I was on that show once....and was completely disappointed. The menu of the day was so simple a 5 year old could do it. He doesn't really do anything. He's got a staff of about 12 people in a room behind the stage doing all the prep work. During commercial breaks they bring out the next phase for him. While he was speaking about something silly, we could all hear the mixers whirring in the next room.
There was a time when cooking shows were actually educational. Now, they're just glorified sales pitches for products, places and people.
Emeril had more believability back when he first shot Essence of Emeril.