a percussionist.

After his time at Johnson & Wales University, graduating in 1978, Emeril began to work at Commander's Palace. In 1982 he became the executive chef, replacing Paul Prudhomme. He spent a number of years their before venturing out on his own.

Emeril. pointing to the edge of his awesome. It is of course off screen.

In 1990 Emeril opened his first restaurant, named Emeril's, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Esquire magazine named it the restaurant of the year for 1990. The cuisine at the restaurant and in fact most of his restaurants is a mix of cooking styles with an emphasis on Creole and Cajun flavors.

Through out the years Emeril has opened over a dozen restaurants. Such as Emeril's Orlando, Nola Restaurant, Delmonico at The Venetian, Table 10, and Emeril's Chop house. Emeril's culinary empire has reached across the country. His restaurants are in Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.

Not fulfilled with just restaurants Emeril has written numerous best selling cookbooks. His first book "Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking" was published in 1993. Since then he has had a total of twelve books. The latest "Farm to Fork Cooking Local, Cooking Fresh" was released in 2010.

Most of Emeril's products can be purchased at HSN.

Aside from restaurants and Cook-Books Lagasse has a large range of merchandise. He has a line of dry goods, bottled sauces, and of course his "Essence" spice blend. He has also lent his name to a line of fresh produce which was branded as "Emeril's Gourmet Produce". Then of course there is his line of Wusthof produced kitchen knives, All-Clad based cookware, and even kitchen appliances. Which means that if you can't get to an Emeril restaurant you can buy Emeril food and cook it with Emeril pots and pans. The man gets into you one way or another. He has even contributed recipes to the meal selection on the International Space Station. There is no escaping Emeril.

Emeril and American Service men on Emeril Live.

None of that would have been possible had Emeril not been on TV. The reason I know who Emeril is and probably the reason you know who he is, is simple. Emeril was the first of a new breed of celebrity chef.  While there have been TV cooking shows for decades Emeril changed the game. He first appeared on the show Great Chefs. He was featured on at least 10 episodes of the series.

Emeril bounced around a few other shows until "The Essence of Emeril" began. The show was the first of his dedicated programs. While it came first "Essence" was not Emeril's biggest hit. It wasn't until he went live with "Emeril Live" that he really hit it big. The show which featured a live audience, a house band, and even guests was a huge success lasting over 1000 episodes.  Emeril's lively personality, catch phrases, and approachable demeanor made him incredibly popular.

How popular you ask? Well, popular enough to get his own sitcom in 2001.  The series entitled "Emeril" lasted a handful of episodes. It was a rare failure for Lagasse. Some people thought that the cancellation of "Emeril Live" 6 years later would spell the end for Emeril. They were wrong. since then he has starred in "Emeril Green" for Planet Green, an off shoot of the Discovery Channel, as well as "The Emeril Lagasse Show" a variety show that aired on Ion Television, and "Emeril's Table" a talk show for Hallmark. For his work on TV he has been nominated for 8 Daytime Emmy Awards.

Emeril was ready to kick ass and serve food on Iron Chef America.

If that isn't enough he teamed up with Mario Batali for an episode of "Iron Chef America" and appeared on "Jon & Kate Plus 8" on TLC. When not writing, cooking, opening restaurants, hosting TV shows, or being the Grand Marshall of the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade, Emeril acts. He can be seen or heard on a number of movies and TV shows. His voice has appeared on Futurama, Family Guy, and in The Princess and the Frog. He has also appeared on episodes of Hercules, Cosby, and even on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. It should be noted that Anthony Bourdain has a noted disdain for a number of celebrity chefs. He has even talked negatively about Emeril in past. That all changed when he met the man. Emeril is one of those guys that is just to likable to hate.

Emeril Lagasse, Anthony Bourdain, Mario Batali, and Lewis Black.

Emeril Lagasse is an Awesome Fat Guy.

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