My philosophy from day one is that I can sleep better at night if I can improve an individual's knowledge about food and wine, and do it on a daily basis. Emeril Lagasse More Quotes by Emeril Lagasse More Quotes From Emeril Lagasse The world has changed, and it's almost been 11 years. I have 975 employees. I have six restaurants. We haven't opened any new ones in almost three years. Emeril Lagasse three world years The premise of 'The Originals' are places that have been open 50, 60, 75, 100 years or longer that are still doing it right that maybe a lot of people, particularly the younger generations, have not even thought about. Emeril Lagasse generations people years My office in New York is overflowing with all kinds of cookbooks, and in New Orleans we have a huge culinary library. So yeah, I guess I'm a little bit obsessed. Emeril Lagasse new-orleans office new-york I think you have to be careful with spices. Kids' palates can be very delicate, and they might not like things overspiced. In my cookbooks for kids, I do a milder version of my signature spice blend, Emeril's Essence, called Baby Bam, which has no cayenne pepper. Emeril Lagasse baby kids thinking I was on the board of Andre Agassi's foundation, and seeing the way it operated blew my mind. In 2002, I told my wife, I want to start a foundation to give back, I want it to be for kids in hard circumstances, and I want it to be culinary-driven, because that's who I am. Emeril Lagasse who-i-am giving kids I wouldn't ask any of my employees to do anything I wouldn't do. And I work as hard, if not harder than the rest of the staff, to set an example. I also believe in giving my employees a lot of room to be creative and to express themselves. Emeril Lagasse creative giving believe Being a food show and being me, I always kicked it up a notch, which means I would always elevate the spice level or the complexity of a particular dish. So, it was always like we're going to kick this up a little bit. Emeril Lagasse spices levels mean My food is Louisiana, New Orleans-based, well-seasoned, rustic. I think it's pretty unique because of my background being influenced by my mom, Portuguese and French Canadian. There's a lot going on there. Emeril Lagasse mom unique thinking The most interesting thing I've ever heard about myrself that isn't true is that I'm not a nice guy. Emeril Lagasse guy nice interesting I'm not impressed with presidents. I have met a few, but I'm not impressed with them. Emeril Lagasse not-impressed mets president I've been very fortunate, because I've cooked for a lot of actors and actresses and musicians. I've cooked for presidents and I've been to the White House. Emeril Lagasse president white house I've never really had a problem with people. Emeril Lagasse problem people Spain has some of the richest culinary traditions and truly appreciates food that is simply prepared with top-notch ingredients. Emeril Lagasse spain ingredients appreciate