Report puts Fall River's Emeril among world's most popular chefs. Where is he on the list?

Thirty years after he burst onto the TV cooking show scene with his infectious enthusiasm, colorful catchphrases and unabashed love of pork fat, Fall River native Emeril Lagasse remains one of the world’s most popular chefs.

A recent study by travel company Explore Worldwide looking at Google search data from each state showed that Lagasse is the most-searched for chef from Massachusetts.

Using national and international search data, Lagasse is the fourth-most popular chef from the United States, and number 16 on a list of chefs worldwide.

The study pulled a year’s worth of search data from Google from November 2022 to October 2023.

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What other celebrity chefs are on the list?

Lagasse’s national popularity is just behind “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” host Guy Fieri (who has his own connections to Fall River and the area), author and TV host Bobby Flay, and “Cake Boss” host Buddy Valastro.

Just under Lagasse, rounding out the top 10, are Katie Lee, Andrew Zimmern, Mario Batali, David Chang, Graham Elliot and Antonia Lofaso.

The most popular chef internationally is famously foul-mouthed "Hell's Kitchen" host Gordon Ramsay.

Continuing the list until Lagasse are, in order, Jamie Oliver, Guy Fieri, Nigella Lawson, Giada De Laurentiis, Bobby Flay, Tariq Helou, Gino D'Acampo, Hilda Baci, Vicky Lau, Wolfgang Puck, Alain Ducasse, Buddy Valastro, Sanjay Thumma and Heston Blumenthal.

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What’s Emeril’s history in Fall River?

Born in Fall River in 1959, Lagasse worked his way up from the kitchens of Greater Fall River to kitchens across the world. He might be the Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School culinary arts program’s most famous and successful alumnus.

Lagasse started his career washing pans at Carreiros Barcelos Bakery on Bedford Street and continued his formal education at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, but credits his love of cooking to spending time in the kitchen with his mother, Hilda Medeiros Lagasse.

He became an executive chef at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans in 1982, and has since adopted the city as his second hometown. He opened his first restaurant there in 1990.

Lagasse’s parents, Hilda and John, lived in Fall River all their lives until 1992, when they relocated to New Orleans.

What is Emeril Lagasse doing today?

His restaurant has spawned many others — the Emeril Group currently owns and operates five restaurants in Las Vegas, Florida and New Orleans.

Lagasse has hosted over 2,000 episodes of television for the Food Network, including “Essence of Emeril,” “Emeril Live,” and starting with “How to Boil Water” in 1993. He’s hosted shows for other networks including “Emeril Green,” “The Emeril Lagasse Show,” “Emeril Cooks,” “Emeril Tailgates” and many others. He even played himself in a short-lived sitcom, on an episode of “Treme,” and in the film “Last Holiday” opposite Queen Latifah.

He’s the author of 19 cookbooks, and is currently the food correspondent for “Good Morning America.”

Dan Medeiros can be reached at [email protected]. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Report: Fall River's Emeril among most popular chefs in US, world