Team

Chef Lum brings more than 28 years of culinary experience to this position and rejoins the Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House team after initially working at the restaurant from 1998-2000 and 2001-2007.

Lum studied culinary arts at Kapiolani Community College. After working his way up from line cook to sous chef in various restaurants in Hawaii, including Detlef’s, Hanaki Restaurant, La Mer, and Chef Marvo Restaurant, he began working under acclaimed chef and Food Network personality, Emeril Lagasse, as a line cook at Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand in 1998. In 2007, Lum moved back to Hawaii and was the chef de cuisine at Tidepools at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa. Most recently he was the executive sous chef at The Club at Kukui’ula, Koloa in Kaua’i, Hawaii.

Louis Hamilton is the Sommelier at Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House. He is a Level 2 Certified Sommelier and is currently working on his Level 3 Advanced Sommelier Certification. Originally from Minneapolis, MN, Hamilton has been working with wine in Las Vegas for nearly 20 years. He has previously worked with Chef Daniel Boulud at the Wynn Resort and for Chef Charlie Palmer at Aureole, Mandalay Bay.  Hamilton enjoys traveling to new places to sample the local wine and cheese.  Some of his favorite places to visit are France, Canada and Mexico.  Hamilton plays tennis and billiards in his free time and is quite the canine lover.

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.