Emeril on the cover of WINE SPECTATOR

[cupcake250]

are they serious...? he's an ACTOR....

[Pickles]

The Cover Being Discussed

Actor perhaps, but I did try his wine, and it wasn't bad at all. He has to at least present a wine one could cook with, and he did just fine in my book for both drinking and cooking. I believe I tried his chardonnay. It's been some months, now. Also...Emeril is a party-boy. I know people who have been out on the town in Boston with him and he knows his alcohol. Don't be too quick to judge his knowledge of wine. He knows.

[Mayhaw Man]

Also, Emeril buys and sells more wine than most of us ever will dream of buying and apparently he oversees the purchase of much of it himself. The cellars at Delmonico's and Emeril's in New Orleans are deep, well thought out, and well represented on his wine lists. In fact, if I am not mistaken, he won some kind of Wine Spectator Award a year or two back for that very thing.

I know him. He knows beer. A suprising amount about beer, actually. I know others that say he knows wine. I believe them.

Incidentally, you are right about one thing. He is no actor.

[phaelon56]

Incidentally, you are right about one thing. He is no actor.

He may not be an actor but he is an entertainer and I don't see the problem with that. When folks like Emeril raise the consciousness of the mass market about the value of using fresh and high quality ingredients, more people begin demanding those types of items from their local grocery chains. More demand means better selection, sometime more competitive prices and at the very least it means I don't have to hunt as far and as wide for some items I want to cook with. That works for me.

These days I can buy good quality pine nuts, imported cheeses, decent olive oils and the like at my local Sam's Club Wholesale store. I have to think that the influence of Food TV and the like has been a factor in this realtively recent development. As an analogy let's consider Starbuck's - many coffee drinkers and espresso lovers think they're BS but the fact is that they have raised the bar for independent operations, increased consumer awareness and actually increased the market for better quality coffees.

By the way.... Emeril was the head chef at Commander's Palace in New Orleans at a rather young age - early 20's if I recall correctly. You don't get a job like that by having shtick or connections - you earn it by being very good at what you do and having an intuitive ability to get other people to work with you as a team. I don't give a whit what people think about the TV shtick - the guy's got skills.

[Dave the Cook]

Incidentally, you are right about one thing. He is no actor.

He may not be an actor but he is an entertainer and I don't see the problem with that. When folks like Emeril raise the consciousness of the mass market about the value of using fresh and high quality ingredient, more people begin demanding those types of items from their local grocery chains. More demand means better selection, sometime more competitive prices and at the very least it means I dont' have to hunt as far and as wide for some items I want to cook with.

These days I can buy good quality pine nuts, imported cheeses, decent olive oils and the like at my local Sam's Club Wholesale store. I have to think that the influence of Food TV and the like has been a factor in this realtviely recent development. As an analogy let's consider Starbuck's - many coffee drinkers and espresso lovers think they're BS but the fact is that they have raised the bar for independent operations, increased consumer awareness and actually increased the market for better quality coffees.

By the way.... Emeril was the head chef at Commander's Palace in New Orleans at a rather young age - early 20's if I recall correctly. You don't get a job like that by having shtick or connections - you earn it by being very good at what you do and having an intuitive ability to get other people to work with you as a team. I don't give a whit what people think about the TV shtick - the guy's got skills.

Thanks, Owen. Correct on every point. I wouldn't doubt that his attitude is any less applicable (or helpful) when it comes to wine and wine lists.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Here's the scoop, boys and girls:

This is the annual Restaurant Issue of Wine Spectator -- the one where they announce who has good wine lists. It is a list of hundreds and hundreds of restaurants, listed by state.

Every year their cover of this issue has a chef.

Last year it was Wolfgang Puck. This year it was Emeril. No biggie -- next year it will probably be Thomas Keller (because he'll finally qualify for the James Beard Restaurant of the Year award and Per Se will have proven itself.)

[tommy]

Don't be too quick to judge his knowledge of wine.

but then what fun would that be?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Don't be too quick to judge his knowledge of wine.

but then what fun would that be?

Case dismissed!

[rancho_gordo]

As an analogy let's consider Starbuck's - many coffee drinkers and espresso lovers think they're BS but the fact is that they have raised the bar for independent operations, increased consumer awareness and actually increased the market for better quality coffees..

I hear this argument a lot but in San Francisco, you could always get good coffee in North Beach and the mission and also in many other parts of town. A latte was correctly aglass of milk. Espresso was thick, dark and luxurious. Now with Starbucks, espressos are watery and the general level of coffee conciousness has been reduced. Maybe it's better for the country as a whole but San Francisco has suffered.

[LEdlund]

I was really disappointed when I saw Emeril on the cover but, after reading the article, my opinion of him was raised quite a bit. I realized there is more to Emeril than what I have seen on his shows.

[Really Nice!]

next year it will probably be Thomas Keller (because he'll finally qualify for the James Beard Restaurant of the Year award and Per Se will have proven itself.)

Don't tease me like that!

[Carolyn Tillie]

next year it will probably be Thomas Keller (because he'll finally qualify for the James Beard Restaurant of the Year award and Per Se will have proven itself.)

Don't tease me like that!

I just want to be right so that I can re-awaken this thread a year from now and gloat in being such the psychic!

[phaelon56]

As an analogy let's consider Starbuck's - many coffee drinkers and espresso lovers think they're BS but the fact is that they have raised the bar for independent operations, increased consumer awareness and actually increased the market for better quality coffees..

I hear this argument a lot but in San Francisco, you could always get good coffee in North Beach and the mission and also in many other parts of town. A latte was correctly aglass of milk. Espresso was thick, dark and luxurious. Now with Starbucks, espressos are watery and the general level of coffee conciousness has been reduced. Maybe it's better for the country as a whole but San Francisco has suffered.

I'm not entirely in disagreement with you but SF is more or less an isolated phenomenon. Yes, in an Italian neighborhood a lette is a glass of milk and a caffe latte has espresso in it.

In many areas, espresso was a bitter and poorly made drink served only at a handful of Italian restaurants or upscale restaurants that wanted to offer a complete coffee experience but didn't have a clue. Most people had barely heard of espresso, much less gathered the notion that if properly prepared it could be a wonderful drink.

Starbucks demystified it for many peopel by bastradizing it and dumbing it down but in doing so they openedd the door for many independent competitors who now benefit by introducing people to better quality espresso drinks. In short... there's more bad espresso out there than there's ever been but there's also more of the good stuff.

[Susan in FL]

are they serious...? he's an ACTOR....

Did you read the article? I was wondering if your problem was with the cover or the content of the article.

I haven't read it yet, but my husband did and he liked it.

[mongo_jones]

people need to stop ragging on emeril. he may have a hugely popular show on food tv, and he may have some annoying shtick (but, hey, i loved it at first too), but he is a major, major chef with major, major chops. and he may well be the most important chef in the u.s today--for the kind of impact he's had on non-foodies (see owen's post above). i can't help but think that much of the reaction against emeril comes out of some sort of unexamined class-ism. he doesn't sound and behave the way "great chefs" are supposed to behave and so his touch soils anything he comes in contact with.

[bleachboy]

I really think it's some form of sour grapes.

People act like the man isn't a "foodie" -- he's more foodie than you'll ever be.

Hell, he passed up a scholarship at the Julliard School of Music to become a chef instead.

BAM!

[tommy]

I really think it's some form of sour grapes.

oh come on!!!

people have always had resentment for successful people. and the internet has made it really easy to whine about it. just take a look at foodtv's boards.

[fifi]

I really think it's some form of sour grapes.

People act like the man isn't a "foodie" -- he's more foodie than you'll ever be.

Hell, he passed up a scholarship at the Julliard School of Music to become a chef instead.

BAM!

I agree. I think there are a lot of sour grapes out there being stomped. All you have to do is eat at Emeril's to find out where the chops are. Now, I don't know him like MM does, but my kids know a couple of folks who have worked for him (or still do, I can't keep track) and what he has done for some careers is phenominal. It is like he is carrying on a tradition of the Brennan's. I recall that one of his Executive Chef's started as a dishwasher, showed ambition and talent and Emeril sent him to school! If yelling BAM! to the masses helps him to continue... BAM! on, Emeril.

I forgot about the Julliard thing. Thanks for remembering that.

[tommy]

i wonder of all of the people who think emeril is an "actor" or a "joke" or a "buffoon", how many of them have eaten at his restaurants or at Commanders when he was at the helm. i'm no magician, but i'm guessing that's a very small percentage. and there you have it.

[mongo_jones]

i wonder of all of the people who think emeril is an "actor" or a "joke" or a "buffoon", how many of them have eaten at his restaurants or at Commanders when he was at the helm. i'm no magician, but i'm guessing that's a very small percentage. and there you have it.

well, yeah, i'm sure that's a major part of it--but the truth is only a very small percentage of those exposed to emeril on tv etc. will be able to eat at his places anyway. but this is also true of bobby flay and mario batali--yet, we don't hear people going on and on about these guys being frauds (setting aside iron chef morimoto's views) and mario's shtick on that italy show was far, FAR worse. so why pick on emeril? might it go something like this?: "we're serious food people--this man makes it look like something ANYONE could aspire to. when i tell people i'm into food i don't like it when they ask me about emeril!"

[tommy]

i wonder of all of the people who think emeril is an "actor" or a "joke" or a "buffoon", how many of them have eaten at his restaurants or at Commanders when he was at the helm.  i'm no magician, but i'm guessing that's a very small percentage.  and there you have it.

well, yeah, i'm sure that's a major part of it--but the truth is only a very small percentage of those exposed to emeril on tv etc. will be able to eat at his places anyway.

well i'm not talking about the people who are watching him on tv. i'm talking about the subset of people slagging him off. it's not about being able to eat at his restaurants (although i'm not sure exactly what that means). it's about not being negative and talking out of one's ass.

[mongo_jones]

well i'm not talking about the people who are watching him on tv. i'm talking about the subset of people slagging him off. it's not about being able to eat at his restaurants (although i'm not sure exactly what that means). it's about not being negative and talking out of one's ass.

oh i agree

about the majority of people not being able to eat in his restaurants: meant only that the shows are watched by millions--divide by number of seats at his places and so...in other words many people are deriving their estimation of "what he must be like as a chef" from other factors--his seem to be damning him more than flay's or batali's or other television chefs'.

[tommy]

about the majority of people not being able to eat in his restaurants: meant only that the shows are watched by millions--divide by number of seats at his places and so...in other words many people are deriving their estimation of "what he must be like as a chef" from other factors--his seem to be damning him more than flay's or batali's or other television chefs'.

to play devil's advocate, it's probably reasonable to base a judgment of his on-air persona vis-a-vis food from watching "live", as the food is clearly over-the-top and sometimes even a bit disgusting. but to extend that into a judgment on the man's talents as a chef, or his knowledge of wine, etc, seems misinformed or ignorant at best.

you bring up a good point about how he takes more heat than his contemporaries. i think it's clear, though, that people think it's cool to hate emeril. it's not cool to hate batali. and people, as you know, are sheep. when i think of the other "hated" people on TVFN, they all seem like very nice people (rachael, that southern lady, et al). perhaps people hate things they can't be. maybe we need a thread on the psychology of the TVFN viewer.

[bleachboy]

i think it's clear, though, that people think it's cool to hate emeril.

People definitely do seem to think it's cool to hate Emeril -- unfortunately they're wrong. Hating Emeril is so last year.

Whatcha wanna bet that if Emeril started posting on eG, you'd see some Bourdain-style ball licking going on?

[Brad Ballinger]

It's all about selling magazines.

Emeril on the cover will sell more mags. Wine Spectator stopped caring what the food and wine lovers thought long ago. They are much more interested in what the masses think. It's a business.