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Alton Brown Opens Up

partysugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:15:25 -0700

This weekend I was lucky enough to attend Alton Brown's demonstration at the NYC Wine and Food Festival. The demo was a part of a Kidz Kitchen series, so the studio was packed with aspiring young cooks.

In person, Brown - who's a bit weary-looking with longer, shaggy hair - is comical, scientific, and jokingly insulting. Watching a chef cook live is an interesting experience, especially when they answer the audience members' questions.

To get up close and personal with Alton Brown and find out what he had to say, read more.

His advice for wannabe chefs: Invest in a pair of good shoes and have a family of wealth. Chefs are on their feet all day and don't make much money for their grueling effort.

Favorite Good Eats episode: Not surprisingly, it's an episode that has yet to air. Brown promoted his show, which recently shot its 200th episode and encouraged the audience to check out the upcoming Halloween special. The episode has a Sweeney Todd theme and looks at meat pies. It was Brown's favorite to shoot because he taped the entire show with a fake British accent.How his life changed after being on the Food Network: He upgraded his level of personal hygiene. For example, he no longer picks his nose while driving. He's afraid someone will catch him doing it and take a picture!

His favorite thing to make: "What I'm about to make!"

What's next for the Feasting series? While no finalized plans have been determined, Brown says they are considering doing either train or air travel (Brown is a pilot) for the next season of Feasting.

Does he consider himself a scientist?: No he doesn't. Brown thinks of himself as a science buff, but he doesn't wear a white coat or work in a laboratory.

What do you think of Alton Brown? Have you ever been to one of his demonstrations?

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Alton Brown's in It For Three More Years

YumSugar — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:01:18 -0800

Alton Brown fans rejoice, he and the Food Network have just announced a new three-year deal. This means there will be new seasons of Good Eats (yay!) and he will continue to host Iron Chef America. When asked about the deal, Alton had this to say:

Food Network is my home and I am staying home. I'm looking forward to producing more and varied shows with the network and am especially excited about Feasting on Waves, which will bring a whole new perspective to food.

That's right, AB will be back this Summer with a new version of his popular summer travel show Feasting on Asphalt, only this time he'll be in the Caribbean and will be Feasting on Waves. He'll be on the deck of a boat, diving, fishing, and doing whatever it takes to find good eats. They're paying him to do this? No wonder he's sticking around for three more years!

Source

Which AB Travel Show Do You Prefer?

YumSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:03:51 -0700

Chefs with travel shows seem to be quite the rage these days. Right now there's both Anthony Bourdain with No Reservations and Alton Brown with Feasting on Asphalt. I love both of them for different reasons, but it makes me wonder which AB do you prefer?

Summer Reading: I'm Just Here For The Food

YumSugar — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 08:01:38 -0700

The second season of Alton Brown's travel show Feasting on Asphalt premieres this Saturday, and I must admit, I am really looking forward to it. Alton is one of my favorite celebrity chefs, mostly because of his geeky scientific approach to cooking. In his first book, I'm Just Here for the Food, AB delivers the goods just like you would expect. There are recipes, science, history and lots of detailed instructions and handy diagrams. Much like his Good Eats tv show, Alton's book helps you understand your food, not just cook it. There's science behind it all and he wants to help you figure it out. Although there are recipes in the book, what Alton is really providing to his reader is knowledge. Know how things work, and you'll be able to do it yourself. Oh and did I mention that he does it in a way that is technical and somehow still loads of fun?

If you're an Alton fan and don't own this book, you should definitely remedy that. And if you've ever found yourself wondering about the how and whys in the kitchen, then definitely check this book out. In the recently updated 2.0 version of the book, there are now 15 more recipes and 4 refrigerator magnets. If you don't have the first edition, skip straight to this one. If you do have the first edition, not a lot has changed to justify a new copy.

Now You Can Feast on Asphalt Anytime You Want To

YumSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:01:33 -0700

Alton Brown fans will be pleased to hear that last year's popular Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run is now available on DVD. As a fan of Alton, I thought this was a really fun series. It chronicled his and his crew's journey along the Mississippi River on motorcycle, but most importantly it chronicled everything they ate. While I'm well versed on foreign foods, it was great to learn about some of these homegrown treats.

If you're interested, the DVD set runs $29.95 - if you're one of the first 1000 to order you get a free map charting the journey - but from now until April 30, you can get 10 percent off by using the code: C93837 when you check out.

And if you'd rather read about his journey, they've just released a companion book ($16.50, the discount code probably won't work on this). Alton was recently on NPR talking about it. It's part memoir and part cookbook. Kool-Aid pickles anyone?

An Exhausting Way to Cook a Burger

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:18:31 -0800

Would you like a nice charbroiled burger? Oh wait, did I say charbroiled, I meant Car-broiled. That's right, I said car.

A group of inventors have created the Exhaust Burger that allows you to drive and cook burgers at the same time. The exhaust goes through the top of the contraption - don't worry, the exhaust doesn't actually touch the burger - and heats the metal. The metal then cooks the burger, sort of like a George Foreman grill, only there's nowhere for the grease to go. The product is still in the concept phase, but I can see where it could be helpful - no extra fuel or energy needed - however, there's something about it that just seems wrong. Wouldn't it just be a greasy mess? Yet, having said that, you all know I'd be the first in line to see what it tastes like!

Oh and does this remind anyone else of Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt contraption that allows him to cook stew while riding his motorcycle?

Food Network Announces its 2007 Programming Additions

YumSugar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 09:58:17 -0700

Get your TiVos warmed up, there's some new stuff coming to Food Network. They just recently announced their 2007 programming additions and here's what we can expect this summer:

Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives - starring - looks like Food Network is putting their new star Guy Fieri (who, I might add was absent from any of the Food Network's South Beach Festival photos I saw) behind the wheel of his 1967 Camaro looking for the best diners, drive-ins and dives the US has to offer. Debuts April 23.
Simply Delicioso (working title) - Galavision superstar Ingrid Hoffmann brings her Latin lifestyle expertise to America. Debuts in July.
Food Dudes (working title) - Follow two young chefs, Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook, try to make a name for themselves and their catering business. Debuts this fall.

To check out the rest, and there's at least one that I'm going to be sure to TiVo, read more

The Next Food Network Star - The third season of the Food Network reality show beefs things up by expanding its format to have contestants compete on location and not just in the studio. Begins June 3 at 9pm.
Feasting on Asphalt 2 - Alton Brown (my personal Food Network favorite) hops on his motorcycle for a second season of touring the back roads of America in search of good eats. Hopefully he doesn't break anything this time (he had an accident last year where he broke his collarbone).
The Next Iron Chef of America - Food Network's looking for someone to join Batali, Cora, Morimoto and Flay. They're casting now for professional chefs to be contestants on the show. Alton Brown is hosting, and I have a thing for food reality TV, so I'll probably end up watching this too. Debuts this fall.
America's Best Recipe - Nine everyday contestants prepare original recipes in front of a live Las Vegas audience. Airs in 2008.

So what do you think, are you looking forward to any of these?

Source: Digital Producer Magazine