Fall River Chef Emeril Lagasse’s Mom Was St. Anthony Band Club President

Everyone knows that famous television Chef Emeril Lagasse was born and raised in Fall River, but did you know that Emeril's mother was also well-known around these parts?

Emeril John Lagasse III was born in Fall River on October 15, 1959. Unlike another famous ethnic son of Fall River, George Stephanopoulos, Emeril didn't blow town as a kid but stuck around and got his education in "The Riv."

Emeril's dad John Lagasse, Jr. was from Quebec. His mom Hilda Medeiros Lagasse was born in Fall River on December 8, 1931 to immigrants Emily Moniz and Manuel Medeiros.

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John and Hilda Lagasse, Jr. were married at Santo Christo Church in Fall River on February 11, 1949. Emeril was one of the couple's three children.

According to her obituary on Legacy.com, Hilda Lagasse "was a full-time homemaker who encouraged her children's interests and talents; she served as the president of St. Anthony's Band Club, was a talented seamstress, and a gifted cook."

Legacy.com says Emeril "began cooking with his mother at an early age; and he credits her for fostering his interest in the culinary arts, including teaching him how to prepare heirloom recipes from Hilda's Portuguese family."

In 1992, John and Hilda Lagasse left Fall River and resettled in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Emeril, who worked as a teenager at a Portuguese bakery, attended Fall River's Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School and Johnson & Wales University. In 1979, Emeril was made executive chef at the Dunfey's Hyannis Resort.

Emeril moved to New Orleans in 1982, where he opened his first restaurant.

Hilda Medeiros Lagasee died on August 24, 2016, at her home in New Orleans.