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Emeril Lagasse takes culinary skills to U.S. troops with 'Emeril Green'

By Cristina Kinon
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, June 26th 2009, 4:00 AM
Chef Emeril Lagasse works with a soldier in his 'Emeril Green' military special.

On a recent visit to the Army base at Fort Lee outside Richmond, Va., Emeril Lagasse whipped up a meal of potato and corn chowder, jambalaya and chicken potpie, with a bread pudding for dessert, using military rations only.
The famed chef was on hand to teach the men and women of the Army Center of Excellence Subsistence (ACES) how to cook healthy meals using limited ingredients for two specials for his Planet Green series "Emeril Green."
"Operation Emeril" and "Emeril Salutes the Military" will air back-to-back on Monday, starting at 8 p.m.
"I'm pretty actively involved with the military because I think they're incredible human beings," Lagasse told the Daily News. "If I can give back to them for what they're doing for us, it's a good thing. And I think to have happy soldiers, you need to feed them well."
In the first special, "Operation Emeril," Lagasse unveils a new kitchen the Army will now be using in the field.
"They're called the CK3s, and they can be dropped out of an airplane or shipped out anywhere in the world," said Lagasse. "With a group of culinary soldiers, we cooked lunch for 350 in the battalion."
For "Emeril Salutes the Military," Lagasse helped train new soldiers in culinary arts. "I worked with some of the instructors, planning a meal," Lagasse said. "We fed 100 new soldiers arriving at the base."
"Emeril Green," his ongoing series at Planet Green, will explore cooking outside of the supermarket throughout the rest of the season, said Lagasse. In addition to the military specials, he also plans to travel to the Virginia countryside for barbecue, as well as Napa Valley for wine.
"This show is really evolving. I have a great relationship with Planet Green - this is my second year and hopefully, I'll at least get a third year with them," Lagasse said. "My Food Network shows, 'Emeril Live' and 'Essence of Emeril,' are not in production right now, but I wouldn't say that I'm necessarily leaving Food Network. I have a lot of television still in me. I enjoy teaching people, so it's just a matter of time before I do something new."
In addition to his continuing work with Planet Green, Lagasse also has a new book out, "Emeril at the Grill," and recently made a guest appearance on "Jon & Kate Plus 8, which airs on Planet Green's sister network, TLC.
"At a network party, I was on the elevator with Jon and Kate and the kids, who I think are so adorable, and I turned around and said, 'Maybe I should come on the show and give you guys some new ideas to feed your kids,' because Kate does most of the cooking for the family," said Lagasse. "When it finally worked for everyone's schedule, I went to their house and had a great day with them. When I shot it, it was pre-what's going on in their life right now, so I didn't really sense any of that when I was there. I had a blast with the kids."