Rec’ing on…Whither Emeril?

It came as a shock, the news that the Food Network was ending the ten-year run of Emeril Live!. But as I thought about it, is it really such a shock after all?

When the Food Network started, it was this niche channel that boasted such familiar names as Julia Child, Jeff Smith, Martin Yan, and… no, wait… that was PBS. What the Food Network had

It came as a shock, the news that the Food Network was ending the ten-year run of Emeril Live!. But as I thought about it, is it really such a shock after all?

When the Food Network started, it was this niche channel that boasted such familiar names as Julia Child, Jeff Smith, Martin Yan, and… no, wait… that was PBS. What the Food Network had were Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, and Mario Batali. Of that trio, Emeril was certainly the best known at the time. But a lot has changed since those early days.

When you think about it, Emeril isn’t the tent pole for the network now that he was for so many years. While Mario is clearly the leader of the Iron Chefs, Bobby Flay is supplanting Emeril as the long-established face of the network. Then you have the new guard of women: Rachael Ray, Paula Dean, Cat Cora, and Giada DeLaurentis (and maybe also Sandra Lee). They are bringing a vibrancy to the network that "BAM!" wasn’t quite doing any more.

I think this really speaks well of the health of the Food Network. There is now a constellation of chefs and cooks from both genders covering a plethora of cuisines and approaches (except vegetarian, dammit… when are we going to get a descent vegetarian show on the network?).

While there is still a need for Emeril’s experience and personality, which will continue in The Essence of Emeril and other shows, the time has come when he needs to cede some ground to the rest of the network’s pantheon. Clearly, the writing was on the wall when they had Tyler Florence host the Thanksgiving pastiche special this year. Like Julia Child before, Emeril needs to become the chef emeritus of his network. He’ll always be a welcome presence on the screen, and admired for knowing when to step back and applaud those he helped to inspire.