My inspiration was my mom. She’s a great cook, and she still cooks, and we still banter back and forth about cooking. Growing up in a mostly Portuguese community, food was important and the family...

You are going to be what you put in your body, so I try to teach that to my kids, and the kids around me.

When I first decided to open a restaurant, I was turned down by several banks. It was the late 80’s and many restaurants were failing. I refused to give up because I knew I had...

You gotta have good olive oil. You should have a cooking olive oil and you should have a finishing olive oil, like an extra-virgin olive oil.

The world has changed, and it’s almost been 11 years. I have 975 employees. I have six restaurants. We haven’t opened any new ones in almost three years.

I guess I feel that I was following my instincts, and at the same time being guided by the best. I became totally intrigued with Louisiana – the people, the food. It is a part...

A lot of parents ask me how to get kids to eat more vegetables. The first thing I say is that it starts from the top.

I’m working harder than ever now, and I’m putting on my pants the same as I always have. I just get up every day and try to do a little better than the day before,...

I had these recipes that say do this, do that. Who MAKES these rules?

You know, in 1975 I couldn’t get a job in New York City because I was American. The kitchens were predominantly run by French, Swiss, German, and basically I got laughed at. I had education,...

My philosophy from day one is that I can sleep better at night if I can improve an individual’s knowledge about food and wine, and do it on a daily basis.

We began building this incredible new foundation in this restaurant, and that’s what began giving me the left-hand side of tradition and the right-hand side, my new palate.

I make some of my best recipes with a simple homemade stock. Keep shrimp shells stored in a plastic bag in the freezer. When you have almost a gallon-bag full, you can make a stock...

Growing up in New England, being schooled and classically trained, it needed to shake, it needed to evolve.

Many of my staff have been with me for over 20 years. I have a great team, and I make sure they feel respected and appreciated.

Mom ran the house, so we grew up Portuguese.

You can easily put together your own favorite spice blend, whether that’s a salt and pepper mixture or you’re adding herbs to it or Creole spice. Just watch out for the sodium content. That why...

We’re setting up an urban farm for kids on more than 20 acres in New Orleans. We want to make this a world-class educational center for the community.

Cleanliness is very important. If you let kids make a total mess in the kitchen and then leave, you’re not really teaching them anything.

If kids can learn how to make a simple Bolognese sauce, they will never go hungry. It’s pretty easy to cook pasta, but a good sauce is way more useful.

I came here because the city has a tradition and is a very respected food city.

If you don’t follow your dream, who will?

Soups are a great way to introduce a lot of vegetables to kids. Stir-fries, too, because they contain so many different shapes and colors.

I think you have to be careful with spices. Kids’ palates can be very delicate, and they might not like things overspiced. In my cookbooks for kids, I do a milder version of my signature...

I started cooking when I was about 10. I have memories like when I was 6 or 7 with my mom, and when I was 12 I started getting real serious about cooking.

If you think big, then it’s going to be big.

I try to teach my son about sanitation, especially when handling foods like chicken that could be dangerous. I remind him to wash his hands all the time. When my son cooks with me, he...

I spent a lot of time on farms when I was young. My uncle and my dad owned a big farm.

Kids are now eating things like edamame and sushi. I didn’t know what shiitake mushrooms were when I was 10 – most kids today do.

My food is Louisiana, New Orleans-based, well-seasoned, rustic. I think it’s pretty unique because of my background being influenced by my mom, Portuguese and French Canadian. There’s a lot going on there.

I’ve always been known for bold flavors and rustic cooking, but there is another side to me. As you evolve as a cook, you understand life and how serious it is. There comes a point...

I’m not a TV guy. I’m a restaurant chef and a businessman.

Home base is the support system where we have a culinary team, my own writers because of the shows and the books and stuff, we have a culinary team of about six people. Marketing, public...

Life just doesn’t hand you things. You have to get out there and make things happen. that’s the exciting part.

I have a lot of influences. I’m American-schooled. I’m classically trained. I’m a pretty universal student, if you will. I have a lot of degrees, which really don’t pay the rent. I have two doctorate...

I ended up turning down a full scholarship of music at the conservatory to pay to go to cooking school.

Start with a clean grill. Keep it clean by brushing with a wire brush after preheating, and again after cooking. Make sure to oil your grates and your food before putting it on the grill...

Music is one of those things that is constantly going in my head all the time. It’s sort of like the evolution and creation of doing food, or my philosophy about wine. It’s always beating...

We’re a new show. We can’t afford instant replay.

I love fresh citrus and always keep lemons, limes, and oranges on hand; they come in handy for spritzing up quickly grilled meats, seafoods, and vegetables, especially when followed up by a quick drizzle of...

I grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts. My background was modest, and I worked at a Portuguese bakery in town.

I’ve always done food that can work in a set time frame. The message I’m trying to get across is, it doesn’t have to take three days to do this. With planning, you can do...

Scatter soaked hardwood chunks over your coals for a quick and easy way to add a smoky nuance to your grilled foods.

I’m pretty actively involved with the military because I think they’re incredible human beings. If I can give back to them for what they’re doing for us, it’s a good thing. And I think to...

You know, for 300 years it’s been kind of the same. There are restaurants in New Orleans that the menu hasn’t changed in 125 years, so how is one going to change or evolve the...

Whether it’s books or TV, or whatever the case may be, the backbone of what I do is my restaurants.

When I want to kick it up, I like to add hardwood chips or chunks to the grill; it adds bold smoky flavors. The most common woods are hickory and mesquite, but you can find...

I think many cooks are afraid of undercooked meats. A good thermometer is a cook’s best friend.

My Food Network shows, ‘Emeril Live’ and ‘Essence of Emeril,’ are not in production right now, but I wouldn’t say that I’m necessarily leaving Food Network. I have a lot of television still in me....

I can’t tell you enough about cinnamon. Cinnamon is an awesome spice to use and it goes great with something like apples in the morning or in a mixture of fruit or in your oatmeal...