Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Alton Brown is my favorite celebrity chef


Like many of you, I’m a fan of Alton Brown, who we see regularly on “Good Eats” on the Food Network. I especially like the way he incorporates chemistry and the science of cooking into his shows. He’s been called the “Mr. Wizard” of cooking, and often uses interesting camera angles to explain how things cook. It’s a quirky but fun show that has me hooked.

On a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I got a chance to meet Alton and have my pictured taken with him at a book signing. Here’s the photo from that event. Alton, we’re on a first-name basis, appears every May at the Aquarium’s “Cooking for Solutions” gala.

When we saw him, he even put on scuba gear and ventured into the giant kelp tank in the Aquarium to give one of his lessons. His biography says he did his first scuba dive at age 12 in the Bahamas, and was introduced to the oceans by watching episodes of Jacques Cousteau.

Good Eats is celebrating its 10th anniversary and the Food Network and Alton Brown are planning a special show to mark this special anniversary. The taping is Aug. 29 and six lucky people can win a drawing to be part of the show, which is being taped in Atlanta.

I wanted to share this experience with you and wonder what food shows you like. There are a number of good ones on the Food Network. My family likes “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,”although it bugs us when host Guy Fieri wears his sunglasses backwards on his head. Can't he just take them off or put them in his pocket?

17 comments:

  1. I like Alton, too, and I hate that sunglasses thing on the back of Guy Fieri's head. And what's with his hair. That's not a natural color. That Guy guy seems like a bit of a phony (is any part of him real?), but I like seeing the nation's diners and dives.

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  2. Yes, Guy Fieri does come across some amazing greasy-spoons with unique and intriguing recipe ideas. But if I were him, I'd weigh 500 lbs by now! How does he do it?

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  3. He may not weigh 500 pounds, but I'll bet he's 250. . .

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  4. I love Alton Brown's show and I always seem to come away learning something.

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  5. I always learn something from Alton also....if I could only remember it all! That's my problem.

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  6. I was fortunate to have this salad at one of your fine dinner partys. We all gasped at your presentation, and the flavor was wonderful!

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  7. Thank you girlfriend. It was fun to do. You are the best.

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  8. This blog is as good as anything they have on the Food Network. . . Maybe you should think about getting your own television show. . .

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  9. I love Alton, too. He has humor and good info in everyone of his shows. His books are excellent.

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  10. Jen, I wish I would have kept the book I was having signed in this photo. It would have been great to have.

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  11. You are very fortunate to have his signed book. I would love one. He's the greatest, and seems very down to earth.

    Liz
    Lincoln, Nebraska

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  13. Liz, I was impressed that Alton knew how to scuba dive. His show is just plain fun. Thank you for the post.

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  14. I'm impressed that you had your picture taken with Alton Brown. Was this on his set on the Food Network?

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  15. This picture was taken at the Monterey Bay Aquarium book store. He was doing a book signing.

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  16. Is he any relation to Elton John? They look a lot alike and have the same first name.

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  17. Yes anonymous...they are related.

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