Alton Brown facts for kids
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Brown in 2015
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| Born | Alton Crawford Brown Jr. July 30, 1962 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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DeAnna Brown
(m. 1994; div. 2015)Elizabeth Ingram
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Alton Brown Jr. (born July 30, 1962) is a well-known American TV host, food expert, author, and voice actor. He is famous for creating and hosting the Food Network show Good Eats. He also hosted the mini-series Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves. You might also know him as the main commentator on Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen. Alton Brown has written several popular books about food and cooking.
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Alton Brown's Early Life and Education
Alton Brown was born on July 30, 1962, in Los Angeles, California. When he was a kid, he was a Boy Scout. His father, Alton Brown Sr., worked in media in Cleveland, Georgia. He owned a radio station and published a newspaper.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Alton studied film at the University of Georgia. After that, he worked as a cinematographer for music videos. This included the video for "The One I Love" by the band R.E.M..
Alton Brown's Career in Food and TV
Alton Brown wasn't happy with the cooking shows on TV. He thought they didn't explain why things happened in cooking. So, he decided to make his own show. To prepare, he went to the New England Culinary Institute and graduated in 1997.
Alton has said he wasn't great at science in school. But he worked hard to understand the science behind cooking. He often talks on his shows about not liking kitchen tools that only do one thing. For example, he doesn't like garlic presses. But he sometimes finds new ways to use simple tools like rice cookers.
Alton Brown's TV Shows
Good Eats
The first episode of Good Eats aired in July 1999 on PBS. Food Network then picked up the show later that year. In many Good Eats episodes, Alton builds his own cooking tools. He does this to show that many fancy kitchen gadgets are just regular hardware store items.
Good Eats was nominated for a James Beard Foundation award in 2000. It also won a Peabody Award in 2006. In 2011, Alton Brown announced that Good Eats would end after 14 seasons. The final episode aired in February 2012.
Later, Alton brought the show back in different ways. In 2018, Good Eats Reloaded started airing. This show updated and reworked old Good Eats episodes. Then, in August 2019, a brand new series called Good Eats: The Return premiered on Food Network. However, in July 2021, Alton announced that Good Eats: The Return would not have a third season.
Iron Chef America
In 2004, Alton Brown appeared on Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters. This show was based on a Japanese cooking competition. Alton was the expert commentator, explaining what was happening. When the show became a regular series, he became the main announcer. He also hosted all five seasons of the spin-off show The Next Iron Chef.
Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves
Alton's third series, Feasting on Asphalt, explored the history of food eaten while traveling. Alton and his team rode motorcycles across the United States. They looked for different kinds of "road food." Alton tried food along his journey and shared stories about famous road trips.
The show first aired in July 2006. A second season, Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run, came out in 2007. In this season, Alton traveled along the Mississippi River. The third season was called Feasting on Waves. For this show, Alton traveled the Caribbean by boat to find local foods.
Cutthroat Kitchen
In 2013, Alton Brown started hosting Cutthroat Kitchen on Food Network. In this cooking competition, four chefs each get $25,000. They use this money to bid on "sabotages" that can make it harder for their opponents. For example, they might buy the right to take away someone's ingredients. The winner gets to keep any money they didn't spend. The show first aired in August 2013.
Worst Cooks in America
In 2018, Alton Brown was a mentor on Season 18 of Worst Cooks in America. He helped lead one of the teams. This season started in January 2020.
Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend
In 2022, Netflix brought back Iron Chef America as Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. Alton Brown became a co-host for this new version.
Alton Brown's Live Tours
The Edible Inevitable Tour
In October 2013, Alton Brown started his first national tour called "Alton Brown Live: The Edible Inevitable Tour." He visited 46 cities. The show included comedy, talks, a multimedia presentation, live music, and fun food experiments. The tour continued in October 2014 and ended in April 2015.
Eat Your Science
Alton started a second tour show, "Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science," in 2016. This show toured until the fall of 2017. Alton's shows have played over 225 times, including on Broadway. His tours often feature big, unusual, and sometimes dangerous food demonstrations. They also include audience participation and songs about food.
Beyond the Eats
Alton Brown's third tour, "Alton Brown Live: Beyond the Eats," was announced in March 2021. This tour began in October 2021 and continued through late 2024.
Awards and Other Appearances
Alton Brown has won two James Beard Awards. He won "Best Book" in 2003 for I'm Just Here for the Food. In 2011, he won "Broadcast Media Award" for being a great TV Food Personality/Host.
He was also a mentor on Season 8 of The Next Food Network Star. His team member, Justin Warner, won that season. Alton also lent his voice to the character Nicholas Withers in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. He voiced Yum Labouché in Big Hero 6: The Series, a judge for a cooking competition.
Alton appeared on the Travel Channel show The Layover with Anthony Bourdain in 2013. He was also on an episode of MythBusters called "Food Fables." In June 2022, he appeared on the web series Good Mythical Morning.
Commercials and Endorsements
Alton Brown has appeared in commercials for General Electric products. These commercials were made in the style of Good Eats, using interesting camera angles and scientific explanations. He even helped GE develop a new type of oven called the Trivection oven.
He has also promoted products like Colgate toothpaste, Dannon yogurt, Welch's products, and Shun knives. In 2020, he started doing commercials for Healthy Choice salad dressings.
Online Presence
In 2012, Alton Brown became popular on Twitter for his "Analog Tweets." He would post pictures of hand-drawn responses on Post-it Notes stuck to his computer screen.
The Alton Browncast
In June 2013, Alton Brown started his own podcast called The Alton Browncast. It covered food news, men's style, music, and other topics.
Pantry Raid and Quarantine Quitchen
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Alton started two new online cooking series on YouTube.
Pantry Raid was a weekly series of short videos. They showed how to make tasty foods while staying safe at home. Alton filmed these episodes in his test kitchens.
Quarantine Quitchen (also known as "QQ") started as a live stream where Alton and his wife Elizabeth made dinner. It became a weekly live series.
Alton Brown's Personal Life
Alton Brown lives in Marietta, Georgia. He and his first wife, DeAnna, divorced in 2015. They have one daughter, born in 1999. Some of his family members have appeared on Good Eats, like his grandmother and daughter.
Alton became engaged to Atlanta restaurant designer Elizabeth Ingram in 2018. They got married on a boat in Charleston, South Carolina, in September 2018.
Alton used to love motorcycling, but he doesn't own a motorcycle anymore. He is also an airplane pilot. He owned two planes, a Cessna 206 and a Cessna 414.
He enjoys collecting vintage watches. He wore a different watch for every season of Good Eats. This helped the production team identify which season a clip was from. Once, his father's Omega Seamaster watch was stolen. Twenty years later, Alton bought it back from an eBay seller and had it fixed.
In 2009, Alton changed his eating habits to become healthier. He lost about 50 pounds over nine months.
See also
- Shirley Corriher
