Thursday, April 11, 2002 | 8:23 a.m.
Although celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse's latest creation is for children, don't expect him to kick it down a notch.
"A lot of people are intimidated by cooking," Lagasse said in a recent phone interview from his New Orleans office. "But not kids. They are always coming up to me, so interested in the recipes."
Hence the busy chef's recent publication of a children's cookbook.
"Emeril's There's a Chef in My Soup! Recipes for the Kid in Everyone," (HarperCollinsChildren's Books, $22.99), hit stores March 26. In two weeks it has climbed to No. 5 on the New York Times Children's Best Sellers List.
Lagasse will sign copies of his book Friday at Borders Book Shop on North Rainbow Boulevard.
The cookbook's colorful pages brim with lip-smacking, easy-to-make recipes infused with Lagasse's trademark flair, such as Kicked-Up Scrambled Eggs, Crispy-Crunchy Granola Munchies and Notches Unknown PBJ.
"It's written to keep kids focused," Lagasse said. "It continually breaks the recipes down to make it simple but fun."
Lagasse, 43, has built a name for himself kicking taste buds up a notch with Cajun- inspired meals.
He has two hit shows on the popular Food Network (Cox cable channel 42) -- "Emeril Live" and "Essence of Emeril" -- four restaurants in New Orleans, two in Florida and two in Las Vegas (Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian, and Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at MGM Grand), and has published seven cookbooks for adults.
Not all of Lagasse's creations have panned out, however. In November 2001 his NBC sitcom, "Emeril," was canceled after only a handful of the shows aired.
"I met a lot of nice people and learned a lot doing ('Emeril')," Lagasse said. "But the critics felt I was somewhere I shouldn't be and they have that much power (to influence ratings). It's sad, but true."
Meanwhile, Lagasse said, he is sticking to what he knows best -- food.
His Tchoup Chop (pronounced Chop Chop), an Asian and Polynesian restaurant, will open at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., in late fall, and an upscale-restaurant cookbook is also planned.
He is considering writing a second children's book sometime in the future and plans to possibly take another stab at a prime-time network show.
"I'm just glad to be back with what I'm doing," Lagasse said. "I'm happy, healthy and glad to be alive."
The children's cookbook idea sprouted in 1998 when Lagasse was at the beginning of his culinary celebrity.
The time was ripe to publish, Lagasse said, considering 10 percent of the "Emeril Live" viewing audience is made up of children age 2-17 and he receives hundreds of fan letters monthly from children requesting recipes or cooking tips.
"These kids know what a shiitake mushroom is by the time they are 10 or 12," Lagasse said. "I didn't know what a shiitake mushroom was at that age."
The book took four years to write because of the extensive research conducted by Lagasse. He gathered children in New York and New Orleans in what he called "mini cook-camps." Over milk and cookies, Lagasse and the youngsters discussed recipes, kitchen concerns, such as working with the stove, and why they enjoyed cooking.
The desire the children expressed to be a part of their family's food experience was astonishing, Lagasse said. They craved to help in the shopping for and choosing and preparing of meals.
"I've seen a tremendous interest from these kids," Lagasse said. "They know a lot more about food than we give them credit. They enjoy it."
As a boy, Lagasse said cooking opened his mind to a world of tastes and self-expression.
"It was very important to me," Lagasse said.
Lagasse was born in Fall River, Mass., in 1959, and is one of three children of a French-Canadian father, John, a former textile-mill worker, and a Portuguese mother, Hilda, who first taught him the joy of cooking.
His mother helped him chop vegetables and stir in broth for the first soup he made, standing on a chair over the boiling pot.
"I have such good memories of my mother and I cooking," Lagasse said. "I will always have that."
Lagasse moved to New Orleans 19 years ago after the birth of his two daughters -- Jessica, 23, and Jillian, 20 -- from his first marriage.
Both daughters learned to cook watching Lagasse. With his support they branched out and attempted recipes of their own in his commercial kitchens.
They still share that food bond with their father and occasionally call him for recipes -- something that gives him great pride.
"They cook for themselves or their friends," Lagasse said. "They enjoy it. They'll never go hungry."
To nurture the body and soul with a healthy and tasty meal is a lesson that Lagasse hopes his book will instill in budding cooks, large and small.
"There's a connection between the table and the heart when you sit down to a nice meal you cooked," Lagasse said. "It's something to be proud of."
Cooking is a conduit through which parents can bond with their children as they help them learn about nutrition, family recipes and discipline by following a recipe, he said. It also teaches math, reading, logic and cultivates creativity.
"When all is said and done, I did this book in hopes that there is an increase in the family around the table," Lagasse said. "If that happens, then I'll be happy."
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