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Alton Brown’s first book, I’m Just Here for the Food (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2002) won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Cookbook in the Reference category, and was one of the bestselling cookbooks of 2002, with more than 200,000 copies now in print. It was also chosen by Amazon.com as one of the top 50 books of 2002 by both editors and readers. Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen, his long-awaited homage to tools and gadgetry, was published by STC in September 2003 and was nominated for both a James Beard Award for Best Cookbook in the Tools & Techniques category and an IACP Cookbook Award in the Food Reference/Technical category. Gear is an essential guide to all the “hardware” you need in the kitchen. Packed with practical advice and tips, this book takes a look at what’s needed and what isn’t, what works and what doesn’t. It even includes 25 recipes and a six-month plan to overhaul your kitchen with the most effective, innovative and even surprising culinary tools available. Alton’s third book, on baking, I’m Just Here for More Food, hit bookstores in November 2004 and has since gone on to become a New York Times Best Seller. And his fourth book, Feasting on Asphalt, released March 2008, documents his motorcycle ride from New Orleans to the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Minnesota. Along the way he and his crew met the people and sampled the food that embody our American road-food heritage, and explored our collective history as a population on the move. In April 2007, Good Eats was recognized as a Peabody Award winner, a distinguished prize presented for excellence in broadcast news, education and entertainment. Food Network airs the series approximately sixteen times each week. Hosted by Alton Brown and now in its fifth season, Good Eats combines pop culture, comedy, kitchen science, and plain good eating. For more information on the show, visit the Food Network website at www.foodnetwork.com. Alton reprises his role as the resident food historian, scientist and commentator for Food Network’s new series Iron Chef America. Based on the Japanese cult classic (originally produced by Fuji Television) that launched on Food Network four years ago, Iron Chef America the series will pit some of America's favorite chefs against the inspired food wizardry of American Iron Chefs Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Masaharu Morimoto and the first female Iron Chef, Cat Cora. Iron Chef America airs Mondays at 9 PM ET/PT and Wednesdays at 11PM ET/PT. Alton is also a regular contributor to Bon Appetit and Men’s Journal magazines.
Alton Brown was named the 2004 Cooking Teacher of the Year at the 7th Annual Bon Appetit American Food & Entertaining Awards. I’m Just Here for the Food won the 2003 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Cookbook in the Reference category. Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen was nominated for the 2004 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Cookbook in the Reference category and the 2004 IACP Cookbook Award for Best Food Reference/Technical. Thanksgiving Starts Here, an article that appeared in the November 2003 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine, was nominated for a 2004 National Magazine Award in the Leisure Interests category. This category recognizes excellent service journalism about leisure-time pursuits. The practical advice or instruction presented should help readers enjoy hobbies or other recreational interests. Good Eats was nominated for the 2000 James Beard Foundation Award in the Food Journalism category for the episode, Bird In Hand, and received a Peabody Award in April 2007. |
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Alton Brown’s flair in the kitchen developed early with guidance from his mother and grandmother, a budding culinary talent he skillfully used later “as a way to get dates” in college. Switching gears as an adult, Alton spent a decade working as a cinematographer and video director, but realized that he spent all his time between shoots watching cooking shows, which he found to be dull and uninformative. Convinced that he could do better, Alton left the film business and moved to Vermont to train at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, VT. Soon after, Alton tapped all of his training to create Good Eats, a smart and entertaining food show that blends wit with wisdom, history with pop culture, and science with common cooking sense. Alton not only writes and produces the shows but also stars in each offbeat episode on Food Network.
