Hey, Katrina: WHERE'S EMERIL?

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Last year, sitcom chef rival Rocco DiSpirito had Americans asking, "Where's Rocco?" That ingenuous question faded quickly, as did NBC's The Restaurant, but right now fans across the country are asking one question over and over again in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- even chefs have been asking: Where's Emeril? Superchefblog is inundated by queries, and so we decided to do our best to locate the current king of New Orleans cuisine. Last Friday's St. Petersburg Times went to the Food Network for information: this afternoon, the Food Network told superchefblog that they have no official word about their star Emeril. ABC, where Emeril has been a long-time contributor to Good Morning America, has no official word either about Emeril. So, superchefblog talked to long-time Emeril employee and friend Jean Paul Labadie at Emeril's New Orleans Fish House in Las Vegas. Jean Paul told superchefblog: Emeril is fine. Emeril has moved his Homebase temporarily to Atlanta (where Emeril's Atlanta is located, the restaurant closest to New Orleans), but Jean Paul did not know his exact coordinates -- Atlanta or otherwise. What is most important, Jean Paul stressed, as Emeril's website confirms, is that all of Emeril's employees survived relatively unharmed and that a great number left the area. Emeril's corporate staff is focused on relocating employees ASAP from Emeril's three restaurants in New Orleans to the other six outside the hurricane-affected region. They are also scheduling fundraising events for employees as well as for the City of New Orleans. Most of the employees want to stay as close to home as possible, though he noted that most of Emeril's employees come from all over the country (and abroad) to work with Emeril. As a case in point, Jean Paul himself hails from Puerto Rico and first worked for Emeril in -- you guessed it -- New Orleans. In Las Vegas, Jean Paul has a couple of front-of-the-house staff scheduled to start work next week with him in Las Vegas and has room for several cooks -- and of course he's gives preference to Emeril's cooks. He told superchefblog: I'm willing to house at least one employee, and we are looking for space for others. Many churches are paying for travel and providing housing. When all this is over, we may all salute this super chef and his empire with a Hurricane Cocktail, but right now is the time to fix the problem, as the President says. Clearly, Emeril is focused on his people and his adopted city. Stay tuned for more. (And, Emeril employees, be sure to get news and stay updated with the boss via the online Emeril's Alert System.) News stories: Broadcasting & Cable Wine Spectator Previous articles: Rum Diary: Puerto Rico's Future Chefs [complete Hurricane Katrina coverage] [complete Emeril coverage] [Super Chef: Emeril Lagasse] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, super chef, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, Emeril, Katrina, charity --> back to superchefblog