E.J. Lagasse gets James Beard nod

E.J. Lagasse, the chef at Emeril’s in New Orleans, is a finalist for the 2026 James Beard Award for Emerging Chef. (jamesbeard.org) The James Beard Foundation announced its restaurant and chef finalists on March 31, and winners are scheduled to be revealed on June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. (jamesbeard.org) Lagasse is one of five chefs in the national Emerging Chef category, alongside Fátima Juárez of Komal in Los Angeles, Rasheeda Purdie of Ramen by Ra in New York, Bailey Sullivan of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago, and Adrian Torres of Maximo in West University Place, Texas. (jamesbeard.org) The nomination adds to a fast rise at Emeril’s, the 35-year-old flagship restaurant his father reopened in a new format and that E.J. Lagasse now leads as chef and co-owner. Michelin said in November 2025 that, at 22, he became the youngest chef ever to lead a two-star Michelin kitchen. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin also named him its 2025 American South Young Chef Award winner, citing a career path that included work at Le Bernardin, CORE by Clare Smyth, Frantzén, and Café Boulud after he graduated from Johnson & Wales. (guide.michelin.com) His family story runs through southeastern New England as well as New Orleans. Emeril Lagasse opened 34 Restaurant & Bar in October 2024 as a Portuguese restaurant tied to his Fall River upbringing and family heritage, with E.J. part of the project. (neworleanscitybusiness.com) That restaurant closed on January 31, 2026, with the Emeril Group citing rising operating costs, but the family’s Portuguese-American connection remained central to how the project was described in New Orleans and Massachusetts coverage. (neworleanscitybusiness.com) New Orleans placed four finalists in the 2026 James Beard restaurant and chef awards: Lagasse for Emerging Chef, Ana Castro of Acamaya and Serigne Mbaye of Dakar NOLA for Best Chef: South, and Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski for Outstanding Restaurateur. (neworleans.com) For Lagasse, the June ceremony now puts a national award on top of a year that already included two Michelin stars and a growing role in one of New Orleans’ best-known restaurant families. (jamesbeard.org)