The Alton Brown thread.

[TerraMGP]

I'm a fangirl.

I fully admit it. I feel no shame in it, and quite frankly I'm Proud that I am a massive Alton brown fangirl. I have seen every episode of the show at least five times and often try any vegetarian dish I find on the show if I have the equipment. I watch any food network special hes on, watch iron Chef America almost entirely because of him, Cat Cora and Mario Batali (I'm sorry Bobby Flay fans but I really just can't stand the man, and Morimoto does not get shown enough to count.) In short I am a fangirl in the sense of Japanese girls being fangirls for the newest cute monster pet thingy that they come out with each month.

That being said, I thought it was only right to get peoples impressions on the man and to open up a topic to discuss his work be it Good eats, Feasting on Asphalt or even his cook books. Frankly I think the man really should be celebrated considering he is one of the last few people on American Television to take the job seriously and to do it out of passion rather than out of pay.

How do I know this? Well for one thing he spends the whole of his budget for his primary show 'Good eats' on the show. Literally. The man rolls his entire budget back into the show including what he would be paid, instead making his money from apperences, book signings, book sales, DVD sales and guest appearances. Now this may not sound like much until you consider that Good eats is one of the most popular shows on food network. His approch of exploring the Minutia of food science and giving detailed reasoning behind the various operations of food preparation make it feel more like a properly run Engineering class as opposed to a cooking lesson. To compound this he actually spends time writing, directing and integrating research done by his assistants into the show in a wide array of fields from Anthropology, history, folklore, various sciences and sometimes even more obscure fields.

Now granted his staff most likely work their collective butts off as well, but with all of this time and work put in he still chooses to roll more money into the show which requires him to take up MORE of his time to make money for his family. All this from a man whos biggest claim to fame before starting his show was an REM video.

So I would like to know your thoughts on the man, be they good bad or indifferent, or if you have yet to see anything from him go try to watch an episode of 'good eats' on Food network. I promise you won't be disappointed.

 

[Meatstorm]

I've never really heard of the man since apparently his shows arent shown outside of america (atleast in finland they arent) Ill go search for "good eats"

EDIT: It was good, better than most cooking shows i've seen.

 

[xitel]

I think he's a very charismatic man, and he really shines on the camera. He's a great host, much better than most of the hosts Food Network has on nowadays.

 

[stormcaller]

I certainly like his approach to cooking, I think the only food channel show I watch more is the surreal gourmet because I'm trying to figure out how his hair does that.

 

[chefassassin2]

I'm Also a huge Alton Brown fan. I like the fact that he's not just a "hey look what I can do!" kind of guy. He genuinly wants to understand food and why certain things happen while cooking. I'm also the kind of cook that appreciates food science, so I'm a huge fan of Alton. he's a guy I can look up to and say, "yup, he gets it."

 

[Lord Beautiful]

I'm a fan of him as well. Back when I first saw him, he struck me as the Adam Sessler of cooking (though Alton being a much less neurotic person, and Adam not being a complete sell-out at the time).

 

[SimuLord]

Alton Brown is the only person worth watching on Food Network these days. I've been a fan of Good Eats for so long that I can actually remember when Food Network first aired it way back in 2000. It took Alton a few episodes to really find his narrative voice but once he nailed it he absolutely knocked it out of the park---Good Eats is, if not THE best cooking show ever made, second only to The French Chef (in which Julia Child invented the modern cooking show on the fly.)

 

[sirdanrhodes]

I am just posting to ask, what is Alton Brown?

 

[Dogeman5]

I like "Good Eats"
Reminds me of Bill Nye...

 

[AuntyEthel]

Never heard of him, though he sounds better than Ainsley Harriot or Jamie fuckin Oliver.

 

[mitsoxfan]

Alton Brown can be enjoyable. Though I'm less of a fan of his hosting Iron Chef.

I suppose if you take his show at face-value, that it's more about the 'sceience' than it is about cooking flair, then I suppose it's decent. Some episodes are interesting, and I do find some of his suggestions helpful. I picked up quick on the use of a meat thermometer, which now I couldn't live without. As well as magnetic spice racks.

But measuring ingredients using a scale, deep frying a turkey using rope, pulleys and a ladder, using a cardboard box as a smoker, and some of the other over-the-top things he does just seems more time consuming than it's worth. Though, again, I guess that's sort of his shtick.

Sorry, but if I'm going to deep fry a turkey, it's going to be in my carpeted basement, in a small pot, using nothing but bacon grease and an acetylene torch.(And MIT was never heard from again).

His show, I forget the name, where he travels I find a lot more interesting. When he's not crashing his motorcycle that is.

 

[TerraMGP]

Alton Brown can be enjoyable. Though I'm less of a fan of his hosting Iron Chef.

I suppose if you take his show at face-value, that it's more about the 'sceience' than it is about cooking flair, then I suppose it's decent. Some episodes are interesting, and I do find some of his suggestions helpful. I picked up quick on the use of a meat thermometer, which now I couldn't live without. As well as magnetic spice racks.

But measuring ingredients using a scale, deep frying a turkey using rope, pulleys and a ladder, using a cardboard box as a smoker, and some of the other over-the-top things he does just seems more time consuming than it's worth. Though, again, I guess that's sort of his shtick.

Sorry, but if I'm going to deep fry a turkey, it's going to be in my carpeted basement, in a small pot, using nothing but bacon grease and an acetylene torch.(And MIT was never heard from again).

His show, I forget the name, where he travels I find a lot more interesting. When he's not crashing his motorcycle that is.

Well to each their own. Kind of the same complaint my dad has about him.

Also you are thinking about his two "Feasting on Asphalt" specials and the followup "Feasting on waves".

 

[mitsoxfan]

Alton Brown can be enjoyable. Though I'm less of a fan of his hosting Iron Chef.

I suppose if you take his show at face-value, that it's more about the 'sceience' than it is about cooking flair, then I suppose it's decent. Some episodes are interesting, and I do find some of his suggestions helpful. I picked up quick on the use of a meat thermometer, which now I couldn't live without. As well as magnetic spice racks.

But measuring ingredients using a scale, deep frying a turkey using rope, pulleys and a ladder, using a cardboard box as a smoker, and some of the other over-the-top things he does just seems more time consuming than it's worth. Though, again, I guess that's sort of his shtick.

Sorry, but if I'm going to deep fry a turkey, it's going to be in my carpeted basement, in a small pot, using nothing but bacon grease and an acetylene torch.(And MIT was never heard from again).

His show, I forget the name, where he travels I find a lot more interesting. When he's not crashing his motorcycle that is.

Well to each their own. Kind of the same complaint my dad has about him.

Also you are thinking about his two "Feasting on Asphalt" specials and the followup "Feasting on waves".

Yes, his 'feating on' series are very interesting. I like that sort of show, going around finding different foods. Sort of like the strange food shows with Bourdain and zimmern.

Brown is very genuine, and a lot like Andrew Zimmern in how he approaches people and their culture. I find Bourdain to come off a little smug (though still respectful of other cultures).

Anyway, yes, to each their own!

 

[mattttherman3]

I am a Chef Ramsey fan, don't care much for his cooking but I love his approach to customer service and his attitude

 

[MintyFreshBreathGuy]

My whole family loves that show to death. He's funny, charismatic, original (I say because he gives the history of the food and does the cooking instead of just standing in front of a stove saying what they need next) and all around a funny guy. Though his food does tend to be a little spicy, or so I hear, I still like him.

 

[Ionami]

I love Gordon Ramsey. I would let him yell at me all day. (As long as he let me work in one of his kitchens.)

Don't really know this guy.

 

[SimuLord]

Where regards Good Eats, thank the gods for copyright infringers on YouTube. They put up whole seasons, Food Network files copyright claims, seasons get taken down, users create new accounts and re-upload. It's like putting a bunch of tricorne hats on a Hydra.

 

[zoozilla]

I didn't watch his show for a while when I saw him in a commercial on Food Network, and he looked older than I remembered.

I'm sorry for his hair loss, he's a really great guy.
Some episodes of "Eats" are pretty corny, but that just adds to the charm.

 

[brtshstel]

I really like his scientific explanation to food and cooking. Furthermore, I'm kinda OCD, and I notice how uniform he chops and measures. He keeps his shit clean and orderly too, which shows a degree of professionalism.

 

[House25]

I'm a fangirl.

I fully admit it. I feel no shame in it, and quite frankly I'm Proud that I am a massive Alton brown fangirl. I have seen every episode of the show at least five times and often try any vegetarian dish I find on the show if I have the equipment. I watch any food network special hes on, watch iron Chef America almost entirely because of him, Cat Cora and Mario Batali (I'm sorry Bobby Flay fans but I really just can't stand the man, and Morimoto does not get shown enough to count.) In short I am a fangirl in the sense of Japanese girls being fangirls for the newest cute monster pet thingy that they come out with each month.

That being said, I thought it was only right to get peoples impressions on the man and to open up a topic to discuss his work be it Good eats, Feasting on Asphalt or even his cook books. Frankly I think the man really should be celebrated considering he is one of the last few people on American Television to take the job seriously and to do it out of passion rather than out of pay.

How do I know this? Well for one thing he spends the whole of his budget for his primary show 'Good eats' on the show. Literally. The man rolls his entire budget back into the show including what he would be paid, instead making his money from apperences, book signings, book sales, DVD sales and guest appearances. Now this may not sound like much until you consider that Good eats is one of the most popular shows on food network. His approch of exploring the Minutia of food science and giving detailed reasoning behind the various operations of food preparation make it feel more like a properly run Engineering class as opposed to a cooking lesson. To compound this he actually spends time writing, directing and integrating research done by his assistants into the show in a wide array of fields from Anthropology, history, folklore, various sciences and sometimes even more obscure fields.

Now granted his staff most likely work their collective butts off as well, but with all of this time and work put in he still chooses to roll more money into the show which requires him to take up MORE of his time to make money for his family. All this from a man whos biggest claim to fame before starting his show was an REM video.

So I would like to know your thoughts on the man, be they good bad or indifferent, or if you have yet to see anything from him go try to watch an episode of 'good eats' on Food network. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Well, I saw one episode where he practically made fun of fangirls. It was the Potato episode based on the movie Misery.

I'm just saying I'm also a huge fan.