Not because he needs it, but because the vitriol spewed at him by these elitist, East coast shoemakers needs to stop. First some background. The other evening while watching another painfully boring, self-important and faux psychological No Reservations some little precocious junior Neurologist on the Hudson Valley show perks up, "My dad hates Emeril."
Her dad is Michael Pardus a chef instructor at the world renowned Culinary Institute of America. No doubt Chef Pardus is a very good teacher and I am sure the man can cook. But you know what they say about why people teach.
Now Emeril did not go to the CIA, he went to Johnson & Wales. One suspects some of the jealousy fueled hatred directed towards Emeril by the Ruhlmans, Parduses and others is little more than Harvard grads mocking Thornton Melon's success. If so, grow up jerks.
In the early 90's, Emeril Lagasse took a corner warehouse in an abandoned part of town and turned it into a global empire. He also went on an unknown and struggling television network and turned it into the media force (for good and bad) that is now the Food Network. Sure, some people found the catchphrases slightly annoying, but the fact is Emeril did more to get people excited about cooking, eating, and restaurants than any other chef in history.
Emeril out Juliaed, Julia. And sorry but Emeril did not give rise to the Rachel Ray's, Sandra Lee's etc... on the Food Network. A series of market studies, advertiser driven shows, and focus groups gave us 30 Minutes From Can to Table. Essence of Emeril is also one of the best cooking shows on television. On Essence, Emeril is much calmer, more instructive, and delivers much more than just a final dish.
Bourdain's entire career would have festered out in a French-american version of TGI McFunsters had Emeril not come on the scene in the early 90's. Who would he have railed against? He bounced, by his own admission, from one dead end cooking job to another as culinary superstars rose around him in New York City. It is time to move away from the morose, introspective bullshit. You are boring everyone.
To be fair, Ruhlman addresses some of the celebrity-chef backlash in The Reach of a Chef. However, ever notice no one ever says, "I hate Emeril because the food in his restaurants sucks"? It is because the food by and large is excellent. Granted, I've had some average meals at NOLA where it always seems to be spring training, but at Emeril's and Delmonico's, I've experienced nothing but fantastic food and service.
Besides his professional success, the man has always been at the forefront of philanthropic activities both in New Orleans and across the country. People will argue he didn't react to Katrina fast enough. And maybe so, but those days after Katrina were very confusing and we all seem to have forgiven the Mr. Benson.
End Rant.
See you Wednesday. We are going to see the Mardi Gras.
Monday, February 15, 2010
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9 comments:
I'm here to stop the Sandra Lee hating. Hate all you want, from can to Bam! she's got it going on.
Amen. And a few notes:
Julia loved Emeril. What does that tell you?
A quote from Gene Bourg, the true dean of New Orleans food critis, from an article I wrote a couple of year back:
Gene Bourg, the food critic at the time for The Times-Picayune, reviewed Commander’s Palace when Lagasse was cooking there. “It was a real rave. Beautiful cook. The flavors were just perfect,” Bourg says. “At that time, I think he was at his peak. He injected a new energy and a new imagination into the food, just as Prudhomme had done before.” Later, when Lagasse left Commander’s Palace in 1990 to open Emeril’s Restaurant, Bourg remained impressed. “I thought, this could be the best food being done by an American chef today outside of the [Jean-Georges] Vongerichten crowd [in New York]. He was really cooking unbelievable stuff.”
Full article here
http://www.offbeat.com/2007/09/01/backstage-at-emerils/
In defense of Bourdain:
T-P: You filmed a segment once with Emeril where you told him straight-up that you basically made a living for a while talking smack about him. Can I assume you guys are cool now?
Bourdain: Oh yeah. I've hung out and had a few cocktails with Emeril many times. From the very beginning, people were coming up to me and saying, you know, 'Listen, Emeril is actually pretty cool.' I was, I think, instinctively angry at Emeril because he was such an alien creature to me: a chef on one hand but someone who was friendly and nice and got along with the general public on TV. It just made no sense to me. But looking back on that now, he looks like Escoffier compared to (popular food television today). If nothing else, I've always cheerfully admitted the guy put in his time in restaurants. I mean, he's a real chef with real businesses and real employees, unlike just about everybody on food television now.
source: http://www.nola.com/dining/index.ssf/2010/01/whats_eating_anthony_bourdain.html
I had an excellent meal at one of his restaurants (Delmonico, I think?) and I have to admit that I went in there with some prejudice.
I was highly amused by two things that seemed so "Emeril" to me though. He has his own "Emeril" wine and in the bathroom, some of the tiles had his picture on them. I came back to the table and said "Emeril is watching us pee!"
Emeril in no way out Julia-ed Julia. That is a catalyst of different time, and different animal.
But Emeril is a good chef, he really is. Perhaps it is more like an over-proofed dough. Will i go to his restaurant? Totally! I know I'm going to have fantastic food because his places are high quality. Am i going to buy his pasta sauce? No. it's bland and has none of that character that his real food does. And now that he's not so much in the limelight, this is what we're left with as a representation of his prowess, an over-salty, under-seasoned, over processed shelf item. I hope he does more shows, I'd love to see more of his face in action instead of gleaming at me in the pasta aisle.
And as for Sandra Lee, anyone who pulls out a jello pudding cup, tosses it in a champagne flute and calls it cooking should be knocked upside the head. Really.
Ain't nothing wrong with Johnson & Wales. Except the hairdos of the students who go there - or at least the ones who went there nearly 20 years ago.
February 2006:
NYPOST: "How are things going in New Orleans?"
Emeril Lagasse: "Nothing. The mayor's a clunk. The governor is also a clunk. They don't know their (nether sections) from a hole in the ground. All my three restaurants got hit. I've reopened Emeril's, but only a few locals come. There's no tourists. No visitors. No spenders. No money. No future. No people. It's lost. It'll never come back."
Oh, snap - BAM!
Gee, thanks Emeril. Just the message we wanted to get out. And you did fire your entire New Orleans based staff after the storm, no? And were you here personally helping out in September/October like Besh? Thought so.
I've had excellent meals at Emeril's, and two poor ones due to extremely over-salted food.
I'll defend them both - Tony Bourdain is a great food writer, and his show really captures the way food intersects with culture and tradition.
His celebrity came not from bashing Emeril but from his blockbuster exposé of the commercial kitchen (and "Kitchen Confidential" began as a story in the New Yorker).
In recent editions of the book, Bourdain acknowledges Emeril's importance & that the man actually runs restaurants and employs people.
I've enjoyed Emeril's restaurants (Delmonico is my favorite) and admire his charitable work.
"Planet Green" shows Emeril at his best: thoughtful, generous, and tireless.
The world is big enough for both Bourdain and Emeril.
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