Whether it is cooking a simple Kraft mac and cheese or creating a Bolognese sauce that takes 7 hours to stew, a thought may cross your mind of “How and why does this food taste delicious?”. You may consider that what you are creating has a whole history of people throughout the ages perfecting its technique or experimenting to understand what flavors pair well with others and why. You may also wonder what form of chemistry you are doing in the kitchen because when it boils down to it, every food recipe is a chemistry experiment. Well you are not the only one who wonders this and Food Network’s TV Show host of “Good Eats”, Alton Brown, has spent the last 15 years of his life chasing those answers.
Alton Brown’s famous Good Eats show formed from these questions and a feeling that the food shows he was seeing were not answering these questions adequately or simply ignoring them to focus on more superficial aspects of cooking. Alton Brown originally went to school for cinematography but decided to enroll again at the New England Culinary Institute to pursue creating a show that would be innovative, but also educational to the culinary world. I would argue that Alton Brown’s creation of Good Eats is a “Big C” creative because of how innovative it is and the legacy it left behind for future cooking shows and instructional videos. 
Good Eats is a show that will make you feel like you are back in your grade school days when a science teacher did not want to teach for the day. Alton Brown has even declared a few of his inspirations for the show were Mr. Wizard and Monty Python, one a scientist like Bill Nye, the other a comedian trope of absurd sketch comics. However, despite its juvenile front, it is a refreshing approach to cooking shows that is full of information that will make you both understand food better and become a better cook. Alton Brown uses sketch comedy, props, dramatic scenes, and a cast of characters in each episode that usually touches on a common household recipe or a general theme such as “steak” or “ancient grains”. With all the methods mentioned above he not only discusses the history of the recipe, but also the science behind each cooking method.
Alton Brown states that there are two big reasons for him making the show focused heavily on comedy and science. For comedy, he believes that comedy makes people absorb knowledge better. Going off his schooling experience of mundane lessons and watching boring cooking shows, he did not want to give his audience that experience. He believes it is counter-productive to the show because you are not ingesting the information if you are not entertained. The other aspect, the science and education in his show, is due to wanting to give his audience the power and confidence to cook. Alton Brown states in interviews that culinary school showed him he was not a good cook, he was not a naturally gifted cook. Rather, he became a talented chef by learning and understanding the processes of recipes and methods. He states that he wants to give that to his audience: an understanding of the intricacies of cooking because he does not want people to feel like they are watching Alton Brown cook, but rather learning how to make themselves a better cook through the science and chemistry. It is something he states he never saw before on television, and he wanted people to feel less intimidated by cooking, rather see it is as easy as a middle school science lesson.
Alton Brown’s creation of Good Eats is a Big C creative in the food television and videos industry because of its new approach and discussion of information. We can thank Good Eats for Bon Appetit’s Test Kitchen videos and Buzzfeed’s cooking instructional videos. Alton Brown’s decision to put comedy and careful cinematography into Good Eats started this genre that makes cooking shows refreshing, fun, and approachable. It is no surprise that Food Network has asked Alton Brown to return Good Eats on the air. With how cooking videos are now, Good Eats seamlessly fits into the 2019 demographic when before it was pushing cooking shows boundaries and was an outlier compared to generic shows.
I loved watching Good Eats and it was great thinking about it in the creative context. I love the comedic and educational side of the show. I'm an education major and I think you bring up some good points about Atlon's educational philosophy. Comedy is engaging and makes learning seem effortless. It makes us intrinsically motivated to learn. Alton is a great educator in that he thoroughly explains complex topics in a digestible form (literally if you eat the food).
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your analysis of Alton Brown! I grew up watching Good Eats with my mom, so I have a bit of a connection here. At first I was hesitant to call Brown a Big-C, but then you introduced Bon Appetit's test kitchen as a result of Good Eats and I quickly agreed with you. I don't see the test kitchen coming about if it weren't for Alton!
ReplyDeleteI used to watch Alton Brown's show years ago! It really did strike me as being different from the other shows on Food Network at the time. I thought your analysis of Alton's creative process was really enlightening. Clearly, he was good at "problem finding" since he filled the gap in the existing domain by providing entertaining, instructional, AND accessible food television. I also was not sure that I would call him a Big C creative, but if he truly was the pioneer behind instructional food videos, then I am apt to agree with you!
ReplyDeleteI grew up watching Good Eats with my dad and I loved this analysis. I wasn't sure about calling him a Big-C creative just due to his instructional videos but understood why you did so with Bon Appetit's test kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI love Alton Brown and Good Eats! This was a fun analysis and the show was different from others even for how long ago most of the episodes were from. He incorporates diverse recipes in his episodes as well as some of the science behind cooking, which was very neat to watch as a kid. He is still influential today, and my dad and I have actually held on to a few of his cooking methods; for example, Alton Brown says to cook spaghetti or other long noodles in a large flat pan with cold water so everything heats up evenly and the cooking time is cut in half. I've taught it to my roommates this year and they had no idea it existed! Alton Brown's methods are revolutionary and while, like others, I was hesitant to see how he is a big C creative, from my own cooking experience and from watching countless Buzzfeed/Tasty videos, I do believe he pioneered a new style of follow-along cooking.
ReplyDeleteGod this made me nostalgic, I must have seen the episode about pickles twenty times with my dad. It really is because of the humor and the Bill-Nye-ish production style that I remember it clearly at all, and I guess that's what Brown's intent was. Framing the cooking show as entertainment instead of a televised class was rather unheard of, and the risk he took in making such a new style truly paid off in popularity and teaching effectiveness. I just want to find an episode online now
ReplyDeleteLovely post! Food network shows like Good Eats practically raised me, so this was a fun walk down memory lane. I think your connection to social media cooking videos produced by Buzzfeed or Bon Appetit is a strong one. The idea that food videos can be quick, entertaining, and educational really started with Food Network shows like Brown's. I was also interested to hear about his inspirations. It's no surprise to me that Monty Python is listed there. Brown's goofy, slapstick kind of comedy makes for a great family show.
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