Interview! Alton Brown: Keeping Our Stomachs and Minds Full

Originally Published November 9, 2006

Culinary wizard Alton Brown humorously discusses Good Eats, Iron Chef: America and Feasting on Asphalt

Alton Brown is a genius. If you have ever seen Brown on Good Eats or Iron Chef: America, you know he is a walking food encyclopedia. "In college I knew how to cram for exams. I can turbo load my brain with facts... and hold them for an hour," Brown said.

While Good Eats is impressive in its own right with its tremendous creativity (more on that later), think of how hard Brown's job is on Iron Chef: America. The battles truly are 60 minutes long. If Kevin Brauch (floor reporter) throws a question at Brown, or if there's a fun factoid he should know, he can't sit around and think about the answer for hours. He has to know it, right then, right there. And, Brown always does.

Imagine studying everything there is to know about one ingredient: the history, trivia, uses, etc. But wait, Brown doesn't only need to know that about the secret ingredient. He needs to be informed about every ingredient that the chefs use when preparing their meals in battle.

For instance, what if Brown sees a chef pull out ebi to use in one of their dishes? First, he has to know how to pronounce it (eh-bee). Second, he has to know what it is. According to www.sushifaq.com, it's "Shrimp. Not the same as Sweet Shrimp, as Ebi is cooked, while Ami Ebi is served in raw form." Did you know that? Third, if this ebi were a prominent ingredient in the dish, or perhaps a secret ingredient, Brown might want to throw in some fun trivia about it. For example, www.foodreference.com says, "Salmon and shrimp are the most popular seafoods in American restaurants. In 2001, shrimp replaced canned tuna as America's favorite seafood overall." Remember, Brown doesn't only need to know this abundance of information for one ingredient each show, but for every ingredient imaginable.

Okay, so Brown does get some help. Prior to each battle, the chefs are given a list of possible secret ingredients. Then the chefs each create a shopping list, with every ingredient they would want to use for any of those possibilities. So, Brown's ingredient information cramming is narrowed down to each competitor's shopping list. But, when extraordinary chefs are preparing for a competition in which they aren't even sure of the secret ingredient, those shopping lists can be very, very long. On top of that, Iron Chef: America tapes two shows each day, with little time in between for Brown to prepare.

While no one could do Brown's job as well as he, what would happen if it were possible for him to take a quick break and compete on Iron Chef: America himself? Would he? "Yes and no," he said. You wonder, "As a cook, could you make it?" Brown said he could definitely make five dishes in an hour, "But would anyone want to eat them?" he joked. Brown continued, "I would get my butt kicked. Any Iron Chef would eat me for dinner."

Brown said there are "no invalid ingredients," but if he had to choose one secret ingredient he'd never want to see in kitchen stadium? "Small children, perhaps," Brown joked. He added, "Nothing is too obscure or too ordinary." Brown said he would like to see a broccoli battle with a required dessert course.

Brown's wit doesn't end there. When discussing Alton Brown, his show Good Eats cannot be ignored. Good Eats is different than any other cooking show on TV, as it uses humor, creativity, skits, and science in order to teach viewers.

To Brown, it is extremely important that he use such creativity in his show. He said that Good Eats has more in common with Saturday Night Live than with other cooking shows, and that those other cooking shows are "boring. Who the hell wants to watch that?"

Brown said the idea of incorporating science into his cooking came out of the fact that he didn't think he could cook very well. He watched the typical cooking shows, but thought they were dull and only left him with just one more recipe. Learning the science behind cooking increased his knowledge. When describing Good Eats, Brown said, "I make a science show with silly skits in it."

These silly skits, which are filled with "pop culture shortcuts," are imperative for Brown include, as he said that effective communication is made up of three fibers, "selling, entertainment, and education," and they have "the best impact when they are wound tightly together." He added, "Laughing brains are more absorbent."

Brown said he can't compare his roles in Good Eats and Iron Chef: America because "they are completely different gigs." While Iron Chef: America is spontaneous and filled with adlibbing, Brown said Good Eats is a "hand crafted little machine."

And if there's anyone who knows about putting together such a seamless show, it's Brown. He's not just the guy cooking in front of the camera. He also writes and directs the episodes. Brown began by directing TV commercials in the early 90s for eight years. He spent much of his free time watching cooking shows, but disliked that even after learning tons of recipes, he still didn't know why water boils. Brown decided he wanted to make a "food show for the MTV generation." His wife DeAnna said if he applied to the top five culinary schools and was accepted into one, they would move together and she would support him. Brown was accepted, and trained at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, VT. After some time, Brown said DeAnna told him she didn't mind them living on $20,000 a year, but he should really get to writing that cooking show. One and half years later, Brown was on the Food Network.

When Brown pitched Good Eats to investors, he wanted to write and direct it. He had no plans to be on the show. The investors said they wanted Brown to host and he declined. "I made it halfway down the hall and I thought, 'What the hell did I do?'" Brown said. Fortunately for viewers, Brown changed his mind and decided to host Good Eats, which is one of the longest running shows on Food Network. "So much of who I am is wrapped in this show," Brown said.

Yet another part of who Brown is helped him to create Feasting on Asphalt, a four-part miniseries about the history of road food, which ran on the Food Network this past summer. Brown was born in California, but moved to Georgia in 1969 when he was seven years old. His family drove on the nation's back roads for the move, which had a huge effect on Brown, as he learned how "food changed with the landscape." Now, he said, with all of the highways and freeways, people are isolated from the changing landscape.

Combine Brown's interest in road food and his love of filmmaking, and you get Feasting on Asphalt. Brown said, "As a filmmaker I wanted to make a show that was completely unpremeditated." He also wanted to celebrate food, and the joys of sharing a meal and communicating with strangers. "Food loses all its importance when it's separated from people," Brown said.

Brown, who seems to stick to all things unusual, embarked on this journey cross country via motorcycle. "There's no better way to be in the landscape. Being in a car is like watching a movie. Riding a motorcycle is like being in the movie," Brown said. Unfortunately, toward the end of the trip, a motorcycle accident landed Brown in the hospital with a broken clavicle. Perhaps worse for Brown was that it meant him finishing up Feasting on Asphalt in a car. Living in Georgia, he said he rides every day, and as for the bike in the accident? "I traded it for something bigger," Brown laughed.

Brown fans don't only have Good Eats and Iron Chef: America to look forward to, because Brown is currently discussing a Feasting on Asphalt book and a second season. The show's first season did well in its August timeslot, so a second season would likely air during that same time. That means shooting in April, which limits the available locations. He would love to be able to take the show to the east coast, but it would be too crowded in April. So, Brown hopes to start in Baja, Mexico and work his way up to Seattle or Canada. This time the show might also be extended from four episodes to six. And, if August is too far away, the season one Feasting on Asphalt DVDs should be available just in time for the December holidays.

Is Brown living out his dream? Brown answered, "My dream's always been to work on my own terms. On any given day, the thing that decides if my work is good or bad is me." Brown said he'll "pull the plug on Good Eats before it jumps the shark. I'll stop while I don't have to apologize." Brown added that he has a healthy family and his motorcycles, so yes he's living his dream... Then he remembered that he wouldn't mind being able to get a private jet.