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{{short description|American food show presenter, chef, author, and cinematographer (born 1962)}}
{{for|the baseball player|Alton Brown (baseball)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox chef<!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox chef/doc]] -->
| name        = Alton Brown
| image       = Alton Brown Hopelink 4 (cropped).JPG
| caption     = Brown in 2015
| birth_name  = Alton Crawford Brown Jr.
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1962|7|30}}
| birth_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_date  =
| death_place =
| spouse      = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|DeAnna Brown|1994|2015|reason=div}}
* {{marriage|Elizabeth Ingram|2018}}
}} 
| children    = 1
| style       = {{hlist|[[Cuisine of the United States|American]]|[[Cuisine of the Southern United States|Southern]]}}
| education   = {{hlist|[[University of Georgia]]|[[New England Culinary Institute]]}}
| restaurants =
| television  = {{hlist|''[[Good Eats]]''|''[[Iron Chef America]]''|''[[Feasting on Waves]]''|''[[Feasting on Asphalt]]''|''[[The Next Food Network Star]]''|''[[Cutthroat Kitchen]]''|''[[Iron Chef Gauntlet]]''|''[[Worst Cooks in America]]''|''[[Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend]]''}}
}}

'''Alton Crawford Brown Jr.'''<ref>{{cite web |title=Alton Brown Interview |publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhmGzqMC7Sw&t=20 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/RhmGzqMC7Sw |archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live |access-date=October 25, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> (born July 30, 1962) is an American television personality, food show presenter, author, voice actor, and [[cinematographer]]. He is the creator and host of the [[Food Network]] television show ''[[Good Eats]]'' that ran for 16 seasons, host of the miniseries ''[[Feasting on Asphalt]]'' and ''[[Feasting on Waves]]'', and host and main commentator on ''[[Iron Chef America]]'' and ''[[Cutthroat Kitchen]]''. Brown is a best-selling author of several books on food and cooking. A recap series titled ''Good Eats Reloaded'' aired on [[Cooking Channel]], and a true sequel series, ''Good Eats: The Return'', ran from 2019 to 2021 on Food Network.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/altonbrown/videos/as-promised-only-on-food-network/452755015299071/ |title=Alton Brown on Facebook Watch |via=Facebook}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/1/20837373/good-eats-the-return-alton-brown-review-recap-food-network |title=Bristling with nerdy energy, Alton Brown's Good Eats is back — and not a moment too soon |date=September 1, 2019 |last1=VanDerWerff |first1=Emily |access-date=July 5, 2020 |newspaper=Vox}}</ref>

==Early life==
Alton Brown was born July 30, 1962, in Los Angeles, California.<ref name=DOB>{{cite magazine |title=Alton Brown Celebrity |magazine=TV Guide |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/alton-brown/bio/195036 |access-date=January 5, 2015 |archive-date=September 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908025547/https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/alton-brown/bio/195036/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><!--TV Guide cite is live but birthdate appears only in archived version--><ref>{{cite journal |first=Virginia |last=Parker |title=Alton Brown Steaks His Claim |journal=Atlanta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sg4AAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80 |access-date=January 5, 2013 |date=April 2007 |publisher=Atlanta Magazine |page=80ff |issn=0004-6701}}</ref> His father, Alton Crawford Brown, was a media executive in [[Cleveland, Georgia]]; owner of radio station WRWH; and publisher of the newspaper ''[[White County News]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Parker |first=Virginia |title=Alton Brown Steaks His Claim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sg4AAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80 |access-date=October 16, 2013 |newspaper=Atlanta |date=April 2007 |pages=96–97}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Grimes |first=Millard B. |title=The Last Linotype: The Story of Georgia and Its Newspapers Since World War II |year=1985 |publisher=Mercer University Press |page=504 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7q4C6hESNrcC&pg=PA504 |isbn=9780865541900}}</ref> He died on Alton's last day of sixth grade from an apparent suicide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/dining/alton-brown-cookbook-everydaycook.html?_r=0 |last=Severson |first=Kim |date=September 26, 2016 |title=Alton Brown, Showman of Food TV, Pulls Back the Curtain |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 18, 2019}}</ref>

==Career==
Brown studied film at the [[University of Georgia]] in the early 1980s, and got his start in television as the cinematographer for music videos, including "[[The One I Love (R.E.M. song)|The One I Love]]" by [[R.E.M.]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Melancon |first=Merritt |url=http://onlineathens.com/stories/051210/liv_637614879.shtml |title=Brown talks TV, food, R.E.M. |publisher=Online Athens |date=May 12, 2010 |access-date=2012-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815065337/http://onlineathens.com/stories/051210/liv_637614879.shtml |archive-date=August 15, 2013 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Alton Brown Biography |url=http://www.biography.com/people/alton-brown-20914593 |website=biography.com |publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC |access-date=August 3, 2016}}</ref>

Brown was dissatisfied with the quality of cooking shows airing on American television, so he set out to produce his own show. In preparation, Brown enrolled in the [[New England Culinary Institute]], graduating in 1997.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://beldenmusic.com/Good%20Eats.html |title=Good Eats Music |last=Belden |first=Patrick |publisher=Bel den Music |access-date=2008-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626033356/http://beldenmusic.com/Good%20Eats.html |archive-date=June 26, 2008 |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Profile: Alton Brown |year=2005 |url=http://www.neci.edu/profile_altonbrown.html |access-date=2007-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928024458/http://www.neci.edu/profile_altonbrown.html |archive-date=September 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy}}</ref> He says<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.therecipe.com/foodies-dont-know-about-alton-brown/ |title=The Food Scientist: 20 Things Foodies Don't Know About Alton Brown |date=2018-12-17 |website=TheRecipe |language=en-US |access-date=2019-04-03}}</ref> that he was a poor science student in high school and college, but Brown focused on the subject to understand the underlying processes of cooking. He is outspoken in his shows<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgFeVlw2Ywg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/FgFeVlw2Ywg |archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live |title=Alton Brown reviews Amazon's dumbest kitchen gadgets |magazine=The Daily Dot |date=2015-12-10 |via=Youtube |language=en-US |access-date=2019-08-24}}{{cbignore}}</ref> about his dislike of single-purpose [[kitchen utensil]]s and equipment such as [[garlic press]]es and [[margarita machine]]s, although Brown adapts a few traditionally single-purpose devices, such as [[rice cooker]]s and [[melon baller]]s, into multipurpose tools.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gizmodo.com/alton-brown-kitchen-gadget-judgment-calls-yea-or-nay-5347140 |title=Alton Brown: Kitchen Gadget Judgment Calls – Yea or Nay? |last=Rothman |first=Wilson |date=August 27, 2009 |website=[[Gizmodo]] |access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref>

===TV series===

====''Good Eats''====
{{Main|Good Eats}}

The pilot for ''Good Eats'' first aired in July 1998 on the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] member TV station [[WTTW]] in Chicago. [[Food Network]] picked up the show in July 1999. Many of the ''Good Eats'' episodes<ref>{{Citation |title=Good Eats |url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/good-eats|access-date=2019-04-03}}</ref> feature Brown building makeshift cooking devices in order to point out that many of the devices sold at conventional "cooking" stores are simply fancified hardware store items. ''Good Eats'' was nominated for the Best TV [[Food Journalism]] Award by the [[James Beard Foundation]] in 2000.<ref>{{cite news |year=2000 |title=Broadcast Awards |publisher=James Beard Foundation |url=http://www.jamesbeard.org/index.php?q=awards/show/Tzo4OiJzdGRDbGFzcyI6Mzp7czo4OiJjYXRlZ29yeSI7czoxNToiQnJvYWRjYXN0IE1lZGlhIjtzOjQ6InllYXIiO2Q6MjAwMDtzOjU6ImF3YXJkIjtzOjI1OiJCZXN0IFQuVi4gRm9vZCBKb3VybmFsaXNtIjt9 |access-date=2008-06-29}}</ref> The show was also awarded a 2006 [[Peabody Award]].<ref name="peabody">{{cite web |year=2007 |title=Complete List of 2006 Peabody Award Winners |url=http://www.peabody.uga.edu/news/pressrelease.asp?ID=142 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606143746/http://www.peabody.uga.edu/news/pressrelease.asp?ID=142 |archive-date=June 6, 2007 |access-date=March 15, 2008}}</ref> In May 2011, Alton Brown announced an end to ''Good Eats'' after 14 seasons.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/chi-alton-brown-calls-an-end-to-good-eats-20110509-story.html |work=Chicago Tribune |first=Steve |last=Cavendish |title=Alton Brown calls an end to 'Good Eats'|date=May 10, 2011|access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref> The final episode, "Turn on the Dark", aired February 10, 2012.

On Alton's 2017 book tour, he stated that ''Good Eats'' would have a sequel<ref name="TastingTbale_GoodEatsReturn">{{cite web |last1=Ferst |first1=Devra |title=Alton Brown's 'Good Eats' Will Make a Triumphant Return: Get ready to be schooled in the kitchen |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/entertain/national/alton-brown-good-eats-return |website=Tasting Table |date=November 2, 2016 |access-date=April 10, 2017}}</ref> and that it would be released to the internet in 2018. This was changed in late 2018 when Brown made arrangements with The Cooking Channel to air "revised" versions of several episodes with new recipes titled ''Good Eats Reloaded'', in which he stated new episodes of ''Good Eats'' are also in the works. Thirteen episodes of ''Good Eats Reloaded'' aired in late winter and early spring 2019, and were added to the ''Good Eats'' reruns on The Cooking Channel. It was announced on June 5, 2019, that the new show would be called ''Good Eats Returns''; it premiered on the Food Network with the slightly revised title ''Good Eats: The Return'' on Sunday, August 25.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://people.com/food/alton-brown-good-eats-returning-to-food-network/ |title=Alton Brown's Series Good Eats Is Finally Returning to the Food Network |website=PEOPLE.com|date=June 5, 2019}}</ref>

====''Good Eats Reloaded'' and ''Good Eats: The Return''====
Brown relaunched the show in two versions: as ''Good Eats Reloaded'' on Cooking Channel (which updates, reworks and adds to original ''Good Eats'' episodes), and on Food Network as ''Good Eats: The Return'' in August 2019 (all-new episodes).  New episodes of ''Reloaded'' premiered in April 2020. New ''Return'' episodes were in the writing process and planned to be filming over the summer of 2020, but were delayed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=VanDerWeff |first1=Emily Todd |title=Bristling with nerdy energy, Alton Brown's Good Eats is back - and not a moment too soon |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/1/20837373/good-eats-the-return-alton-brown-review-recap-food-network |website=Vox |date=September 2019 |access-date=16 November 2019}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2020}} These episodes eventually saw release, initially as an exclusive on the new [[Discovery+]] streaming service. In June 2021, the episodes premiered on Food Network as a companion to the ''[[Chopped (TV series)|Chopped]]: Alton's Maniacal Baskets'' tournament.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alton Brown's Groundbreaking Series Good Eats Joins discovery+ |url=https://press.discoveryplus.com/food/alton-browns-groundbreaking-series-good-eats-joins-discovery/ |website=Discovery+ Press Release |date=February 18, 2021 |access-date=April 7, 2021}}</ref> On July 13, 2021, Brown announced that ''Good Eats: The Return'' would not be returning for a third season.<ref>{{cite web | url-access=limited  |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/100044181828660/357160972433294 |archive-date = 2022-04-27| url = https://www.facebook.com/altonbrown/posts/357160972433294 |title = Alton Brown on Facebook  |website=[[Facebook]]}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref> A third planned season of ''Good Eats Reloaded'' was also cancelled, but the recipes planned for the series were included as part of Brown's ''"Good Eats 4: The Final Years"'' cookbook.

====''Iron Chef America''====
{{Main|Iron Chef America}}

In 2004, Brown appeared on ''Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters''.  This was the second attempt to adapt the Japanese cooking show ''Iron Chef'' to American television (the first being [[UPN]]'s ''[[Iron Chef USA]]'', which featured [[William Shatner]]). Brown served as the expert commentator, a modified version of the role played by Dr. [[Yukio Hattori]] in the original show. When the show became a series, Brown began serving as the play-by-play announcer, with [[Kevin Brauch]] as kitchen reporter. Brown also served as the host for all five seasons of the spin-off ''[[The Next Iron Chef]]''.

====''Feasting on Asphalt''====
{{Main|Feasting on Asphalt}}

Brown's third series, ''Feasting on Asphalt'', explores the history of eating on the move. Brown and his crew traveled around the United States via motorcycle in a four-part [[miniseries]] about the history of road food. Brown samples food all along his travel route. He includes a "history of food" segment documenting famous road trips and interviews many of the [[foodie]]s he meets en route.

The series premiered on Food Network on July 29, 2006. The miniseries was picked up for a second run, ''Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run'', in 2007. Six episodes were filmed between April and May 2007. The episodes trace the majority of the length of the [[Mississippi River]] through Brown's travels. The second run of episodes began airing on [[Food Network]] on August 4, 2007. The third season uses the title ''Feasting on Waves'' and has Brown traveling the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]] by boat in search of local cuisine.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

====''Cutthroat Kitchen''====
{{Main|Cutthroat Kitchen}}

In 2013, Brown began hosting the cooking competition series ''Cutthroat Kitchen'' on the Food Network. In each episode, four chefs are each given $25,000 with which to bid on items that can be used to hinder their opponents' cooking, such as confiscating ingredients or forcing them to use unorthodox tools and equipment. Three chefs are eliminated one by one, and the winner keeps their unspent money as the day's prize. The series premiered on August 11, 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/content/food-com/en/fn-dish/shows/2013/07/alton-browns-cutthroat-kitchen.html |title=No-Mercy Culinary Antics to Take Over Alton Brown's Cutthroat Kitchen |website=Food Network}}</ref>

====''Worst Cooks in America''====
{{Main|Worst Cooks in America}}

In 2018, Brown hosted Season 18 of ''[[Worst Cooks in America]]'' as the blue team mentor. The season debuted on January 5, 2020.

====''Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend''====
{{Main|Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend}}

In 2022, Netflix rebooted ''Iron Chef America'' as ''[[Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend]]'', signing Brown as co-host with [[Kristen Kish]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |title=Netflix's ''Iron Chef'' Reboot to Reunite Host Alton Brown, 'The Chairman' Mark Dacascos |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/iron-chef-reboot-netflix-alton-brown-mark-dacascos-1235254888/ |date=May 2, 2022}}</ref>

===Tours===
====The Edible Inevitable Tour====
In October 2013, Brown launched Alton Brown Live: The Edible Inevitable Tour, his first national tour visiting 46 cities through March 2014. The show included stand-up comedy, talk show antics, a multimedia lecture, live music, and "extreme" food experimentation.<ref>Debbi Snook (September 18, 2013). [http://www.cleveland.com/taste/index.ssf/2013/09/alton_brown_coming_to_akron_fo.html "Food Network star Alton Brown coming to Akron for first national tour"], ''The Plain Dealer'', Retrieved October 22, 2013.</ref> After a hiatus of several months while Brown worked on his [[Food Network]] shows, the tour resumed in October 2014 and concluded on April 4, 2015, in Houston, Texas, after visiting more than 60 cities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tellemgrodypr.com/2014/11/10/client-alton-browns-live-tour-extends-route-adds-16-cities/ |title=Client Alton Brown's Live Tour Extends Route, Adds 16 Cities}}</ref>

====Eat Your Science====
Brown mounted a second tour show, Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science, in 2016. The show toured through the fall of 2017. All totaled, Brown's shows have played over 225 dates including Broadway. Both his tours have included "large, unusual and probably dangerous" food demonstrations, audience participation, and even food songs performed by Brown and his combo. Brown has been quoted as saying his final tour will launch in the fall of 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Filloon |first1=Whitney |title=Alton Brown Slayed Broadway with 'Eat Your Science' |url=https://www.eater.com/2016/11/28/13765312/alton-brown-eat-your-science-broadway-review |website=Eater |date=November 28, 2016 |access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref>

====Beyond the Eats====
Brown's third tour titled Alton Brown Live: Beyond the Eats was announced on his Twitter page in March 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/altonbrown/status/1367898474990104578 |title=Alton Brown on Twitter |website=[[Twitter]] |date=March 5, 2021}}</ref> The tour began in October 2021 and had several "legs" or overall tour runs, the last of which (done with added "holiday" materials) ran from November to December 2024.

===Awards===
Brown is the recipient of two James Beard Awards. He won the Best Book award in 2003 for his first book, ''I'm Just Here for the Food'', and the Broadcast Media Award in 2011 for TV Food Personality/Host. He has also been nominated four additional times.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alton Brown |url=https://www.jamesbeard.org/chef/alton-brown |website=James Beard Foundation}}</ref>

===Other appearances===
Brown served as a mentor on Season 8 of ''[[The Next Food Network Star]]'' alongside [[Bobby Flay]] and [[Giada De Laurentiis]]. During Season 8, each mentor selected and mentored a team of five finalists. Alton's finalist, [[Justin Warner]], was the Season 8 winner; however, Brown will not be producing Warner's show.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mediaite.com/tag/alton-brown/ |title=Alton Brown &#124; Mediaite}}</ref>

Brown guest-starred in an episode of ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' titled "[[House Fancy]]" where he provides the voice of [[List of SpongeBob SquarePants characters#Nicholas Withers|Nicholas Withers]], the host of the titular show.

Brown appeared on the [[Travel Channel]] show ''[[The Layover (TV series)|The Layover]]'' with [[Anthony Bourdain]] which focused on the city of [[Atlanta]] in 2013. In the episode Bourdain takes Brown to the [[Clermont Lounge]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Clermont Lounge featured on Jan. 14's 'The Layover' with Anthony Bourdain on Travel Channel |author=Rodney Ho |url=https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/clermont-lounge-featured-jan-the-layover-with-anthony-bourdain-travel-channel/XT2bHmWtmhC0XjB3RTap4M/ |newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=January 14, 2013 |access-date=July 3, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116213042/http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/2013/01/14/clermont-lounge-featured-in-mondays-travel-show-the-layover-with-anthony-bourdain/?icid=buzzlink |archive-date=January 16, 2013 |df=mdy}}</ref>

Brown guest starred as the "Guest [[Bailiff]]" and "Expert Witness" in [[John Hodgman]]'s comedy/court show [[podcast]] ''[[Judge John Hodgman]]''.<ref name="Judge John Hodgman Episode 53: Cannery Row">{{cite web |author=Justin Morissette |url=http://maximumfun.org/judge-john-hodgman/judge-john-hodgman-episode-53-cannery-row |title=Judge John Hodgman Episode 53: Cannery Row |publisher=[[Maximum Fun]] |date=March 28, 2012 |access-date=2013-02-20}}</ref><ref name="Judge John Hodgman Episode 105: To the Victor Goes the Spoiled">{{cite web |author=MaxFun Intern |url=http://maximumfun.org/judge-john-hodgman/judge-john-hodgman-episode-105-victor-goes-spoiled |title=Judge John Hodgman Episode 105: To the Victor Goes the Spoiled |publisher=[[Maximum Fun]] |date=April 10, 2013 |access-date=2013-04-10}}</ref>

In October 2017, Brown was featured on the [[Food Network]] television show ''[[Chopped (TV series)|Chopped]]'' in a [[List of Chopped episodes#Season 34 (2017)|five-part series]] called "Alton Brown's Challenge".

Brown voiced Yum Labouché in ''[[Big Hero 6: The Series]]''. The character is a judge for an underground cooking competition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/940421-big-hero-6-series-launching-june-9-disney-channel |title=Big Hero 6: The Series Launching June 9 on Disney Channel! |website=Comingsoon.net |last=Hmmert |first=Kylie |date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref>

Brown appeared on [[MythBusters (2012 season)#Episode 196 – "Food Fables"|episode 196 of ''MythBusters'']] titled "Food Fables".

In June 2022, he appeared on the web series ''[[Good Mythical Morning]]'' episode "Match the Flavor to the Doritos".<ref>{{cite web |author1=Good Mythical Morning |title=Match The Flavor To The Doritos (Game) |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xznPTBagBNc |website=YouTube |access-date=July 2, 2022 |date=June 24, 2022}}</ref> He was originally scheduled to appear in a summer 2020 episode, as he revealed in a livestream in March 2020,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Alton |title=Let's Chat about the Worst Cooks Finale, Or Not... |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g2K7j64BQAw |website=YouTube |access-date=July 2, 2022 |date=March 8, 2020}}</ref> however did not happen due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].

===Commercials===
Brown has done commercial work for [[General Electric]] products,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.altonbrown.com/adventure/press_pages/press_feasting.html |title=AltonBrown.com |publisher=AltonBrown.com |date=July 29, 2006 |access-date=2012-01-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119093244/http://www.altonbrown.com/adventure/press_pages/press_feasting.html |archive-date=January 19, 2012 |df=mdy}}</ref> including five [[infomercial]]s touting the benefits of GE refrigerators, washers and dryers, water purifiers, [[Trivection oven]]s, and dishwashers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geappliances.com/products/alton_brown_innovations.htm |title=GE Innovations with Alton Brown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024143438/http://www.geappliances.com/products/alton_brown_innovations.htm |archive-date=October 24, 2007}}</ref> The infomercials are produced in the ''Good Eats'' style, employing the use of unusual camera angles, informational text, props, visual aids, scientific explanations, and the same method of delivery. These infomercials are distributed to wholesale distributors of appliances/plumbing devices.

Brown has also aided GE in developing a new type of oven. He was initially called by GE to help their engineers learn more about the effects of heat on food;<ref>{{cite web |last=Lauterbach |first=David |url=http://www.briansbelly.com/featured/altonbrown/ |title=Brian's Belly: Alton Brown |date=May 28, 2010 |publisher=Briansbelly.com |access-date=2012-01-23}}</ref> that grew into an active cooperation to develop GE's [[Trivection oven]].<ref name="roadfly.com"/>

Brown has promoted [[Colgate (toothpaste)|Colgate]] toothpaste,<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyy6nvkFWaA |url-status=dead |date=September 9, 2019 |title=Colgate Optic White Whitening Toothpaste with Alton Brown |medium=Commercial |work=[[YouTube]] |access-date=November 16, 2019 |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222110622/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyy6nvkFWaA&gl=US&hl=en }}</ref> [[Dannon]] [[yogurt]], [[Welch's]], [[Kershaw Knives|Shun]] [[knife|knives]], and [[Heifer International]].{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} In 2010, he endorsed [[kosher salt]] use in a campaign for [[Cargill]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/health/30salt.html |last=Moss |first=Michael |date=May 29, 2010 |title=The Hard Sell on Salt |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 16, 2019}}</ref> In 2020, he began doing commercials for [[Healthy Choice]]'s line of low-fat, low-calorie, vegetable-based "Power Dressings",<ref>[https://www.ispot.tv/ad/nHHU/healthy-choice-power-dressing-full-flavor-featuring-alton-brown Alton's initial commercial for HEALTHY CHOICE Power Dressings.]</ref>

In 2022, Brown began appearing in commercials for the supplement Neuriva.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Neuriva partners with Alton Brown to inspire consumers to think bigger |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neuriva--partners-with-alton-brown-to-inspire-consumers-to-think-bigger-301625405.html |publisher=PRNewswire |access-date=18 November 2022 |date=15 September 2022}}</ref>

===Twitter===
In 2012, Brown gained popularity by pioneering the use of humorous "Analog Tweets", wherein he posts pictures of hand-drawn Twitter responses on [[Post-it Note]]s which he has stuck to his computer monitor.<ref name="Wired.com">{{cite magazine |author=Craig, Elise |url=https://www.wired.com/design/2012/09/alton-brown-twitter-doodle/ |title=Saucy or Stale? Alton Brown Defies Twitter With Weird Post-it Notes |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=September 19, 2012 |access-date=2013-03-11}}</ref>

===''The Alton Browncast''===
On June 28, 2013, Alton Brown joined the [[Nerdist Industries|Nerdist Podcast Network]] with his podcast ''The Alton Browncast'', covering food news, men's style, music and other topics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/the-browncast/ |title=The Alton Browncast « Nerdist |access-date=2013-08-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821022739/http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/the-browncast/ |archive-date=August 21, 2013 |df=mdy}}</ref> Through February 15, 2017, 68 episodes have been produced.<ref>[https://altonbrown.com/gaby-dalkin-the-alton-browncast-68/ ''The Alton Browncast'' Episode 68.]</ref>

===''Pantry Raid'' and ''Quarantine Quitchen''===
With the [[COVID-19]] quarantine in 2020 and the subsequent delays in production on Season 16 of ''Good Eats'' (Season 2 of "The Return"), Alton took to [[YouTube]] to make two new online cooking series.

'''''Pantry Raid''''' was a series of once-weekly shorts (usually released on Fridays or Saturdays) for making palatable foods while staying safe at home. The episodes were filmed in the ''Good Eats'' test kitchens at Brain Food Productions and consisted of Alton and a cameraman as the only personnel onsite.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSL8Njz6ML7B7WDzEqCZAS4JIqzSiJe3U PANTRY RAID series on YouTube]</ref>

'''''Quarantine Quitchen''''' [aka "QQ"] started as a single [[livestream]] titled "The Browns Make Dinner", referring to Alton and his wife Elizabeth making dinner at their loft apartment in Georgia. After the success of the first such "episode", the once-weekly series was released live every Tuesday. The series continued off and on while the Browns went on tour in 2022, and only appeared sporadically in 2023.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSL8Njz6ML7Bf5VyF9b0oQ3hiBs_3j-sz ''Quarantine Quitchen'' series on YouTube]</ref> The last episode was live-streamed on July 25, 2023.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b06T6er2jCw&t=1402s Last Episode (to date) of "QQ" on YouTube.]</ref>

==Personal life==
Brown lives in [[Marietta, Georgia]]. He has been married three times. He and his second wife DeAnna, an [[executive producer]] on ''Good Eats'', divorced in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=Report: Alton Brown finalizes divorce |url=http://radiotvtalk.blog.ajc.com/2015/05/20/report-alton-brown-finalizes-divorce/ |agency=AJC}}</ref> They have one daughter, who was born in 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tv.com/alton-brown/person/219990/biography.html |title=Alton Brown Biography |publisher=Tv.com |access-date=2012-01-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304031632/http://www.tv.com/alton-brown/person/219990/biography.html |archive-date=March 4, 2012 |df=mdy}}</ref> A few members of his [[extended family]] appeared on ''Good Eats'' (such as his late grandmother, his mother, and daughter, who is known on the show as "Alton's Spawn"), but most of his "family" portrayed on the series were actors or members of the show's production crew.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/References/FamilyTree.htm |title=The Family Tree |publisher=Goodeatsfanpage.com |date=August 27, 2010 |access-date=2012-01-23}}</ref><ref name="mutantnation.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.mutantnation.com/Alton%20Brown.asp |title=Alton Brown |website=MutantNation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016064733/http://mutantnation.com/Alton%20Brown.asp |archive-date=October 16, 2007}}</ref>

Brown and Atlanta restaurant designer Elizabeth Ingram became engaged in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/scabs-riches-tale-alton-brown-rescue-dog-scabigail/ |title=The scabs-to-riches tale of Alton Brown's new rescue dog, "Scabigail" |publisher=atlantamagazine.com |date=June 13, 2018 |access-date=2018-06-14}}</ref> Brown posted in September 2018 that he and Ingram had married on a boat in Charleston, South Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BoZ5rnGlEVM/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/altonbrown/1880788004978836812 |archive-date=2021-12-23 |url-access=subscription |title=Alton Brown on Instagram: "Yeah, we wore sneakers. #mybouquetwasabloodymary" |website=Instagram}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Brown was once a [[motorcycle|motorcycling]] enthusiast,<ref name="roadfly.com">[http://www.roadfly.com/magazine/14/alton_brown.1.html Alton Brown] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060327015336/http://www.roadfly.com/magazine/14/alton_brown.1.html |date=March 27, 2006 }} at ''Roadfly'' magazine</ref> although he no longer owns one. Brown is also an airplane [[Pilot (aeronautics)|pilot]] and was featured in the aviation magazine ''AOPA Flight Training''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.altonbrown.com/adventure/knowledge.html |title=AltonBrown.com |publisher=AltonBrown.com |access-date=2012-01-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302143654/http://www.altonbrown.com/adventure/knowledge.html |archive-date=March 2, 2012 |df=mdy}}</ref> He owned two planes, a [[Cessna 206]] and a [[Cessna 414]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/business/05pilots.html?ref=business&src=me&pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |first=Kate |last=Murphy |title=iPads Replacing Pilots' Paper Manuals |date=July 4, 2011}}</ref>

Brown likes vintage watches and wears a different watch for every season of ''Good Eats''; this was used in production to quickly identify which season a clip is from. Once, his watch broke midseason, and Brown continued to wear it for the rest of the season to maintain this system. Twenty years after the [[Omega Seamaster]] watch his father left him was stolen, Brown bought it from an eBay seller and had it restored.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.mensjournal.com/style/watches/alton-browns-other-obsession-vintage-watches-20150810 |title=Alton Brown's Other Obsession: Vintage Watches |newspaper=Men's Journal |access-date=2016-12-04}}</ref>

Brown changed his eating habits in 2009 in order to lose weight and become healthier, losing {{convert|50|lb}} over the course of nine months.<ref name='Good Eats EA1313H'>{{cite web |url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/its-not-a-diet/index.html |title=Live and Let Diet |access-date=2010-01-05 |last=Brown |first=Alton |date=January 4, 2010 |work=Good Eats |publisher=Food Network |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107213337/http://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/its-not-a-diet/index.html |archive-date=January 7, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Brown discussed his Christian beliefs in a 2010 interview with ''Eater''. He said at the time:

{{blockquote|I'm not a spooky snake handler because I live in Georgia and I'm Christian{{nbsp}}[...] that I believe in the Bible, that I travel with the Bible, that I read the Bible every day. I'm still me. I'm still a guy doing a job. I find, actually, that people ask me a lot about it. I don't hit people over the head with the Bible{{nbsp}}[...] I still feel a funny little tinge in my stomach when I'm out to dinner with my wife and daughter in New York. We'll go to dinner and we'll be sitting around the table and we'll say [[Grace (prayer)|grace]]. You know what? People are going to stare at you. I used to feel really self-conscious. But I've gotten to a point where I think, nah, I'm not going to feel bad about that. I'm not going to apologize about that.<ref>{{cite web |author=Joshua David Stein |url=http://eater.com/archives/2010/09/28/alton-brown-on-next-iron-chef-faith-vessel.php |title=Alton Brown on Being a Vessel, Next Iron Chef, and His Faith – Eaterrogation – Eater National |publisher=Eater.com |date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=2018-04-14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513165515/http://eater.com/archives/2010/09/28/alton-brown-on-next-iron-chef-faith-vessel.php |archive-date=May 13, 2012 |df=mdy}}</ref>}}

Brown said in a December 2014 interview in [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] that he "could no longer abide the [[Southern Baptist Convention]]'s indoctrination of children and its anti-gay stance" adding that he is now "searching for a new belief system."<ref name="time">{{cite magazine |title=Existential Stew Touring TV chef Alton Brown hunts down the recipe for joy |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=December 15, 2014 |page=64 |author=Jack Dickey |url=https://time.com/3617678/alton-browns-existential-stew/}}</ref>

In November 2020, Brown declared on Twitter that he has almost always voted Republican, but that the 2016 United States Presidential Election was the first time he considered voting for a Democrat since [[Michael Dukakis]] in 1988. Brown supported [[Joe Biden]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 U.S. Presidential Election]], as well as Democrats running in U.S. Senate races in Georgia.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1325947007064809476 |user=altonbrown |title=I have voted Republican most of my life. |author=Alton Brown |date=2020-11-09 |access-date=2020-05-03 |url=https://twitter.com/altonbrown/status/1325947007064809476 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109234342/https://twitter.com/altonbrown/status/1325947007064809476 |archive-date=2020-11-09 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Works==
* ''I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-083-0}}, 2002)
* ''Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-296-5}}, 2003)
* ''I'm Just Here for the Food: Kitchen User's Manual'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-298-1}}, 2003)
* ''I'm Just Here for the Food: Cook's Notes'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-299-X}}, 2003)
* ''I'm Just Here for More Food: Food × Mixing + Heat = Baking'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-341-4}}, 2004)
* ''I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking Version 2.0'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-559-X}}, 2006)
* ''Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-681-2}}, 2008)
* ''Good Eats: The Early Years'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-795-9}}, 2009)
* ''Good Eats 2: The Middle Years'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-857-2}}, 2010)
* ''Good Eats 3: The Later Years'' ({{ISBN|1-58479-903-X}}, 2011)
* ''Good Eats: Two-Volume Set - Episodes 1 Through 164'' ({{ISBN|978-0-81-099822-3}}, 2011)
* ''Good Eats: Three-Volume Set - The Complete Episodes'' ({{ISBN|978-1-61-769105-8}}, 2013)
* ''EveryDayCook'' ({{ISBN|978-1-101-88571-0}}, 2016)
* ''Good Eats 4: The Final Years'' ({{ISBN|978-1-41-975352-7}}, 2022)
* ''Food for Thought: Essays & Ruminations'' ({{ISBN|978-1668064214}}, 2025)
<!-- do better: Brown was also a contributor to the 2005 cookbook ''Food Network Favorites: Recipes from Our All-Star Chefs'' ({{ISBN|0696230216}}). He selected the nonprofit world hunger organization [[Heifer International]] to receive a portion of the royalties. -->

==See also==
* [[Shirley Corriher]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.altonbrown.com/}}
* {{IMDb name|0113002}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfDNi1aEljAQ17mUrfUjkvg Official YouTube Channel]
* {{emmytvlegends name|alton-brown}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030326020715/http://www.jamesbeard.org/awards/awards.php?year=2003&category=1 His James Beard Foundation Award], including a [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519132117/http://www.jamesbeard.org/awards/2003/multimedia/ckbkRef.mov video of his acceptance speech]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050506131928/http://www.macworld.com/2001/03/bc/buzzbrown/ Interview], ''[[Macworld]]''

{{Authority control}}

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