If I was going to sail around the world on a sailboat and was able to chose anyone to accompany me on the journey it would be Alton Brown — the man can jury-rig anything, make you laugh at what you think is catastrophe, and use any item under the Sun to cook a gourmet meal.
“You must think like MacGyver!” says Brown and he does. He uses uses a plastic bag with a cut out corner to apply batter instead of a piping bag; makes a shredder by attaching a cheese grater to a folded cardboard pizza box, and transforms a paper shredder into a pasta machine; there’s nothing in Brown’s utensil arsenal that’s not multipurpose. And speaking of multipurpose, Brown is multi-talented: he received a degree in drama from the University of Georgia and has worked as a cinematographer, video director, and steadicam operator; he is an author and actor; aspiring aviator, and worked with GE on developing a new type of oven.
Brown trained at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont and is the creator, writer, producer and host of the television show Good Eats, the commentator on Iron Chef, and produced two miniseries — Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves.
Brown has written five books:
I’m Just Here for the Food and a
(I’m Just Here for the Food: Kitchen User’s Manual)
One of the bestselling cookbooks of 2002
Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen
An essential guide to all the “hardware”you need in the kitchen.
I’m Just Here for More Food
On baking.
Feasting on Asphalt
Released March 2008, which documents his motorcycle adventures sampling road food from New Orleans to the Mississippi River in Minnesota.
Good Eats: The Early Years
The first of a three-volume set which hits bookstore shelves October 2009. The book includes the first 80 episodes, 140 updated recipes, scientific data, factoids and tips, along with screen grabs, behind-the-scene photos and AB-style illustrations.
Brown’s books have won awards, praise, and accolades in the foodie world and a few have been on the best seller lists of both Amazon and the New York Times.
In April 2007, Good Eats was recognized as a Peabody Award winner. Now in its fifth season, Food Network airs Good Eats sixteen times each week. As only Brown can do, his show includes an eclectic blend of comedy, kitchen skill, pop culture, and practical tips. Brown recently told NPR’s Liane Hansen he credits ’90s-era kids show Pee-wee’s Playhouse as one of his inspirations for the show. “Laughing brains are more absorbent,” he says. After 10 years and 200-plus episodes, Brown told Hansen he isn’t really looking for new material anymore. “I think in the end there are only 20 or 30 tenets of basic cooking. It’s going at perhaps the same issue from different angles, from different points of view, from different presentation styles, that really makes things sink in and become embedded,” he says.