10 Favorite Foods of Emeril Lagasse

Charisma and charm in the kitchen can bring the culinary experience to life, and Emeril Lagasse has both in spades. From his time as head chef at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans (also Lagasse’s favorite American city to eat in) to his rise in fame on Food Network, Lagasse knows a thing or two about getting people excited about food. His iconic sayings, like “Bam!” (which actually has a hilarious origin), and incredible culinary work solidified him as a welcoming, accessible resource for people learning how to be better home chefs.

American actor James Stewart once said, “Learn from the master, learn from your contemporaries,” and who better to get inspiration from on what to eat (and cook yourself) than an adored chef with decades of experience? After all, frozen chicken nuggets may be delicious, but there’s always room for us to expand our palates. That’s why we’re diving into 10 of Emeril Lagasse’s all-time favorite foods to learn about what and where this acclaimed chef likes to eat when he’s not working.

We have the oil bust that plagued the 1980s to thank for voodoo kettle chips. That’s when the humble beginnings of Zapp’s began in 1985 Gramercy, Louisiana, following founder Ron Zappe’s shift away from the oil business. It wasn’t the smoothest transition into growth — according to Zappe, who passed away in 2010, 10 banks rejected his loan application before an eleventh said yes — the mega snack company Utz did eventually acquire Zapp’s in 2011. With that acquisition, Zapp’s potato chips have continued on its trajectory toward national phenomena status.

Let’s face it: chefs are just like us, meaning they also enjoy indulging in less than Michelin star level food from time to time. For Lagasse, Zapp’s potato chips are a clear favorite, but not just straight out of the bag — Lagasse prefers his Zapp’s frozen. In a conversation with Grub Street he shared, “It’s something that freezing them does. It coagulates the peanut oil or something.” We may have to take his word for it!

Pho — with its delicious broth and flat, long noodles — has been around since at least the early 20th century, though the complete history of pho is quite mysterious. Hailing from Vietnam, this soup has blown up on the American food scene. A Google Trends analysis shows that interest in the topic over time has grown an incredible amount in the past two decades, and you likely can’t go too far in your city without finding a restaurant that serves it.

Despite the cultural richness of the dish being a draw for food fans, there’s also ample opportunity to mix and match toppings and flavors, which makes it a versatile, one of a kind meal every time. For Lagasse, he’s partial to chicken pho. Speaking to The Travel Addict, he shared that when he’s in New Orleans he likes to hit up Pho Tau Bay. On the restaurant’s website, he’s quoted as saying, “I am crazy for Vietnamese food — there’s a large Vietnamese population in New Orleans — and this is my favorite spot.” His order? Chicken pho, add extra bean sprouts.

There’s something comforting and nostalgic about gravy that can’t be replicated in any other sauce. It drenches Thanksgiving stuffing and mashed potatoes, is served with roast dinners, and carries the incredible flavor of spices in curry dishes. In Sweden, however, it’s served alongside meatballs. For those with little interest in making their own at home, retail giant IKEA has some inexpensive Swedish meatballs for sale, but homemade is often better, and Emeril Lagasse even has his own recipes for this meaty, juicy meal.

When talking to The Travel Addict, Lagasse shared that gravy — full stop — is one of his guilty pleasures. Combine that with Swedish meatballs and serve it over rice with steamed broccoli or over some warm buttery egg noodles? Well, that’s a meal anyone could love. When that gets old, Lagasse enjoys eating the last of his Swedish meatballs in sandwich form on French bread topped with melted provolone.

You simply can’t go wrong with a donut, and history favors this thinking. The origins of donuts go all the way back to ancient Greece and Rome where merchants sold fried bread with holes in the center. Luckily for us, there are hundreds of varieties around the world today to enjoy. Take malassadas (or malasadas), for example. It’s a style of deep-fried donut that originated in Portugal before being brought to Hawaii by Portuguese plantation laborers in 1878. From there, malassadas became a staple of Hawaiian cuisine with Leonard’s Bakery being one of the most popular purveyors.

Having Portuguese ancestry himself (on his mother’s side), Lagasse was entrenched in Portuguese culture growing up. After all, he got his start in the culinary world at a Portuguese bakery at 13. He shared with Travel + Leisure that Portuguese culture and his mom make up the foundation of who he is today. It makes sense that malassadas, a mere donut to many, played a vital role in Lagasse’s youth. He also shared that as a child, he and his family would go to the bakery to buy a dozen or half-dozen, and we can’t blame him — since they’re simultaneously crispy, soft, sweet, and chewy.

Rice is by far one of the most versatile foods on the planet. It’s a staple in many cultures, and it feeds over half the world’s population (that’s over 4 billion people). While there are certain countries that produce more rice than others, there’s a high likelihood that you or someone you know eats it regularly, no matter where you live. With that base of rice comes the option for endless flavor combinations. One version that Emeril Lagasse loves happens to be duck rice, per Travel + Leisure.

For those who have never heard of it, duck rice is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. A bed of steamed or otherwise flavored rice is topped with roasted or braised duck and adorned with all sorts of vegetables, sauces, or egg. The dish hails from Asia with regional differences in recipes found in China, Thailand, and Singapore, among other locations. It’s a featured dish at Lagasse’s 24 Restaurant & Bar with chouriço and orange.

Another Portuguese favorite, caldo verde, is thought to have originated in Portgual’s Minho region during the 15th century. Translating to “green broth” in English, caldo verde takes a base of sauteed onions and garlic and simmered potatoes and broth and adds couve galega (a regional kale variety), though other recipes can swap for collard greens. Lagasse himself has several recipes on his site with step-by-step instructions on how to make a delicious caldo verde at home, though we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that many families have their own recipes and Lagasse’s might not taste the same as your mom’s.

On his Facebook page, Lagasse shared a video on caldo verde saying, “If i had to choose one soup to represent my childhood, it would be this.” It’s still a huge part of the way Lagasse eats, even sharing with Travel + Leisure that, thanks to his mom’s caldo verde, the dish is still a weekly staple for him and his family.

A seemingly common theme for many of Emeril Lagasse’s favorite foods comes down to a feeling of comfort. Warm meals that evoke a sense of home, no matter where you’re eating them. It’s a feeling that roast chicken with vegetables also gives. Despite the perceived simplicity of the dish, roast chicken is a knockout dish and even though it may seem daunting, there are foolproof ways to roast an entire chicken with ease. It’s also a meal that comes together without too much fuss, making it perfect for family dinners.

For Lagasse, that’s exactly why the dish is so great. He shared with ABC News that cooking for his family comes down to simplicity. “There’s nothing wrong with just a perfect roast chicken with roasted vegetables,” he said. We’re apt to agree. Plus, roasted vegetables are a perfect way to get rid of any soon-to-be bad produce and keep things seasonal.

For those who recoil at the mere mention of calf brain, stick with us here. Lagasse shared with Vogue that most of his fondest memories center on food and one in particular was at Babbo — a New York City restaurant owned by Mario Batali at the time — and the calf brain ravioli there.

Lagasse shared with Vogue that the “ravioli literally melts in your mouth with a smooth creaminess that leaves you savoring every morsel.” He went on to dive deeper into the dough to filling ratio — it was in “perfect harmony” — and how delicious it was. While calf brain isn’t a super common ravioli filling, it actually turns out to be creamy and mild with an almost unrecognizable texture. Not to mention, the fact that offal meat (also known as quinto quarto, or the fifth quarter) is often used in traditional Roman cooking and worth a try at least once.

One of the beautiful things about food is that it speaks to the regions, culture, and traditions of a given people. There’s history behind many of the foods we eat today, and even those that seem unappetizing to one person may be a delicacy to another. Take offal meat, for example. In the United States, offal meat used to be on plenty of tables across the country, though that popularity has tapered off over time. Despite that, offal meats are still popular in the American South (think chitlins) as well as within immigrant communities across the States.

When we say that reindeer heart is a delicacy we know not everyone will understand, nor be enticed to try it themselves, but Lagasse has and loved it. In fact, travel is the reason he tried the organ, per The Travel Addict. While in Sweden, he tried reindeer heart and hadn’t expected to enjoy it, but wound up finding it delicious. 

Once you’ve mastered the art of cooking spaghetti, the fun can begin. Pasta in general is an incredible vehicle for all sorts of flavor combinations and one that is particularly flavorful — and near to Lagasse’s heart — is that of spaghetti acqua pazza. Translated, it means “spaghetti crazy water,” and that’s likely due to the way the recipe is made. The name is born from the story that fishermen used sea water, tomatoes, and garlic as a broth for cooking the fish they caught in Campania, where the recipe originates.

On his YouTube channel, Lagasse shared that, during filming for “Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse,” he and fellow chef Nancy Silverton visited the Amalfi Coast to dive further into the culture and food. While there, the duo explored the flavors and history behind the dish as well as a secret ingredient to add additional umami flavor: colatura, a.k.a. anchovy sauce.