Team

Originally from Mexico, Chef Ivan Rojas grew up on a farm where he learned an appreciation for fresh ingredients. In 1995, Rojas moved to the United States, where he began his career in the restaurant industry as a dishwasher. He held positions as a butcher, saucier, and then Sous Chef at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica. In May of 2006, Rojas moved to Las Vegas and joined the Emeril’s family as a Butcher at Delmonico Steakhouse. In November 2007, he was promoted to Sous Chef, in March 2013, he was promoted to Executive Sous Chef, and in July 2021, he was named Chef de Cuisine.
Chef Ivan and his wife Maria have two beautiful daughters, Ivanna and D’lila. As a family, they enjoy spending time outside tending to their garden of fresh herbs and vegetables. They raise goats from which they make their own goat’s cheese and chickens to get fresh eggs. A typical meal at the Rojas house always incorporates some of their favorite home-grown ingredients for salads, chimichurris, or a breakfast of Steak and Eggs.

Growing up in Bakersfield, CA, Mike Jones was a big fan of Chef Emeril Lagasse and credited him as an influence for his career in the restaurant industry. Jones’ first exposure to the industry was as a teenager washing dishes at Narducci’s Cafe. After graduating high school, he continued working at Narducci’s as a cook and was soon promoted to Kitchen Manager. Jones studied Culinary Arts at Bakersfield College and in 2004 moved to Las Vegas to attend Le Cordon Bleu.

Jones has worked at Rosemary’s Restaurant as a server and bartender, for Chef Michael Jordan as an Assistant General Manager, and was a part of the opening team at Morels French Steakhouse and Bistro in the Palazzo. He has worked at Garfield’s as the Beverage Director, at Todd English’s P.U.B as the lead bartender, and was the General Manager of PUB 365 at Tuscany Casino. After leaving Tuscany Casino, Jones took the opportunity with a smaller company to open three locations of Rockin Crawfish.

In 2017 Jones was hired as a dining room manager at Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House and was later named General Manager. In 2018 he transferred to Delmonico Steakhouse as a dining room manager until quickly being promoted to Assistant General Manager. In January of 2024, Jones was named General Manager of Delmonico Steakhouse.

In his free time, Jones enjoys camping and hiking with his wife, Janina. Janina is a wildlife Biologist, and together they like to travel to places where they can enjoy the great outdoors. Zion and the Duck Creek area of Utah are some of their favorite spots. Jones also enjoys restoring cars and still owns his original 1973 Datsun 240z that he’s had since high school. His family is of Syrian and Irish descent, and cooking together, particularly Syrian food, is their labor of love.

Dylan Amos is the Wine Director for Emeril Lagasse's Las Vegas Restaurants where he has been curating the acclaimed wine programs since January 2011. Under meticulous guidance and constant refinement, his wine lists have earned prestigious Wine Spectator Awards, including the Grand Award, granted to less than 100 restaurants worldwide.  Originally from Kentucky, Amos has been a Sommelier since 2003.  He is passionate about wines that have a story to tell and the magic created by good friends, good food and good wine.  Dylan continues to infuse his passion and creativity for wine into our restaurants. His leadership underscores our commitment to exceptionally robust, world-class wine programs at Delmonico Steakhouse and Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House in Las Vegas.

Emeril Lagasse is the chef/proprietor of 8 restaurants, including three in New Orleans (Emeril’s, Meril, and Emeril’s Table at the MSY Airport); two in Las Vegas (Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House and Delmonico Steakhouse); one in Miramar Beach, Florida (Emeril’s Coastal); and his most recent and his first restaurants at sea, Emeril’s Bistro 1396 on Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras and Emeril’s Bistro 1397 on Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration.

As a national TV personality, he has hosted more than 2,000 shows on the Food Network and was a food correspondent for ABC's "Good Morning America." Most notably, Amazon launched an original series featuring Lagasse called Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse. The series received five daytime Emmy nominations and won Outstanding Culinary Program.  The series was also a James Beard semifinalist in the category Outstanding Personality of Host. Lagasse has appeared as a guest judge in five seasons of Bravo’s hit food series, “Top Chef,” and two seasons of “Top Chef Jr”.  He was named a co-host on three seasons of the “Rachael Ray Show.” Most recently, The Roku Channel released two original series, "Emeril Tailgates" and "Emeril Cooks."  Lagasse is the bestselling author of 19 cookbooks, the latest titled Essential Emeril: Favorite Recipes and Hard-Won Wisdom from My Life in the Kitchen.

In 2002, Lagasse established the Emeril Lagasse Foundation to support children’s educational programs that inspire and mentor young people through the culinary arts, nutrition, healthy eating, and important life skills. To date, the Foundation has distributed over $18 million in grants benefitting children’s charities in New Orleans, Las Vegas and on the Gulf Coast. In 2013, Lagasse was named the Humanitarian of the Year by the James Beard Foundation for his dedicated efforts to further the culinary arts in America, as well as his philanthropic work supporting children’s educational programs through his Foundation.

Lagasse's restaurant company, The Emeril Group, is located in New Orleans and houses culinary operations and a test kitchen for recipe development. For more information visit emerilsrestaurants.com.