Media Contacts:
Elizabeth Ray, ERay@FRLA.org, 850.224.2250 x255
Christina Johnson, Christina@On3PR.com, 850.391.5040
(Tallahassee, FL) – The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) is proud to present this week’s episode of Emeril’s Florida airing Sunday, January 11, 2015, at 2:30 p.m. EST on the Cooking Channel. In Sunday’s episode, “Big Night Out,” celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse visits three restaurants you should consider when looking to have a exceptional night out. Emeril ends the episode by preparing a dish fit for those special nights at home, Corn Cakes with Florida Caviar and Chive Crema.
“Here in Florida we are fortunate to have dining experiences that create the perfect setting for memorable occasions,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “These wonderful restaurants achieve an ideal combination of cuisine and ambience and the FRLA hopes this episode of Emeril’s Florida encourages tourists and residents alike to celebrate a special occasion, or create one, at these establishments.”
Emeril begins the “Big Night Out” episode at Casa D’Angelo Ristorante in Fort Lauderdale. Chef and owner Angelo Elia is an award-winning, culinary expert whose philosophy of putting his patrons first has served him well. Through an artful combination of premium ingredients, masterful preparation and a superb wine selection that includes rare Italian, American, and French wines, his restaurant is widely considered one of the best Italian restaurants in South Florida. Its tremendous success even resulted in two additional locations in Boca Raton and in the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Since September 2000, Chef Elia has been honored with the “Best of Award of Excellence” from major American wine and lifestyle magazine, Wine Spectator. He has also received a “Golden Spoon Award” from Florida Trend Magazine for the past 10 years. Chef Angelo Elia shares with Emeril a few of his favorite wines while preparing Branzino Mediterranean and Homemade Pappardelle with Porcini Mushrooms.
Emeril’s next stop is Michael’s on East, Sarasota’s only AAA Four Diamond Award Restaurant known for serving some of the finest American-style food in Florida. Constantly awarded top-tier epicurean honors, Michael’s On East has been recognized by the people of Sarasota as the “Best All-around Restaurant,” “Most Elegant Restaurant,” “Best Caterer,” “Best Place to Celebrate,” and “Best Restaurant Wine List.” In addition to the restaurant, there is a ballroom for special events and a retail wine store stocked with some of the best wines from around the world. Michael Klauber, an accomplished chef and veteran of the hospitality industry, shares with Emeril the restaurant’s dedication to exceptional service both in house and throughout the Sarasota and Manatee Counties community.
Finally, Emeril travels to northeast Florida and visits The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, where southern charm, magnificent scenery and casually elegant surroundings exemplify the gentle ambience of this barrier island’s luxury beachfront resort. Emeril takes a quick tour of the resort before making his way to Salt, their fine dining restaurant honored with the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Award. Salt offers premium ocean-side dining featuring inventive American cuisine that weaves together exquisite tastes, artful presentations and tantalizing aromas. Chef de Cuisine Rick Laughlin fuels his kitchen with passion and creativity and highlights the area’s finest seasonal produce, fish and meats. Emeril takes some time to sample a few of Chef Laughlin’s favorite specialties to cook including an extraordinary dish of steak and eggs, served on a hot 250-million year old Himalayan salt block.
The show reruns on Monday, January 12 at 9:30 a.m. EST and Thursday, January 15 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 and all restaurants featured in the season are FRLA members. 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 prepared dishes, please contact Elizabeth Ray at ERay@FRLA.orgor 850.224.2250 x255, or Christina Johnson at Christina@On3PR.com or 850.391.5040.
# # #
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.