These new shows come as a result of Brown’s need to be constantly improving upon his craft. When interviewed about the inspiration for the reboot, Brown replied
You know, there actually was. I was at home, and I was cleaning
out my DVR and I noticed that I had 240-something “Good Eats”
episodes, and I literally accidentally hit play on one of them and I
had not looked at these things in a very long time and I was like,
“Oh my God, I don’t do it like that anymore, I haven’t done it like
that in 15 years!” And I started just watching, and I ended up
watching for the whole night, making a list of, “Well I would do
this, and I would certainly change that, and oh my God that’s
completely wrong.”
What made Good Eats such a revolutionary program with such wild success lies in its creative direction. It is the first cooking show that not only shows the viewer how to cook, but also why they take the steps they take. Brown uses creative elements like the skits, diagrams, puppetry, and interesting camera angles in order to teach history, technique, and most importantly to Brown, the science behind cooking. Such unusual elements were completely unheard of in the cooking television realm, and made cooking like a professional accessible, understandable, and fun. Who would think to teach the method to get bread to rise properly using sock puppets to represent yeasts? Even more importantly, who would think to make a device that can make a gallon of ice cream in only 10 seconds using fire extinguishers? Alton Brown, thats who. This same creative direction and energy will no doubt be applied in an evolved manner in Return of the Eats, and the new technology available to Brown will make for another break through program.
https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/alton-brown-interview-good-eats-reloaded
https://www.popsci.com/alton-browns-jet-cream
As a cooking/baking show fanatic, this was such a fun read! Some of my favorites include MasterChef, The Great British Baking Show, Hell's Kitchen, and Chopped. However, Good Eats is one that I have not watched. I love the idea behind it, including the science behind cooking and really going in depth into every step in the recipe. One of the things that really stood out to me in your post was when you included the information about why Alton Brown decided to reboot the show. Reading about a creative who isn't afraid to admit what went wrong or what he'd change about his ideas is really inspirational. I think admitting mistakes and changing methods is one of the most important parts of the creative process, and it's awesome to hear someone sharing that with their fans.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching Alton Brown with my dad all the time when I was younger! My favorite part of the show was his enthusiasm not just over food, but also in explaining food in new ways and through different domains. His creativity was very apparently intrinstic with him always wanting to do more or something different to explain why we should cook the way he shows us. So excited for Return of the Eats!
ReplyDeleteBy your description, this show definitely sounds like it defies the average cooking show. It is very interesting how it seems to encapsulate the depth that cooking has, which isn't often taken into consideration. The different techniques he displays force the audience to think of cooking in a different light than what they usually would. The fire extinguisher ice cream maker sounds wild and something I definitely need if it ever becomes a marketed product.
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