Hale Kilinahe: Pith of Pop: Emeril Live

He reminds me of my dad. Like Emeril, Ed is a French-Canadian from Massachusetts. They even use some of the same odd turns of phrase,like "you won't hurt my feelins". They both have that yankee-french accent that makes you think, "Lod? Lod? What's lod? Ooooohhhhh, LARD!".

Emeril is a brand, like Madonna. He ceased to be a chef as we know them a long time ago. Now, he's doing commercials for toothpaste and he has his own line of spice mixes at the grocery store. His omnipresence has turned previously kitchen-phobic folks into foodies. He's made it fashionable for people to like food. Consequently, he has groupies.

I think the groupies...er, I mean, live audience, are the most irritating part of Emeril Live. Emeril plays to them, and they hoot and holler and drool like a bunch of frat boys. They're not going to watch someone cook; they're there to watch the Madonna (or, you know, whoever the kids listen to these days) of chefdom perform. They melt into hysterical puddles whenever Emeril says "garlic" or "beer". You should hear them when Emeril shakes the powdered sugar canister over a dessert. It's like "Stairway to Heaven".

Because so much attention is paid to Emeril's showmanship, there's little emphasis on technique. It's hard to imagine that many in the audience are watching Emeril fold egg whites and taking note of what he's doing. In fact, some of them might not even know that folded egg whites go into chocolate mousse. I have a hunch that many of Emeril's big fans didn't know anything about cooking when they tuned in, but thanks to the mass-marketing of food and cooking, they're latching onto it like they did racquetball or knitting previously. There's a faddish aspect to DIY cuisine, thanks in part to Emeril, and more specifically, this show.

As talented as Emeril is, I think the stars of his show are his sous-chefs and and prep cooks. Everything is always exactly right, and whenever Emeril is joking around with the band or chatting with a guest, he rarely really messes up because everything is so well-prepared. Never mind James Brown, the kitchen staff at Emeril Live are the hardest working people in show business.

I'm one of those French-Canadians still living in MA ;) Actually, I like Emeril's show too, despite the fact he's used a couple of his jokes way too many times like the knobs, the smellavision, I don't know where you get your flour, but where I get mine it don't come seasoned ... yada yada. But yet, there's something likeable about Emeril, he obviously is enjoying what he's doing and doesn't act like a food snob. I never make any of Emeril's recipes because he's so indulgent with FAT and I try to limit my intake of high calorie foods, but I enjoy watching him make things and the occasional faux pas that he makes. I agree with you P-of-P that the sous chefs are really the stars here. Without them, they wouldn't be able to pull the show off. I get a kick out of it when Emeril says he's adding like 60 cloves of garlic when it's obviously only 2 or 3 cloves of chopped garlic. Emeril knows what his audience wants to see and hear, and he plays them to the hilt and they love it. Emeril could sprinkle sugar over turds and the audience would still clap up a storm. I think on his newer shows that he's beginning to mellow out a bit and he seems to recognize that he tells the same old jokes, and that in of itself is becoming a joke.
Posted by LEV at December 3, 2004 12:06 PM

Knock, knock. Who's there? Emeri --. SHUT THE F--K UP! (That's my Emerill knock-knock joke.)
Posted by NemesisVex at December 15, 2004 04:28 AM