Emeril Lagasse’s four children — Jessica, Jillian, E.J and Meril — have all followed in his culinary footsteps in one way or another.
Before the celebrity chef helped launch the Food Network in the 1990s, he welcomed two daughters with his first wife, Elizabeth Kief. When Emeril was 19 years old, they celebrated the arrival of Jessica, followed by Jillian. (Emeril and Elizabeth eventually divorced in the late ’80s.)
A few decades later, Emeril met his third wife, Alden Lovelace, and by the time they married in 2000, he had three established restaurants in New Orleans. Soon after, the couple welcomed their son E.J. and daughter Meril.
Fast forward, all four Lagasse children grew up surrounded by food and homemade meals, inspiring them to take after their father in the kitchen.
Jessica and Jillian have written two cookbooks together, and E.J. now heads his father’s flagship restaurant, Emeril’s. Although Meril hasn’t followed in her dad’s culinary footsteps, Emeril named another one of his New Orleans restaurants, Meril, after her.
Though the children are spread across the country, from New Orleans to Mississippi and Florida, Emeril speaks highly of their family dynamics. “I’m very close to all of my children,” he told TIME in 2023. “We have a really great relationship, although we may be miles apart.”
Here’s everything to know about Emeril Lagasee’s children: Jessica, Jillian, E.J and Meril.
Jessica Lagasse, 45
Emeril and Elizabeth welcomed their daughter Jessica Lagasse in August 1979.
They raised Jessica and her sister Jillian in Somerset, Mass., close to Emeril’s hometown of Fall River.
Speaking to TIME in 2023, he revealed when he first became a father at 19, it was “very difficult being a parent” while also building his career — working “80 hours a week, six days a week, two jobs, trying to make ends meet.”
Though Emeril was just starting out in the culinary industry, he still tried to spend time with his daughters.
“With my first two girls, the connection was basically in the kitchen, because that’s where they had to come see me where I was working,” he said. “The prize at the end of the day would be to do a family dinner and have family time before they went to bed.”
After a few years, the family moved to New Orleans, where Emeril continued to work long hours. Eventually, he and Elizabeth split, and she moved back to the Northeast with Jessica and Jillian, leaving Emeril in a difficult “long distance relationship” with his kids.
Still, as his success grew, he kept them at the top of his priorities, arranging for them to visit him or vice versa, and they continued making food together.
The connection in the kitchen influenced Jessica’s career, and her love of food was fostered by cooking with her father, according to her and Jillian’s shared website, The Lagasse Girls.
When she was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity in 2001, Jessica began testing different recipes that she could eat on her new gluten-free diet. After a decade of experimenting, she decided to share the recipes she created through various projects, per Edible Orlando.
Collaborating with her sister Jillian, they published two cookbooks: The Gluten-Free Table: The Lagasse Girls Share Their Favorite Meals in 2012 and The Lagasse Girls’ Big Flavor, Bold Taste and No Gluten in 2014.
Though Jessica keeps her personal life private, she has been married to her husband, Steven Swanson, for over two decades, and the couple have two sons together, Jude and John Peter, per The Lagasse Girls website.
While she keeps a low profile, Emeril has posted photos of Jessica and her children on Facebook. On Thanksgiving in 2015, he shared a picture of a homemade strawberry pie made by then-7-year-old Jude. “So much to be thankful for,” he wrote in the caption.
Two years later, in April 2017, Emeril uploaded a photo of himself, Jessica and her two sons dying Easter eggs alongside E.J. and Meril.
Jillian Lagasse, 43
Emeril and Elizabeth welcomed their daughter Jillian Lagasse on Oct. 10, 1981.
For a time, Jillian followed her father’s culinary career path as well. When she first showed an interest in cooking at a young age, Emeril gave her her first pair of chef’s whites and let her help in the pastry and dessert department at one of his restaurants, per The Lagasse Girls website.
Jillian then assisted her father in creating his cookbooks, attending cooking events and book tours. These experiences eventually evolved into working with her sister on their two shared cookbooks.
Similar to her sister’s gluten intolerance, Jillian was diagnosed with Celiac disease in 2004, and she decided to dedicate her time to sharing tips about healthy eating and cooking.
“My ultimate dream is to help educate our youth as much as I can about cooking skills and food education,” she told The Herald News in 2015. “I feel that they are crucial life skills that everyone should have.”
At the same time Jillian was delving into cookbook creation with her sister, she also charted a different career path in the beauty industry.
In 2004, she moved to London to attend makeup school and began her career in Los Angeles and New York City. Jillian worked in luxury spas and hotels as a massage therapist and aesthetician for over 18 years.
Simultaneously, she worked alongside her father as a staff makeup artist for his shows The Originals on the Cooking Channel and Emeril’s Table on the Hallmark Channel, per The Lagasse Girls website.
In the spring of 2024, Jillian left the luxury hotel industry to work as an aesthetician at Blush Beauty Lounge in Sarasota, Fla., where she focuses on lymphatic drainage massage and facials.
While she keeps her private life off social media, Jillian is married to her husband, Andrew Yeum, and they share one child together — their daughter, Eleanor “Ellie” Yeum.
Emeril is a proud grandfather: In September 2019, he posted a photo on Facebook of him and his wife Alden with Ellie. “What a great day spending time with my Ellie boo,” he captioned the post.
A month later, Emeril shared a throwback snap in honor of Jillian’s birthday — posting a picture of her sitting on his shoulders as a child with a simple “happy birthday” caption.
Emeril John “E.J.” Lagasse IV, 21
Emeril and Alden welcomed their son Emeril John “E.J.” Lagasse IV on March 30, 2003.
E.J. has most closely followed his father’s career footsteps, working in professional kitchens since he was a child, per The Washington Post. When he was around 10, he told his parents he wanted to be a chef after eating pomegranate-glazed duck for dinner at the famed Cafe Boulud in Manhattan.
“I remember finishing the duck, getting in the car and looking at my dad being like, ‘Yeah, I want to be a chef,’ ” E.J. recalled to the outlet in 2023. “And he was just like, ‘Oh God, oh no.’ My mom had the same reaction.”
He elaborated to CBS News that his love for cooking didn’t compare to anything else in his life. “Every young kid thinks, ‘I’m going to play a sport, I’ll be in the Olympics’ or something like that. It wasn’t what it was for me,” he said in 2023.
At 12, he began “staging” (a sort of unpaid kitchen internship) in different restaurants to learn techniques and be exposed to a variety of cuisines. By 16 — before he even graduated high school — E.J. was working alongside his dad at Emeril’s Coastal Italian restaurant in Florida and helping him at events like the Cayman Cookout in the Cayman Islands.
At the 2020 Cayman Cookout event, E.J. told PEOPLE about their father-son dynamic. “I’ve worked with him in kitchens [since] I could walk,” he said. “So that’s always kind of been a thing. But it’s great. We have a great personal relationship inside and outside the kitchen. But he is not afraid to tell me how it is, for sure.”
Emeril also shared some kind words about his son on social media. In a March 2021 Instagram post that included throwback photos of the two cooking together, the TV chef wished E.J a happy 18th birthday.
“18 years old today. This young man chose his craft and has created a path of his own. Along the way he has made us incredibly proud and I and I couldn’t be happier to work beside him. Happy 18th Birthday @ejlagasse. Love you, son,” he wrote in the caption.
After graduating from culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. — his dad’s alma mater — in May 2022, E.J. went on to work at two Michelin-starred restaurants in London and Stockholm, according to The Washington Post. Just as he was wrapping up his London job, Emeril asked E.J. to come back home and work at his flagship restaurant, Emeril’s, in New Orleans.
Within a year of working at Emeril’s, E.J got a promotion and is now at the helm as the chef patron — handling day-to-day culinary operations, per the Emeril’s website. The “new” Emeril’s, with E.J. at the reins, officially launched in October 2023, per the restaurant’s Instagram.
Outside of the kitchen, E.J and Emeril have a close relationship, with the younger Lagasse calling his dad his “best friend” in a post on Instagram. There’s no doubt that Emeril feels the same way about their unique bond.
“EJ is already a better cook than I was at his age. He exudes passion for the craft, and I really believe he has the talent, but as his parent, I want him to be happy in pursuing anything he is inspired by,” he told PEOPLE in 2021. “I do feel so lucky that we have a shared passion for cooking, though. It’s been an incredible experience for me to connect with him on that level.”
Meril Lagasse, 19
Emeril and Alden welcomed their daughter Meril Lovelace Lagasse on Dec. 10, 2004.
Though Meril hasn’t followed her father into professional cooking, she does have some culinary connections. In 2016, Emeril opened his thirteenth restaurant, Meril, in New Orleans — named after his daughter.
On opening night, he posted a photo of them wearing chef’s whites, and she donned a branded hat from the restaurant. “With my youngest daughter, Meril on opening day of Meril. So proud,” Emeril captioned the post on Facebook.
Even though Meril is not a chef like her father, Emeril shared a snap of her in one of his restaurants that same year — scoping some food in the kitchen — for her birthday.
More recently, in the fall of 2023, Meril started college at the University of Mississippi — joining her mom Alden’s sorority, Delta Delta Delta, a.k.a. Tri Delta, according to her Instagram and the Magnolia Tribune.
Alden, a Mississippi native, graduated in 1978 with a journalism degree, and her father — Meril’s grandfather — also graduated from Ole Miss in 1958, where he played on the football team (and was late drafted to the Philadelphia Eagles), per the Magnolia Tribune.
In August of that year, when Meril officially joined the sorority, Emeril congratulated her on Instagram.
“What a weekend @olemiss with @merillagasse. Congratulations Mookie, it’s going to be a great year!” he wrote alongside a photo of the two, with Meril sporting Tri Delta gear.
Emeril often shares pictures of himself and Meril on social media, usually using his nicknames for her “Mookie” and “Mook.”
In December 2023, Emeril posted a meaningful message to Meril on her birthday.
“What a year it has been. Watching you grow into the intelligent, beautiful young lady that you are has been incredible. I’m excited to see what 19 has in store for you. Love you Mook!” he captioned an Instagram photo of the two at a restaurant.
Source: People
