There was a time when celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse was everywhere on the Food Network. He shot to fame with the long-running Emeril Live, which ran for over a decade and made him one of the most popular television personalities on the Food Network. Lagasse was also a judge on Bravo's popular Top Chef, and he even contributed his voice acting skills to the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog, where he played Marlon the Gator. However, in the blink of an eye, the popular celebrity chef seemed to disappear from the public eye. Here is the real reason you don't hear from Emeril Lagasse anymore.
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00:00For a while, it seemed like Emeril Lagasse was everywhere.
00:03A mainstay on Food Network for years, the chef helped put the channel on the map,
00:07and his name was plastered on everything from cookware to spice blends.
00:10Then, seemingly overnight, Lagasse disappeared, but he didn't exactly retire.
00:15While Lagasse's overwhelming fame has diminished, he's still the same hardworking and brilliant man
00:19we all know and love. The beloved chef has got a lot of irons in the fire, though,
00:24and he's been keeping himself busy. Here's what Lagasse's been up to.
00:28Beginning of the end
00:30Fans were stunned when Emeril Live was canceled in 2007,
00:33and the show's end marked the decline of Lagasse's television career.
00:36You add a little BAM! A little parsley, just like that, you know? Then you come back,
00:40and you take some green onion, and you go BAM! And don't go anywhere, we'll be right back!"
00:45Lagasse put a brave face on, but the cancellation came as a blow.
00:48He told GQ in 2016,
00:50When it ended, everybody felt like it was time for a little break.
00:53I didn't necessarily think that, but that's what everybody else thought,
00:56that maybe it was time for a break from Emeril.
00:59His other Food Network show, Essence of Emeril, ended in 2008. Food Network wanted
01:03Lagasse to create reality shows, but he wasn't a fan of that idea. He explained,
01:07I'm old-fashioned, and I want to teach people how to cook, how to eat, how to serve,
01:11how to shop, how to drink wine, how to mix a cocktail properly. I didn't necessarily,
01:16at the time, want to get into this competition stuff.
01:18I mean, I don't know why it's become that, but it's become this, you know,
01:23food is a competition, like a sport."
01:25Emeril's Florida debuted in 2013,
01:27but it didn't bring him the same attention his previous shows had.
01:31Martha moves in
01:32After Emeril Live was canceled, Lagasse kept his restaurants, but decided to sell the rest
01:37of his brand to Martha Stewart's company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, in 2008.
01:41Stewart's acquired properties included all of his television programming,
01:45cookbooks, kitchen products, and food products.
01:47Given the success of his restaurants, Lagasse probably wasn't in desperate need of the money,
01:51but he did get a nice payout from selling his lucrative brand.
01:54According to The New York Times, Stewart's company paid him a whopping $45 million in cash
01:59and another $5 million in stock.
02:02Back to his roots
02:04Lagasse is primarily famous for being on Food Network,
02:06but that's not what he attributes his success to.
02:09Before finding television fame, the chef was hard at work building up his restaurants.
02:13In 2015, the year his first restaurant turned 25, he told Eater,
02:17"...the Food Network is not why I have 12 restaurants."
02:20Lagasse has been spending more time working at his restaurants,
02:22which means he's still been working hard, just not in the spotlight.
02:25His fans who miss him can at least be assured that the chef is happy doing what he loves.
02:30Lagasse told GQ in 2016,
02:32"...what really makes my clock go is still the restaurants.
02:35I love people, I love being with my staff,
02:37I love learning together, I love making people happy with food, with wine, with service."
02:42Busy with books
02:44Another way Lagasse has been keeping busy is through his writing.
02:47Since he left Food Network, he's put out quite a few books,
02:50adding to an already extensive bibliography.
02:52Between his own books and his contributions to others' books,
02:55he has covered everything from Creole to sandwiches and casseroles,
02:59all with the flair that only Lagasse can provide.
03:01He's come out with more than a dozen new books since Emeril Live! and Essence of Emeril wrapped,
03:05starting with Emeril at the Grill, a cookbook for all seasons in 2009.
03:09He released three more books that year and hasn't slowed down since.
03:13Focused on philanthropy
03:15In addition to running his many restaurants,
03:17Lagasse is focused on helping the next generation of chefs get their start.
03:21He runs the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, a nonprofit charity he and his wife founded in 2012,
03:25which has donated millions to various children's charities over the years.
03:29When I started the foundation, the mission was to mentor and inspire youths to move forward."
03:36In 2013, Lagasse was named Humanitarian of the Year by the James Beard Foundation.
03:41I'm not expecting anything in return.
03:46Just want to move it forward."
03:48Not done yet
03:50Lagasse isn't the TV fixture that he was in the late 90s,
03:53but between his many guest appearances on shows like Top Chef and Rachael Ray,
03:57not to mention Emeril's Florida, which aired from 2013 to 2017,
04:01Lagasse is making sure the world doesn't forget about him.
04:03In 2016, Lagasse starred in the Emmy Award-winning show Eat the World on Amazon Prime,
04:08which features Lagasse traveling the world instead of at home in his kitchen.
04:11As of August 2018, the show had not yet been picked up for a second season.
04:16Between his restaurants, books, philanthropic work, and occasional
04:19television appearances, it's safe to say we haven't seen the last of Emeril Lagasse.
04:23Bam! There you have it!