David McCelvey

As director of culinary operations for Emeril’s homebase in New Orleans, Chef David McCelvey literally has his hands in a lot of pots. He oversees the day-to-day operations of Emeril Lagasse’s nine restaurants, as well as the writing of his shows, “Emeril LIVE” and “Essence of Emeril,” and cookbook recipe testing and development. “Still, my favorite thing to do is to cook,” McCelvey recently told nearly 200 culinary students at Johnson & Wales University’s Providence Campus.  
 
McCelvey got a taste of his future while a culinary student at the Culinary Institute of America when he was tapped to work with the up-and-coming Emeril Lagasse at the Aspen Food & Wine Festival. Years later, in 1992, McCelvey would open Lagasse’s second restaurant, NOLA. He served as chef du cuisine of NOLA for six years before taking the reigns of Emeril’s and finally Delmonico.
 
McCelvey said the reason he has stayed with Emeril for so long is that he is: “So intense and demanding. He challenged me. He made me a better chef and a better person.”
“Emeril’s is the best employer out there,” said McCelvey. “But it’s not for everyone.” He said that because it is a fast-paced, aggressive work environment, candidates must be self-starters who are willing to work 60 or 70 hour weeks. The company promotes from within and has a serious attitude towards training managers. “We don’t want good people to get away,” he said.
 
He advised the students that their culinary education would be much appreciated in the “real world.  You as a future operations manager have a lot more responsibility than your predecessors did 20 years ago. There is a need for quality control in restaurants. It all starts with you. Good food safety and quality control only makes food taste better.”