Food Network Takes Emeril Down a Notch
by Molly McCallNov 29, 2007
On December 11, mere weeks before the country plunges again into culinary excess, the Food Network will pull the plug on one of its longest-running cooking shows. "Emeril Live!" is going off the air.
As soon as news of this slight to Cajun cuisine hit the Web, buzz for celebri-chef Emeril Lagasse blew a scorching path upwards. Demand for his name surged nearly 900%. Interest in his recipes boiled over. Queries for "emeril cancelled" caught on fire. Bam!
Both the Food Network and the New Orleans power cook say their relationship hasn't soured. Emeril remains firmly in position at the helm of his other show, "The Essence of Emeril." Yet, we have to wonder: Has the TV chef's popularity gone stale with the cable channel's viewers?
We can't answer that question. But we do know how the Food Network's gastro-hosts stacked up in Buzz last week. And Emeril didn't do so badly. In the studio kitchen, as in pretty much every other venue, the pretty ladies turn the most heads. The fact that Emeril kicked it up a notch above va-va-voom Giada is a tribute to his draw...