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. 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 over 165,000 copies 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 cookbook homage to tools and gadgetry, is an essential guide to all the “hardware” you need in the kitchen. Packed with practical advice and tips, Alton’s 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 released “I’m Just Here for More Food” in 2004. 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 2008, the Food Network premiered Alton’s next TV mini-series, Feasting on Waves. Following the format of his original 2006 & 2007 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. 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 16 times each week. Hosted by Alton Brown 5+ seasons under its belt, Good Eats combines pop culture, comedy, kitchen science, and plain good eating. Alton reprises his role as the resident food historian, scientist and commentator for Food Network’s 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 pits 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. Alton is also a regular contributor to “Bon Appetit” and “Men’s Journal” magazines. Titles Topics Celebrity Click topic above to see more speakers on that topic Speaker's Asking Fee Range Please call us. Click on fee range to see more speakers. This is the starting keynote fee range - other programs may be higher. State GA Click on state above to see more speakers from that state. Fees The fee range quoted means the speaker's fee starts somewhere within that range. Note that speaker's fees are subject to change and some speakers may have special fee quotes.