Books make great gifts because they expand your horizons and keep you cooking.

Books make great gifts because they expand your horizons and keep you cooking.

When I cook with my son, I might chop vegetables and have fun with different shapes. Cooking is a way to teach kids about other things, like reading or math with all of the weights and measures. There are so many things that are part of cooking that are also very educational.

I think you have to be careful with spices. Kids' palates can be very delicate, and they might not like things overspiced. In my cookbooks for kids, I do a milder version of my signature spice blend, Emeril's Essence, called Baby Bam, which has no cayenne pepper.

When I first decided to open a restaurant, I was turned down by several banks. It was the late 80's and many restaurants were failing. I refused to give up because I knew I had a good concept.

Food is very representative of a city's culture. In order to really get to know a place and the people, you've got to eat the food.

We're setting up an urban farm for kids on more than 20 acres in New Orleans. We want to make this a world-class educational center for the community.