Media Contact:
Elizabeth Ray, ERay@FRLA.org, 850.224.2250 x255
Christina Johnson, Christina@On3PR.com, 850.391.5040
Chef Emeril Lagasse Highlights Space Coast Restaurants on National TV
(Tallahassee, FL) – The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) is proud to present this week’s episode of Emeril’s Florida airing Sunday, January 18, 2015, at 2:30 p.m. EST on the Cooking Channel. In Sunday’s episode, “Space Coast,” celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse visits three restaurants on the east coast of the state. Emeril rounds out the episode cooking a local seafood dish, Florida Lobster with Pappardelle.
“With more than 1400 restaurants and 72 miles of coastline on the Space Coast, there is no shortage of dining options or picturesque views,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “The FRLA member restaurants featured on this week’s episode of Emeril’s Florida have become local favorites and continue to attract both residents and tourists with their memorable menus and savory cuisines that are as alluring as the area in which they reside.”
At his first stop on the “Space Coast” episode, Emeril visits with Alex Litras, the owner of Cafe Margaux in Cocoa. Alex is from Brooklyn, New York and has always had a love of cooking. He opened Café Margaux as a French bistro with his former wife, Pamela Litras, and originally did all the cooking. After a few years, they hired a chef and moved towards continental cuisine. Now, each dish is inspired by different and often multiple regions of the world. Emeril and Alex sit down to discuss his restaurant and sample some of Cafe Margaux’s signature dishes including Colorado Grass-Fed Bison Bourguignon, Lump Florida Blue Crab Cakes on Cannellini Bean and Scallion Relish, and Long Island Duck & Porcini Mushroom Lasagna.
Emeril’s next stop is The Fat Snook in Cocoa Beach. John and Mona Foy moved to Cocoa Beach from Ohio and noticed a void in the cuisine options – no one did creative seafood and land options. With the help of their two children, they opened The Fat Snook in 2007. A true family owned and operated business, Mona is the culinary brains and John runs the business end of things. Their son, Cory, does most of the day-to-day cooking, and their daughter, Lindsey, helps manage both The “Snook” location and Crush Eleven, their new California cuisine establishment nearby. The cuisine at The Fat Snook is inventive, particularly for the area, and they locally source seafood and produce as much they can. Emeril talks with Chef Mona Foy and tries some of her favorites from the restaurant including Florida Spiny Lobster Ravioli; Sambal Crab Cake, and Cinnamon Smoked Chocolate Chili Sorbet.
At Emeril’s final stop in the Space Coast episode, he meets the Himmeroeder family who own and operate Cafe Coconut Cove in Melbourne Beach. Chef Franz-Peter and his wife, Ellen Himmeroeder, first visited Florida’s Space Coast from Germany in 1969 and they became captivated by its beauty and charm. They moved with their two children, Renee and Dennis, in 1985 but left behind their restaurant. By 1987 they had opened Café Coconut Cove as its replacement and it has been a family-affair ever since. The reputation of their authentic German cuisine and family charm continues to keep regulars and tourists alike visiting for years. The menu at Cafe Coconut Cove is heavily German with schnitzels, sauerbraten, bratwurst and goulash but they also serve International cuisine for customers looking for a non-German meal. For Emeril they stayed with their German dishes and share with him the Goulash Plate with Spaetzle; a Combination Plate which included the Jaeger Schnitzel, Bratwurst Sauerbraten and Red Cabbage; and Black Forest Cake and Apple Strudel.
The show reruns on Monday, January 19 at 9:30 a.m. EST and Thursday, January 22 at 10:30 a.m. EST. Please check local listings.
Emeril’s Florida Season Three is a 13-episode series highlighting the Sunshine State through the eyes of Emeril on-location with a focus on food, cooking, events and activities around the state. Throughout the third season, Emeril will be visiting Florida’s top restaurants and resorts. He will also prepare some of his favorite recipes which often will feature some of the best seafood Florida has to offer. The FRLA and VISIT FLORIDA sponsor the series. For additional information on the series, including links to previous episodes, please go to the Cooking Channel website here. For a preview of Sunday’s episode, click here.
Editor’s Note:
For photo and video requests of Emeril Lagasse with local chefs, and recipes of featured dishes, please contact Elizabeth Ray at ERay@FRLA.org or 850.224.2250 x255, or Christina Johnson at Christina@On3PR.com or 850.391.5040.
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About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association
FRLA is Florida’s premier non-profit hospitality industry trade association. Our mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s $76.1 billion hospitality industry which represents 23% of Florida’s economy, $4.6 billion in sales tax revenue, and nearly 1.1 million employees – making it the state’s number one industry. We offer regulatory compliance and food safety training needs (RCS and SafeStaff®); industry developed career-building high school programs (FRLAEF); sponsor the only event in Florida exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry (FR&L Show, October 6-8, 2015 in Orlando); and we safeguard the needs of the hospitality industry by providing legislative advocacy. We represent and serve more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks. For more information, go to www.FRLA.org and find us on Twitter @FRLAnews, Facebook and YouTube.