Louisiana Travel has compiled a list of their Top 10 Louisiana chefs and the list is nothing to blink your eyes at. Louisiana is known for our unique foods and exquisite restaurants that rank in the upper echelon of the entire world, so to make it among the best of the best is a true honor. We wanted to give homage to the chefs that make it all possible. Chefs are the behind-the-scenes magic makers with complex palates that require creative, out-the-box thinking, and maintenance of close-knit, local relationships with food distributors, farmers, and the like. Their job descriptions are varied and far-reaching, including being business savvy, working well under pressure, managing line cooks and servers, hobnobbing with local entrepreneurs and business owners, all while creating the next best dish for the customer. It’s harder to remain a chef than to become one- the industry’s cutthroat competitive nature is made even more difficult by the sheer rate of restaurants popping up every year, every month. Only the good ones survive, and we have compiled a list of the Top 2 Louisiana chefs that have stood the test of time.
1. Emeril Lagasse
Emeril is probably one of the most
widely known Louisiana chefs as his resume includes Television Personality and
even Author. Chef Emeril Lagasse’s passion for food was ignited as a
young boy growing up in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts, where he
spent time in the kitchen with his mother, Hilda. As a teenager, he worked at a
Portuguese bakery where he mastered the art of bread and pastry baking. After high
school, Lagasse turned down a full scholarship to the New England
Conservatory of Music to pursue his dream
of becoming a chef. He earned a degree from the respected culinary institution, Johnson and Wales
University, and later received
an honorary doctorate degree. Wanting to broaden his culinary horizons, Lagasse
then traveled to France where he honed his skills and learned the art of
classic French cuisine. Returning to the United States, Lagasse practiced his
art in fine restaurants in New York, Boston and Philadelphia until a job offer
from Dick and Ella Brennan lured the young chef to New Orleans, where Lagasse
helmed the kitchen for nearly eight years at their legendary restaurant, Commander’s Palace.
In 1990, Lagasse set out on his own, opening Emeril’s Restaurant in New Orleans’ Warehouse District. Two years later, he opened NOLA Restaurant in the French Quarter. In 1995, Emeril brought his “New New
Orleans” cooking to Las Vegas and opened Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House, located in the MGM Grand Hotel. In 1998, Lagasse opened Emeril’s Delmonico in New Orleans’ historic Garden District. He opened two
restaurants in 1999 including Emeril’s Orlando at Universal Studios CityWalk and Delmonico Steakhouse in the Venetian Resort, Hotel &
Casino in Las Vegas. He later opened his
first restaurant in the Northeast, Emeril’s Chop House on May 22, 2009 at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in
Pennsylvania, and Lagasse’s Stadium, a restaurant and sports entertainment venue opened on September,
25 2009 at The Palazzo. He opened his first-ever burger restaurant, Burgers And
More by Emeril, in 2009 at the Sands Bethlehem. In 2016, Lagasse opened Emeril’s Fish House, making this the third restaurant by Emeril at the Sands
Bethlehem. Currently, Lagasse is the chef-proprietor of 12 restaurants in New
Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miramar Beach and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Lagasse’s 11th restaurant, Meril, opened in New
Orleans in September 2016. Most recently he opened his 12th restaurant, Emeril’s Coastal Italian, in Miramar Beach, Florida.
2. John Folse
Chef John Folse, born in St. James
Parish in 1946, learned early that the secrets of Cajun cooking lay in the
unique ingredients of Louisiana’s swamp floor pantry. Folse seasoned these raw
ingredients with his passion for Louisiana culture and cuisine, and from his
cast iron pots emerged Chef John Folse & Company.
When Folse opened Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant in 1978 in Donaldsonville, he set out to market his
restaurant by taking “a taste of Louisiana” worldwide. He traveled all over the
world bringing tastes of Louisiana with him. He introduced Louisiana’s
indigenous cuisine to Japan in 1985, Beijing in 1986 and Hong Kong and Paris in
1987. In 1988, Folse made international headlines with the opening of “Lafitte’s Landing East” in Moscow during the Presidential Summit between Ronald Reagan
and Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1989, Folse was the first non-Italian chef to create
the Vatican State Dinner in Rome.
The international success of Folse’s cornerstone property, Lafitte’s Landing
Restaurant, spawned the incorporation of several other Chef John Folse &
Company properties. White Oak Plantation in 1986 established Folse’s catering and events management
division. Chef John Folse & Company Publishing, since 1989, has produced 9 cookbooks in his Cajun and
Creole series, plus a novel, two children’s books and a religious memoir by
other authors. “A Taste of Louisiana” is Folse’s international television
series produced by Louisiana Public Broadcasting since 1990. The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., opened in
October 1994 and is dedicated to the preservation of Louisiana’s rich culinary
and cultural heritage. In 2014 a brand new facility was built for the
program.
In August 1996, Folse expanded his professional repertoire and began
broadcasting his radio cooking talk show, “Stirrin’ It Up” which eventually
turned into a television cooking segment.
The bakery division was launched in 1996 to create specialty desserts, pastries
and savories. In October 1998, a fire destroyed the 200-year-old Viala Plantation, which housed Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant, and in May 1999 Folse
opened his former Donaldsonville home as Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant at
Bittersweet Plantation offering fine dining and bed and breakfast
accommodations. In the year 2000, Folse incorporated Digi-Tek Productions, a
full service digital recording studio.
Folse has received numerous national and international accolades including but
not limited to: In 1987, the Louisiana Restaurant Association named him
“Louisiana Restaurateur of the Year.” In 1989, Nation’s Restaurant News
inducted Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant into its “Fine Dining Hall of Fame.” In
1990, the American Culinary Federation (ACF) named Folse the “National Chef of
the Year.” In 1995, Folse was one of 50 people recognized in Nation’s
Restaurant News’ “Profiles of Power.” In 1999, the Research Chefs Association
(RCA) named Chef John Folse & Company “Pioneers in Culinology”
because of the efforts of Folse and his culinary research team. In 2001, Folse
was elected to RCA’s Board of Directors and served as RCA president from
2005-2007. In 2006, Folse was inducted into National Restaurant Association
Educational Foundation’s College of Diplomates. In 2007, Folse served as
the American Judge for the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France.
In August 2010, Folse announced his partnership with Chef Rick Tramonto and the
formation of Home on the Range: Folse Tramonto Restaurant Development, LLC.
Their first joint venture, Restaurant R’evolution, opened in June of 2012 at 777 Bienville St. at the Royal Sonesta
Hotel in New Orleans. Restaurant R’evolution offers modern, imaginative
reinterpretations of classic Cajun and Creole cuisine.
More than thirty years of culinary excellence later, Folse is still adding
ingredients to the corporate gumbo he calls Chef John Folse & Company,
which is as diverse as the Louisiana landscape, and he would not want it any
other way.
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