Love him or hate him, one thing is clear, the Food Network did not make Emeril Lagasse, Emeril made the Food Network.
The Food Network is taking Emeril Lagasse off its menu.
The bam!-tastic chef, whose Emeril Live! has served as the cornerstone of the cable net’s prime-time lineup for the past decade, will cease production on his long-running nightly cooking show on Dec. 11.
Unlike fellow celebrity chef Mario Batali’s tie-severing split from the network earlier this year, leftovers—er, reruns—of Lagasse’s show will continue to air. And despite ceasing production on the live show, the New Orleans native will continue to film new episodes of Essence of Emeril, his audience-free afternoon affair, “for the foreseeable future.”
“I am deeply appreciative to all the unbelievable staff—many who have been with the show since the beginning—and all the loyal viewers, and the many talented guests who have appeared on the show through the years,” the chef said in a statement.
“I look forward to continuing my association with the Food Network with The Essence of Emeril and I have lots of new ideas cooking.”
The Food Network made clear that Lagasse was abandoning the show only, not the network as a whole, and said they would continue to “pursue specials and other opportunities in the future.”
“Emeril Live! has been an incredible journey and a great collaboration between Emeril Lagasse and Food Network for over 10 years,” the cable net said in a statement. “Emeril has been the cornerstone of Food Network’s success and helped pave the way for chefs on TV.”
“Food Network and Emeril look forward to continuing our long partnership and Emeril remains an integral part of the Food Network family.”
While for the time being Lagasse is remaining on board with the cable net, despite the abrupt end of his long-running series, his five-year contract with Food Network is due to expire in May 2008.
While no reason has been given by either the network or the chef for the show’s sudden expiration—aside from network publicist Carrie Welch telling the Associated Press that “all good things come to an end”—failed contract negotiations between Lagasse and parent company E.W. Scripps are reportedly behind the series’ demise. Lagasse has been a part of the Food Network’s lineup since the channel debuted in 1993.
The network, however, first showed signs of wavering confidence in Emeril Live! back in July, when it bumped the program from it’s longtime 8 p.m. time slot to the less prestigious 7 p.m. slot. The show which replaced it, Good Eats with Alton Brown, regularly trounced Lagasse’s numbers, averaging 13 percent more viewers than the live series.
