2011 Commencement Speaker
Chef Alton Brown
AOS Culinary Arts, 1997
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 he realized he spent all his time between shoots watching cooking shows, which he found to be dull and uninformative. Convinced 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, which premiered in 1999.
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 best-selling cookbooks of 2002.
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 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.
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.
His fourth book, Feasting on Asphalt, released in March 2008, documents his motorcycle ride from New Orleans to the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Minnesota and complemented the TV mini-series of the same name, which debuted in 2006. 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 2008, Food Network premiered Alton's Feasting on Waves, following the format of his original series Feasting on Asphalt. The crew traded their motorcycles for catamarans to travel the Caribbean — sampling the islands' food culture and meeting the people who create it.
The first in a three-book series on Alton's award-winning television show of the same name, Good Eats: The Early Years (Stewart, Tabori & Chang), was published in October 2009 and landed on The New York Times best-seller list for 13 weeks.
Alton will release his second of the series, Good Eats 2: The Middle Years (Stewart, Tabori & Chang), in October 2010. Showcasing everything Alton Brown fans have ever wanted to know about his award-winning television show, Good Eats 2: The Middle Years is chock-full of behind-the-scenes photographs and trivia, science-of-food information, cooking tips and, of course, recipes. The third volume in the series is slated to be published in October 2011.
Good Eats was recognized as a Peabody Award winner in April 2007, a distinguished prize presented for excellence in broadcast news, education and entertainment. Food Network airs the series approximately 16 times each week. Hosted by Alton and now in its 14th season, Good Eats combines pop culture, comedy, kitchen science and plain good eating. For more information on the show, visit Good Eats.
Alton appears regularly as the resident food historian, scientist and commentator on the Food Network series Iron Chef America and is the host/judge on the reality series The Next Iron Chef, which began its third season in October 2010. Based on the Japanese cult classic (originally produced by Fuji Television), Iron Chef America launched on Food Network four years ago and pits some of America's favorite chefs against the inspired food wizardry of American Iron Chefs Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Masaharu Morimoto, Cat Cora and The Next Iron Chef winners, Michael Symon and Jose Garces.
Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine, a game for Nintendo Wii and DS, hit stores in December 2008, with Alton doing his commentary and providing background information on the various ingredients and tasks.
Alton lives near Atlanta with his wife and daughter.
