Alton Brown

Maybe you realized your affection for Alton Brown the first time you caught a glimpse of Good Eats on the Food Network.

Or maybe you fell in love with him during a good episode of Feasting on Asphalt.

Maybe you heard Alton's familiar, well-enunciated voice on a recent Welch's Grape Juice commercial.

Or maybe you just love those witty culinary puns. Whatever your reasons, you know that Alton Brown is just about the best there is as far as entertainment, education, and all things having to do with, well...good eats!

This page is dedicated to the food master and theatrical genius known as Alton Brown, and all the reasons that he makes the Food Network worth watching! Read on to find out a little bit about Alton's history (he wasn't always into the food business, believe it or not), what he's up to these days on tv and otherwise, and some other tidbits you may not have known about him. I've also tracked down a bunch of Alton Brown's kitchen gadgets so you can outfit your kitchen like a mad scientist! Er... cookin' pro!

So sit back and get ready to whet your food knowledge appetite with some Alton Brown info! 

image from goodeatsfansipage.com

Alton definitely has some unique fashion sense, which has mellowed a bit here and there, but sometimes you'll catch him on one of those days with one of his wacky Hawaiian shirts. Oh Alton. Very few can pull off a cheesy shirt, but you, my friend, are one of them. It's that little je ne sais quoi that keeps Good Eats fans coming back for more culinary know-how.

I gotta say, though, he cleans up nice. You'll regularly see him donning a suit as featured commentator for Iron Chef America.

image from esquire.com

Alton's kitchen has changed a bit over the years on his show, but one thing remains the same - it's awesome. With drawers that pull out of unexpected places and those delightful magnetic spice containers stuck to the insides of the cabinets, Alton's kitchen is more like a laboratory than a sicky sweet gingham factory out of Martha Stewart magazine.

I also love the little decorations he has that you might not notice right away - like his air balloon chicken, or the painting above the fireplace with the turkey wearing a bowler hat. Classic. The picture above features one of Alton's signatures - putting the camera inside the oven. See the flame-decaled mixer in the background?

Photo courtesy of uga.edu

Want to deck out your kitchen like Alton Brown's? Look no further! Whether you're looking for those stylish flame decals for your Kitchenaid Mixer, that nifty flip top salt container, or those fun squeeze measuring beakers, you can get them right here.

I received this book as a gift and just recently received its delightful sequel "I'm just here for MORE food" for my birthday! I haven't gotten through both of them yet, so I will be updating this section as I plow through.

What I CAN say is that so far I'm loving the sequel, since I've recently been a bit more interested in baking than cooking, and the style of writing is very clear and exactly how you'd expect Alton to talk if he were sitting down with you and teaching you something. The diagrams are very helpful and the whole book just has a really nice vibe going for it - not to mention the immense knowledge packed into those pages! I can't wait to read through, practice, and become a better home chef and baker as a result.

Want the books for yourself? Have a look at some Amazon reviews by exploring in the next section!

I have both of these books and I was literally in the aisles of Barnes and Noble one day with the sequel in my hands a few weeks before my birthday. I gingerly placed it back on the shelf and said to myself that I'd be back to buy it if I didn't get it as a gift, and boy was I happy to unwrap it when my brother handed me that hefty present! I fully endorse both of these books to anyone who loves Alton Brown or who just loves cooking in general.

Apparently there are some supplemental books to go with these that I didn't even know about. I've put them below as well. Hm...Christmas present, anyone? : )

I swear, if there's an easier way to do something in the kitchen, Alton Brown has figured it out. And if there's a more complex way to do something in the kitchen, well, he's figured that out, too. The key is doing the complex things simply, and you have-- Culinary Inspector Gadget.

An ordinary ball of tin foil or piece of wax paper? Nonsense! He'll turn anything into a multi-use contraption to aid in pursuing knowledge and delicious comestibles in the kitchen.

You can never have too much Alton TV. Looking for a sweet birthday or holiday gift for an Alton-fan friend? What better than the opportunity to watch chain episodes all day?!

Beauty is more than skillet deep.

The Good Eats Fanpage has some great Alton Brown Quotes from some of his more memorable episodes. Oh who am I kidding? They're all memorable.

"Slicing a warm slab of bacon is a lot like giving a ferret a shave. No matter how careful you are, someone's going to get hurt."

[on different types of potatoes] "Racism. It's ugly. Even in tubers."

"Believe me, a grain is a terrible thing to waste."

"So on one hand, honey is an amazingly sophisticated and efficient food source. On the other hand, it's bee backwash."

"That's right. Yeast belch makes bread rise."

"We're dealing with a culinary ticking time bomb."

and the ever difficult to listen to but always appreciated, "Your patience will be rewarded."

Now you can relive your favorite Good Eats episodes (or catch up on what you missed) with these books. Books?... not DVDs? Yes BOOKS! Alton has packed his reams of notes and tips, along with a hefty bunch of recipes, into books chronicling the episodes of his Good Eats series. With rave reviews from readers, you're sure to soak up all kinds of culinary wizardry in these anthologies of his long-running show.

Alton may look like an ordinary (okay maybe not so ordinary) food network celebrity but deep down, he knows his stuff. He's not just standing there reading off of cue cards telling him to add a dash of this or a pinch of that.

Alton went to the prestigious New England Culinary Institute up in Vermont, and he didn't go there as a teenager either! After an initial career in television production, he decided to bring a good, informative cooking show to the masses and dedicated himself to culinary studies. He completely immersed himself and was known for challenging his professors and getting really down to the nitty gritty to be able to fully understand everything he was learning, right down to the molecular level. That's what cooking is, afterall -- chemistry!

From the reasons behind what makes the difference between cookie dough and cake batter to the molecular formulas for ingredients and their reactions with each other, Alton is a repository of culinary know-how with the educational chops to prove it. (haha chops, food...knives...pork chops...hah...yeah...)

Join some of the Facebook groups about Alton Brown and shmooze with other Alton fans about your favorite show moments, favorite recipes, or that awesome patterned shirt he had on last time.

Alton Brown Fan Club!

Fans of Alton Brown and Good Eats

Alton Brown for FoodTV God

Alton Brown is My Hero. Why Isn't He Yours?!?

Alton Brown Army

I'm in Love with Alton Brown

Share your thoughts on Alton Brown here! Have a favorite episode? Want to share your favorite quotes? Post them below and have fun!