Katrina hit NOLA "Bam!"... so, where was Emeril?

[jgm]

Is there only one way to help? Is help only acceptable if it takes the same form as other people's help?

Emeril's organization is a much different animal from the other chefs'. Perhaps keeping his organization solvent, so that he can re-employ people when the opportunity arises, is what he thinks he needs to do. Perhaps keeping his other commitments, so that he will continue to be marketable for a long time to come, so that he can offer other kinds of help, is what he thinks is appropriate. People, like networks and publishers, and others, tend to be wary of those who make committments and cancel them.

I understand that people are hungry and need to eat. I also understand that several organizations, and individuals, are working to meet that need. And I also understand that the needs in this situation will be varied and will continue for a long, long time.

It ain't over 'til it's over, folks. And it's far from over. Give the man a chance. And don't judge him for not mimicking others.

[Mayhaw Man]

Just so I feel like I am being clear on this:

I am not, nor is the paper (I don't think so anyway) damning E. What we are saying is that it's time to get to work. It's time to show up, suit up, and get moving. Sending in the second string is not good enough at this point. Someone like Emeril, who has been a stupendous ambassador for New Orleans, and who has continued to say, over and over again, that "he can't wait to get back" should do just that. Get back here. Get in front of his flagship, holding a big plate of something or other, and say, "BAM, I'm back. I need some folks to work. I've got good jobs for people who want to work. Come see me!" Two weeks later, we need him standing in front of the same place talking to Al Roker saying, "Taste this, formerly bigboy! We're open for business. Come on down!'

That's what we need from guys like him. High profile guys who generate press like hurricanes generate water and broken refrigerators. We need positive stuff coming out of here. We need to show the rest of the country that we are doing what we can to help ourselves and that in order to continue helping ourselves we need their help. Eventually, the sattelite trucks (they are everywhere-Canal Street looks like NASA on any given evening at 5 o'clock) will go home and people will forget all about the fact that it's a wreck down here and we have a very, very long row to hoe. People like Emeril can help. All will be forgiven if he shows up and suits up. That's all anyone is ultimately saying.

This place is a mess. No one can get help, there are limited amounts of just about everything here (the only exception seems to be "blue ribbon commissions"-we have waaaay more than enough of those at this point-ironically they are being formed by the same guys who, just 6 weeks ago, were making impassioned please to "stop having meetings and come help!"), and it is really hard to run a business. For example, most grocery operations close at 6 because they don't have any help and they have to make enough time to clean and stock with the same employees who were operating the store during the day.

Emeril is a good guy with a big investment in New Orleans who has made a ton of money here and used it as a springboard to bigger and more lucrative things. It's time for him to come home and pay the piper.

I'm finished now.

[I_call_the_duck]

Not going one way or the other on this ( well actually, I am ). Emeril is one of N.O.'s 'signature' personalities.

I have NO idea - so this is just a question . . .

Prudhomme - check

Brennan - check

Connick - check

What other NOLA personalities have ante'ed-up ? . . . honestly I don't know.

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On the music side, the Neville Brothers are doing considerable fundraising for hurricane relief. Profits from their new album are going to the Red Cross.

Call me naïve, but Emeril could have cancelled at least one appointment out of his busy schedule to make even the most brief of appearances in New Orleans. If he had a family emergency (e.g. death in the family), I’m sure he would have dropped whatever he was doing and take care of it.

[FistFullaRoux]

Emeril has never made a secret of his Fall River Mass heritage. He's Portugese and proud of it. The fact that we haven't seen him hauling sacks of crawfish into the back door of Delmonico's as B roll on the evening news does not mean that he hasn't been doing anything. He just hasn't been doing it on camera.

Do I have any proof that he's doing anything? No. Do I think he's doing something? He has to be. One of the perks of being the boss and being in the position that he is is that he can hire a hundred people instead of getting dirty himself. Let me be clear. There is nothing wrong with that.

If he wanted to put on a pair of rubber boots and stroll down Magazine Street with FTV, NBC, CNN, and ABC in tow, he could and would. He has always backed Louisiana suppliers and vendors. He's probably buying the majority of seafood that Louisiana can provide right now. He is likely to be propping up Louisiana's seafood and food industry for some time to come. He has not been shown sans makeup in front of a downed oak tree, but I think he does care about what is happening in the city.

I don't think for one second that he is going to turn his back on New Orleans. From a business standpoint, it would be suicide (Tom Benson, take notes). But from a human standpoint, I think he is trying to stay out of the way (here is where I make a snarky remark about churches being used as speech backdrops and overtaxing security in a hurricane zone) and get some work done. I have more respect for people who can and do put some money and people into a problem instead of standing around navelgazing.

There has been a lot of coverage of the storm, and it's only now starting to slow down. But the first I heard about Paul Prudhomme's activities was this week. Brennan's I knew about from day one (OK, maybe 2 or 3) when they were sending cakes to the police station from their bunker on St Charles. It is a big story, one that is likely to be eclipsed somewhat by the troublemaker headed toward Florida at the end of the week. Jim Cantore's flip flops may never dry out. Maybe Emeril is just pacing himself. No sense being a burnout in a dark city.

[VeryApe77]

Interview with Emeril from today's 'Day to Day' NPR here - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4965420

He mainly talks about his new book, but touches on some of the stuff he has being doing since Katrina hit. Doesn't really go into very much detail though. He certainly doesn't answer any of the questions raised in the thead, or in the Times-Picayune articles (not that he is asked the questions in the first place.)

Edited October 19, 2005 by VeryApe77 (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

But the first I heard about Paul Prudhomme's activities was this week.

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At the outset, Prudhomme was involved and doing things for his staff and others ... I know because I checked for chefs' names at the beginning.

[FistFullaRoux]

But the first I heard about Paul Prudhomme's activities was this week.

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At the outset, Prudhomme was involved and doing things for his staff and others ... I know because I checked for chefs' names at the beginning.

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Not saying Prudhomme wasn't involved. I'm saying that the first news I heard here in Birmingham was in the last 48 hours through this very website.

[highchef]

sw La is still closing at 6, and if you drive around after dark, you better damn sure know where you're going. One of the 50 wine masters in the U.S. is a friend of mine and his place is gutted. Everyother home here has a blue tarp on the roof. The trees are cut up, not by fema, but by us....we're a little different than normal, we are really on the ball.

I'm sure fema does good things, I just haven't seen it besides the water. Yea, that was good.

Thing is, you don't understand what a hellhole the whole southern coast of Louisiana is like now. You won't..you can't... My friends in NewOrleans went home to condemd signs. My friends here have the same things, We were lucky, lucky, lucky. and it's still nasty.

I wouldn't want to leave my new "NEW YORK STUDIOS" either, but I'm just an average person who stayed and fed the locals..and anyone else who showed up. fyi, the mre's were lunch.