Good Eats
Encyclopedia
Good Eats is a television
cooking show
created and hosted by Alton Brown
which airs in North America
on Food Network
. Likened to television science educators Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye
, Brown explores the science and technique behind the cooking, the history of different foods, and the advantages of different kinds of cooking equipment. The show tends to focus on familiar dishes that can easily be made at home, and also features segments on choosing the right appliances, and getting the most out of inexpensive, multi-purpose tools. Each episode of Good Eats has a distinct theme, which is typically an ingredient or a certain cooking technique, but may also be a more general theme such as Thanksgiving
, or "man food".
In the tenth anniversary episode, Alton Brown stated that the show was inspired by the idea of combining Julia Child
, Mr. Wizard, and Monty Python
.
On May 11, 2011, Alton Brown announced that the series would come to a close, ending production at episode 249.
s and shots from cameras placed inside and on various items in the kitchen, including the oven
s, refrigerator
, and microwave oven
. In some episodes, Brown and other actors play various characters to tell the story of the food. For example, in the episode "The Big Chili", Brown played a cowboy
trying to rustle up the ideal pot of chili
. In the episode "Give Peas a Chance" (a parody of The Exorcist
), Brown plays a Father Merrin-like character who tries to convince a "possessed" child to eat (and like) peas. In other episodes Brown is simply himself, but interacts with fictional characters such as his eggplant- and tomato-wielding neighbor Mr. McGregor, or a city council
man who refuses to eat fudge. He also uses various makeshift teaching aids to demonstrate scientific concepts.
Episodes of Good Eats typically begin with an introductory monologue
or skit that leads into the phrase "good eats." The show often closes with the phrase as well. For the first several seasons, Brown himself would say the words "good eats." Since approximately season seven, however, Brown avoids saying "good eats" at the end of the intro, stopping just short and allowing the main title graphics to complete the phrase.
Episodes are primarily set in the (fictional) kitchen of Brown's house, although his actual home kitchen was used in "Give Peas a Chance". In seasons 1–4, the episodes were shot in the actual home kitchen of Brown's original partners in the Atlanta, Georgia
, area. In season 5, taping moved to the new home of the show's Line Producer (Dana Popoff) and Director of Photography (Marion Laney), in which they built a much larger and more versatile kitchen for taping. A 7 feet (2.1 m) section of the island was built for the show and placed on wheels, so it can be moved (or removed) for various shots, and a 12 sq ft (1.1 m²) grid of pipe was hung from the ceiling, for easier placement of cameras and microphones. Starting with season 7, the show moved yet again, this time to an exact replica of the previous kitchen and surrounding areas of the home, built on a sound stage. In the "Behind the Eats" special, Brown said that complaints by Popoff's neighbors (not adjacent neighbors but at the end of the block) prompted the move. The stove top and the sink are the only functioning pieces in this kitchen. Many of the other appliances have even had part of their backs removed, so shots of Brown can be taken from inside cabinets, ovens, and refrigerators. This change was generally not known until after season 7 started airing when the house used in season 5–6 was put on eBay
for sale. It was then revealed that they had moved. It is generally thought that in the "Q" episode on barbecue that was taped in Brown's Airstream
trailer, when Brown says that they are "building the set for Good Eats: The Motion Picture" this is in reality a reference to the new house set. The set was not officially unveiled on the show as a set until "..Avocado Experiments".
Incidental music
during the show is typically a variation
of the show's theme, which in turn was inspired by music from the film Get Shorty
. http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/FAQ/FAQ100s.htm#130 There are dozens of variations of the theme played throughout, crossing all genres of music, including the keypad tones in "Mission: Poachable" and nearly every incidence where a countdown of ten seconds is used. New music is composed for each episode by Patrick Belden of Belden Music and Sound. Brown met Belden while working on other projects before Brown's culinary training.
Each episode also features tidbits, text pieces containing trivia
related to the food or cooking technique featured in the episode. These are always shown just before ad breaks
, and are often shown between major transitions in location or cooking action. The information presented is usually notes about the history of the food or technique, helpful cooking hints, or technical or scientific information which would be too detailed or dry to include as part of the show's live content.
During the show's first seasons, at the end of each episode Brown would give a summary of the important points covered during the episode; these points would be shown on the screen as he talked. These summaries still appear in later seasons from time to time, but rarely have the textual accompaniment. Brown also traveled to food manufacturing facilities frequently in the first few seasons to talk with experts about the foods being featured. In later seasons, he still visits farms, groves, and other places food is grown as well as processing plants and other factories, but less frequently.
Beginning in season 9, episodes have been filmed in high definition
, and these episodes also appear on Food Network HD.
Several members of Brown's real-life family have appeared on the show. His mother had a walk-on part; his daughter, Zoey, has appeared in several episodes; and his late grandmother, "Ma" Mae Skelton, co-hosted the biscuit
episode "The Dough Also Rises". Even his Basset Hound
and iguana
have shown up in a couple of episodes. However, his wife DeAnna (who is also the show's executive producer
) has never appeared in an episode, though she was mentioned in "Where There's Smoke, There's Fish". Specialists who hold real-life positions commonly appear as themselves to provide Brown with useful information on the topic at hand.
Brown plays other roles from time to time, often consisting of him explaining something in the foreground while another Brown demonstrates in the background (similar to the technique used to present B.A. Brown). Sometimes he participates in an on-screen skit to re-enact such topics as cavemen discovering cooking techniques, while providing a voice-over narrative. At other times Brown talks to another character played by himself, with the camera cutting between the two as each delivers his lines, for instance, when he is (also) playing a Government Agent.
for Good Eats first aired on the Chicago, Illinois
, PBS
affiliate WTTW in July 1998. The show was picked up in July 1999 by Food Network
, which now owns exclusive rights to the show. As of Summer 2009, episodes air Monday nights at 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., as well as every weeknight at 11 p.m. Each airing has a late-night replay at 2 a.m. New episodes, when available, debut in the early Monday slot.
New episodes aired on Wednesdays in the late evenings from 1999—2007, when they were moved to Mondays at 8 p.m. From July 9, 2007, until Summer 2009, at least two different episodes aired each weeknight (8 p.m. and 11 p.m., along with late-night replays at 2 a.m.), with a third airing on Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m.; additional episodes were occasionally added (usually coinciding with a Food Network series or event).
On Food Network Canada, the show generally airs on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. The time appears to change from week to week, but it tends to air sometime before 2:30 a.m. and/or after 7 p.m. on the aforementioned days. Only one episode, "Cran Opening", aired in Canada before the U.S.
On October 10, 2009, Good Eats celebrated its 10th anniversary with an hour-long live stage show aired on the Food Network
. Guests included Ted Allen
of Food Detectives
and Chopped
. One of the demonstrations in the show proved that a fire extinguisher was not a unitasker, as Brown constantly repeated in regular episodes that the fire extinguisher was the only unitasker in the kitchen.
On the January 4, 2010 episode, Good Eats revealed Alton Brown's changed eating habits that led to his losing 50 pounds in 9 months. Brown emphasized that he was not on a diet; in spite of this claim, however, Brown went on to describe a regimen that prescribes certain healthful foods with specific degrees of regularity (daily, once every two days, etc.) while proscribing unhealthy foods. He did, however, make clear that this was not a diet in the modern American sense of the word, but in the original Greek meaning. Prescribed foods included breakfast every day (usually a fruit smoothie), oily fish
, whole grains, etc. The episode comically claimed the entire story was in Brown's new book, "Buff Like Me".
in 2006. "Rarely has science been taught on TV in such an entertaining – and appetizing – manner as it is in Alton Brown's goofy, tirelessly inventive series."
In 2011, Alton Brown was given the James Beard Award for Best TV Food Personality for his work on Good Eats.
in the fall of 2011.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
cooking show
Cooking show
A TV cooking show is a television program that presents the preparation of food, in a kitchen on the studio set. The host of the show, often a celebrity chef, prepares one or more dishes over the course of the show, taking the viewing audience through the food's preparation showing all...
created and hosted by Alton Brown
Alton Brown
Alton Crawford Brown is an American television personality, author, actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats and the mini-series Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves, and he is the host and main commentator on Iron Chef America...
which airs in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
. Likened to television science educators Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye
Bill Nye
William Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, mechanical engineer, and scientist...
, Brown explores the science and technique behind the cooking, the history of different foods, and the advantages of different kinds of cooking equipment. The show tends to focus on familiar dishes that can easily be made at home, and also features segments on choosing the right appliances, and getting the most out of inexpensive, multi-purpose tools. Each episode of Good Eats has a distinct theme, which is typically an ingredient or a certain cooking technique, but may also be a more general theme such as Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
, or "man food".
In the tenth anniversary episode, Alton Brown stated that the show was inspired by the idea of combining Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
, Mr. Wizard, and Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
.
On May 11, 2011, Alton Brown announced that the series would come to a close, ending production at episode 249.
Format
The show has a distinct visual style involving Dutch angleDutch angle
Dutch tilt, Dutch angle, Dutch shot, oblique angle, German angle, canted angle, Batman angle, or jaunty angle are terms used for one of many cinematic techniques often used to portray the psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed...
s and shots from cameras placed inside and on various items in the kitchen, including the oven
Oven
An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...
s, refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
, and microwave oven
Microwave oven
A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
. In some episodes, Brown and other actors play various characters to tell the story of the food. For example, in the episode "The Big Chili", Brown played a cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
trying to rustle up the ideal pot of chili
Chili con carne
Chili con carne is a spicy stew. The name of the dish derives from the Spanish chile con carne, "chili pepper with meat". Traditional versions are made, minimally, from chili peppers, garlic, onions, and cumin, along with chopped or ground beef. Beans and tomatoes are frequently included...
. In the episode "Give Peas a Chance" (a parody of The Exorcist
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a novel of supernatural suspense by William Peter Blatty, published by Harper & Row in 1971. It was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school...
), Brown plays a Father Merrin-like character who tries to convince a "possessed" child to eat (and like) peas. In other episodes Brown is simply himself, but interacts with fictional characters such as his eggplant- and tomato-wielding neighbor Mr. McGregor, or a city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
man who refuses to eat fudge. He also uses various makeshift teaching aids to demonstrate scientific concepts.
Episodes of Good Eats typically begin with an introductory monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
or skit that leads into the phrase "good eats." The show often closes with the phrase as well. For the first several seasons, Brown himself would say the words "good eats." Since approximately season seven, however, Brown avoids saying "good eats" at the end of the intro, stopping just short and allowing the main title graphics to complete the phrase.
Episodes are primarily set in the (fictional) kitchen of Brown's house, although his actual home kitchen was used in "Give Peas a Chance". In seasons 1–4, the episodes were shot in the actual home kitchen of Brown's original partners in the Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, area. In season 5, taping moved to the new home of the show's Line Producer (Dana Popoff) and Director of Photography (Marion Laney), in which they built a much larger and more versatile kitchen for taping. A 7 feet (2.1 m) section of the island was built for the show and placed on wheels, so it can be moved (or removed) for various shots, and a 12 sq ft (1.1 m²) grid of pipe was hung from the ceiling, for easier placement of cameras and microphones. Starting with season 7, the show moved yet again, this time to an exact replica of the previous kitchen and surrounding areas of the home, built on a sound stage. In the "Behind the Eats" special, Brown said that complaints by Popoff's neighbors (not adjacent neighbors but at the end of the block) prompted the move. The stove top and the sink are the only functioning pieces in this kitchen. Many of the other appliances have even had part of their backs removed, so shots of Brown can be taken from inside cabinets, ovens, and refrigerators. This change was generally not known until after season 7 started airing when the house used in season 5–6 was put on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
for sale. It was then revealed that they had moved. It is generally thought that in the "Q" episode on barbecue that was taped in Brown's Airstream
Airstream
Airstream is a brand of luxury recreational vehicle manufactured in Jackson Center, Ohio, USA. It is currently a division of Thor Industries. The company, which now employs fewer than 400, is the oldest in the industry. Airstream trailers are easily recognized for their distinctive rounded...
trailer, when Brown says that they are "building the set for Good Eats: The Motion Picture" this is in reality a reference to the new house set. The set was not officially unveiled on the show as a set until "..Avocado Experiments".
Incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
during the show is typically a variation
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
of the show's theme, which in turn was inspired by music from the film Get Shorty
Get Shorty (film)
Get Shorty is a 1995 crime-comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito, the plot remained true to the book except for a few minor details....
. http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/FAQ/FAQ100s.htm#130 There are dozens of variations of the theme played throughout, crossing all genres of music, including the keypad tones in "Mission: Poachable" and nearly every incidence where a countdown of ten seconds is used. New music is composed for each episode by Patrick Belden of Belden Music and Sound. Brown met Belden while working on other projects before Brown's culinary training.
Each episode also features tidbits, text pieces containing trivia
Trivia
The trivia are the three lower Artes Liberales, i.e. grammar, rhetoric and logic. These were the topics of basic education, foundational to the quadrivia of higher education, and hence the material of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates...
related to the food or cooking technique featured in the episode. These are always shown just before ad breaks
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, and are often shown between major transitions in location or cooking action. The information presented is usually notes about the history of the food or technique, helpful cooking hints, or technical or scientific information which would be too detailed or dry to include as part of the show's live content.
During the show's first seasons, at the end of each episode Brown would give a summary of the important points covered during the episode; these points would be shown on the screen as he talked. These summaries still appear in later seasons from time to time, but rarely have the textual accompaniment. Brown also traveled to food manufacturing facilities frequently in the first few seasons to talk with experts about the foods being featured. In later seasons, he still visits farms, groves, and other places food is grown as well as processing plants and other factories, but less frequently.
Beginning in season 9, episodes have been filmed in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
, and these episodes also appear on Food Network HD.
Cast and crew
A staple feature of Good Eats is the presence of several recurring characters who play important roles on the show, from Brown's relatives and neighbors to various nemeses. In season 9, the episode "Behind the Eats" offered a backstage look at the show's production and revealed the origin of several characters. In the episode, Brown stated that all of the show's staff members have appeared on camera at some point.Several members of Brown's real-life family have appeared on the show. His mother had a walk-on part; his daughter, Zoey, has appeared in several episodes; and his late grandmother, "Ma" Mae Skelton, co-hosted the biscuit
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
episode "The Dough Also Rises". Even his Basset Hound
Basset Hound
The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits and hare by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound....
and iguana
Iguana
Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena...
have shown up in a couple of episodes. However, his wife DeAnna (who is also the show's executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
) has never appeared in an episode, though she was mentioned in "Where There's Smoke, There's Fish". Specialists who hold real-life positions commonly appear as themselves to provide Brown with useful information on the topic at hand.
Fictional
| Character | Played by: | Role on the show |
|---|---|---|
| "W" (Vicki Wong) | Vickie Eng Vickie Eng Vickie Eng is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of "W" in Good Eats and Judge Rita Mayson in Drop Dead Diva... |
A parody of James Bond James Bond James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,... 's Q, "W" is a kitchen gear specialist. "W" is antisocial, sardonic, and finds Brown very annoying. Brown realizes this, and intentionally fools with gadgets and acts silly to get a rise out of her. He also likes to sabotage her attempts to make sales. Even so, she is the most reliable source of equipment for Brown, as she knows everything about kitchen tools and appliances Home appliance Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into:*Major appliances, or White goods*Small appliances, or Brown goods... . Her appearances are accompanied by a theme that sounds similar to those heard in the James Bond movies. "W"'s full name is revealed in the episode "Salad Daze II: The Long Arm Of the Slaw". In later episodes, "W" began working in the "Good Eats Testing Lab". In season 11, her role was interchanged with that of the "The Dungeon Master", especially for food gadgets that imply food disintegration such as blender Blender A blender is a kitchen appliance for chopping or liquefying food.Blender may also refer to:Media:* Blender , a music-themed magazine* Blender , a free and open-source software program for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering... s and meat cubers. She reappeared in season 12. "Behind the Eats" revealed that in real life, Vickie Eng is Brown's chiropractor Chiropractic Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine... . In "Behind the Bird" "W" is revealed to be a cyborg Cyborg A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S... . |
| Marsha Brown-Brady | Merrilyn Crouch | Brown's older sister. Marsha is a constant source of annoyance to Brown (and, as revealed in some episodes, to members of the Good Eats production staff). She often tricks or cajoles Brown into cooking for her, which usually initiates the topic of that episode. For instance, in "Circle of Life", Marsha manages to talk Brown into making dozens of doughnuts for her Bunny Scout troop's bake sale Bake sale A bake sale is a fundraising activity where baked goods such as doughnuts, cupcakes and cookies, sometimes along with ethnic foods, are sold. Bake sales are usually held by small, non-profit organizations, such as clubs, school groups and charitable organizations... , and then tricks him into buying them all back. She has been divorced more than once, as Brown referred to her ink not having dried on her LAST divorce "yet" in "Behind the Bird". |
| Elton Brady | John Herina | Marsha's son, therefore Brown's nephew. Elton is often featured as Brown's assistant, learning the ways of cooking in the process. Brown treats Elton almost like his own son, despite his and Marsha's constant bickering. Herina, who looks strikingly similar to Brown, also plays a young Brown when necessary, as in the introduction to the roulade-centered episode "Fit to be Tied", and also appeared in the 1996 movie Nightjohn Nightjohn Nightjohn is a young adult novel by Gary Paulsen, first published in 1993. It is about slavery in the American South shortly before the time of the American Civil War. It was later made into a movie of the same name.-Plot summary:... as the character Homer Waller. According to Brown, Herina is currently taller than Brown is, and Herina is currently enrolled in West Point. |
| B.A. Brown AKA "Anti-Alton" |
Alton Brown | Brown's usually nonverbal evil twin Evil twin The evil twin is an antagonist found in many different fictional genres. They are physical copies of protagonists, but with radically inverted moralities. In filmed entertainment, they can have obvious physical differences with the protagonist—such as facial hair, eyepatches, scars or distinctive... of sorts, who is sometimes seen wearing black or in a goatee Goatee Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin... . Brown uses camera tricks to appear as himself on one side of the screen and as his "brother" on the other. B.A. is often used in a manner similar to Goofus and Gallant to compare and contrast Brown's and B.A's cooking techniques and their results. In "American Pickle", for example, B.A. compares Brown's sweet pickled fruit to a recipe for extremely hot 'Firecracker' carrots. As shown in the episode "Sub Standards", he is Brown's identical twin in the Good Eats universe and can imitate Brown perfectly when he wants to. |
| Colonel Bob Boatwright | Alton Brown | A white-clad Southern gentleman based on Colonel Sanders Colonel Sanders Harland David "Colonel" Sanders was an American fast food businessman who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, now re-branded as KFC... , Colonel Boatwright demonstrates traditional Southern recipes such as mint julep Mint Julep The mint julep is a mixed alcoholic drink, or cocktail, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States.- Preparation :A mint julep is traditionally made with four ingredients: mint leaf, bourbon, sugar, and water. Traditionally, spearmint is the mint of choiceused in Southern states, and... , upside-down cake Upside-down cake An upside-down cake is a cake usually made in a pan with a curved bottom. Once cooked, turned over and allowed to set, the cake is eaten upside-down... , and fried catfish Catfish Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores... . |
| Cousin Ray | Steve Rooney | Brown's cousin, who seems to be a bit of a redneck. Ray also appears to be either a con man or simply uneducated when it comes to food. In "Crustacean Nation", Ray claims that the shrimp he is selling are turning pink because they are happy to see Brown when actually, as Brown explains, they are cooking in their shells due to the heat. Steve Rooney also plays Brown's "Aunt Verna" who is seen at Brown's Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the... dinner. |
| The Mad French Chef | Steve Rooney | Brown's arch-nemesis, who is stereotypically snobbish toward all non-French French cuisine French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France... forms of cooking, and berates Brown for not using French techniques. Over the course of the series, the Chef seems to become more angry, as his title in different episodes changes to "Really Mad French Chef" and beyond. The Chef is currently voiced by Brown, as he is no longer seen on-screen except for one "appearance" as an oven mitt/puppet in the episode "Crepe Expectations". |
| Thing | usually Paul Merchant or Todd Bailey | Named after Thing from The Addams Family The Addams Family The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing.... , Thing is a hand that appears in random locations to hand Brown ingredients and tools, to which Brown replies, "Thank you, Thing." or "That's a good idea, Thing." In "Behind the Eats", it was "revealed" that Brown's Thing is the son of the Addams Family Thing. Thing is rather mischievous, sneaking in a mouse trap in Alton Brown's tin storage in "Great Balls of Meat", or tossing Brown a mandolin Mandolin A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... when he is actually referring to the mandoline Mandoline A mandoline is a cooking utensil used for slicing and for cutting juliennes; with suitable attachments, it can make crinkle-cuts. It consists of two parallel working surfaces, one of which can be adjusted in height. A food item is slid along the adjustable surface until it reaches a blade mounted... . |
| Paul | Paul Merchant | Paul is Brown's apprentice and intern Intern Internship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in... . Paul is generally incompetent and quite often seems to stress out regarding food-related issues. Brown often uses Paul as a human guinea pig Guinea pig The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea... for demonstrations, as in "Chile's Angels". |
| Lactose Lactose Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk , although the amount varies among species and individuals. It is extracted from sweet or sour whey. The name comes from or , the Latin word for milk,... Man |
Paul Merchant | While appearing to be a superhero, he is in fact a nemesis to Brown, keeping him from sharing his dairy creations with those afflicted with lactose intolerance Lactose intolerance Lactose intolerance, also called lactase deficiency or hypolactasia, is the inability to digest and metabolize lactose, a sugar found in milk... . Lactose Man usually appears in dairy Dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned... product-based episodes. A variation of the Lactose Man character, Lever Man (albeit in the same costume) appeared in "Mussel Bound", which is dedicated to mussel Mussel The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The... s. Brown may or may not know the true identity of Lactose Man, as he identified Lever Man as being his apprentice, Paul. The Lever Man costume was revamped for use as Lactose Man. Brown himself is not lactose intolerant, which he revealed in "Breakfast Eats II". |
| Chuck | Daniel Pettrow | Chuck is Brown's 'Butcher Neighbor'. He has appeared in several episodes, such as "Bean Stalker", "Squid Pro Quo", and "A Chuck For Chuck". Chuck also appears in "Romancing the Bird: A Good Eats Thanksgiving", where he drives a 'Turkey Truck' and explains the difference between fresh, frozen, and refrigerated turkeys. In "Chops Ahoy", Chuck abducts Brown's charcoal grill 'Fireball' in order to convince Brown to buy a new propane grill. |
| Frances Andersen | Widdi Turner | Frances (a parody of Annie Wilkes Annie Wilkes Anne Marie Wilkes Dugan, usually known as Annie Wilkes, is a fictional character and the antagonist/main villain in the 1987 novel Misery, by Stephen King. In the 1990 film adaptation of the novel, Annie Wilkes was portrayed by Kathy Bates, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal... from Misery) is Brown's self-proclaimed biggest fan. She has a collection of many of the show's props Theatrical property A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set... that she purchased from the internet. Brown first encounters Frances in "This Spud's For You Too" after his truck breaks down, and she holds Brown hostage in "Ill Gotten Grains" after he loses his memory in a fender-bender. |
| Farmer McGregor | Bill Greeley | An elderly man who has a farm near Brown's home, he prides himself on his home-grown produce Produce Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods and, not limited to fruits and vegetables . More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested. In supermarkets the term is also used to refer... and enters them regularly in county fair food contests. Brown used to pilfer from McGregor's prized tomato Tomato The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler... patch, but soon stopped when McGregor realized the tomato dishes Brown gave him were made with his own tomatoes. McGregor also has the skills to produce larger-than-average produce, making a potato that weighed 29 lb (13.2 kg), although it lost in the "Big Food" contest to Brown's modest olive Olive The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the... . McGregor also appears in the eggplant episode and brings Brown too many eggplants to use, often using wheelbarrow Wheelbarrow A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles to the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." "Barrow" is a... s and cardboard boxes as delivery methods. The name of this character is most likely a nod to Beatrix Potter Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian... 's Peter Rabbit Peter Rabbit Peter Rabbit is a fictional anthropomorphic character in various children's stories by Beatrix Potter. He first appeared in The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902, and subsequently in five more books between 1904 and 1912. Spinoff merchandise includes dishes, wallpaper, and dolls... children's books. |
| Koko Karl | Bart Hansard | Karl is the symbol of conglomerate chocolate Chocolate Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC... manufacturers like Hershey The Hershey Company The Hershey Company, known until April 2005 as the Hershey Foods Corporation and commonly called Hershey's, is the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. Its headquarters are in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hershey's Chocolate World. It was founded by Milton S... . In "Art of Darkness II: Cocoa", he is seen peddling his products to people on the streets and does his best to force them down people's throats. After encountering Karl, Brown becomes fed up with Karl's inferior products and sets out to produce his own homemade versions, but not before declaring that Karl's cocoa has toxic ingredients. Karl is on the run from the law because of this. In "Puddin' Head Blues", Karl disguises himself as "Auntie Puddin'" and is arrested at the end of the episode for his "crimes." In "Power Trip" Brown visits Koko Karl in a solitary confinement Solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional... cell in a parody of The Silence of the Lambs. |
| Sid Maxburg | Bart Hansard | Sid is a bombastic entertainment agent who is usually seen trying to revamp the images of allegedly forgotten foods like vanilla ("My Pod"), sweet potatoes ("Potato, My Sweet"), and okra ("Okraphobia"). |
| The Dungeon Master | Lucky Yates | Brown's personal dungeon master (a parody of Igor Igor (fictional character) Igor is the traditional stock character or cliché hunch-backed assistant or butler to many types of villain, such as Count Dracula or a mad scientist, familiar from many horror movies and horror movie parodies, the Frankenstein series and Van Helsing films in particular.-Origins:Dwight Frye's... and Sméagol), who appears in "Tort(illa) Reform", "Cubing A Round", "Fruit Ten from Outer Space", and "There will be Oil". Brown usually disapproves of his loose grip on reality; for example, in "Cubing A Round" he spends $1,500 on a Swiss mechanical steak cuber using "the little plastic thing with the numbers on it" (AB's credit card Credit card A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services... ). |
| "Government Agents", "Food Police" |
Brown, Marshall Millard, others | These characters occasionally appear to deliver legal information pertaining to the food(s) featured in an episode. The 'government agents' appear as 'Men in Black Men in Black Men in Black , in American popular culture and in UFO conspiracy theories, are men dressed in black suits who claim to be government agents who harass or threaten UFO witnesses to keep them quiet about what they have seen. It is sometimes implied that they may be aliens themselves... ', mostly from the FDA Food and Drug Administration The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments... or USDA United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food... , who give information about government quality standards for certain foods, speaking in a stereotypical loud, fast-paced, overly-serious tone. At times, they also claim that Brown's food does not meet government regulations, and as a consequence confiscate what he's cooked. Sometimes, Brown's aforementioned evil twin acts as a single "agent"; at other times, Brown and two other "agents" (generally played by members of the production crew) appear. In "Churn Baby Churn 2", Nic Sims of Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010... , a fan whose kitchen was remodeled by Brown in All Star Kitchen Makeover, played one of the 'Agents', who were dressed as soda jerk Soda jerk A soda jerk was a person — typically a youth — who operated the soda fountain in a drugstore, often for the purpose of preparing and serving ice cream soda. This was made by putting flavored syrup into a specially designed tall glass, adding carbonated water and, finally, one or two scoops of ice... s. |
| Itchy & Twitchy | Brett Soll and Jim Pace | Alton Brown's two lawyers, always dressed in business suits and carrying briefcases. They appear when AB is about to break some culinary law, saying, "Well, if it isn't my lawyers, Itchy and Twitchy." In the episode "Pretzel Logic", they direct Brown not to use lye Lye Lye is a corrosive alkaline substance, commonly sodium hydroxide or historically potassium hydroxide . Previously, lye was among the many different alkalis leached from hardwood ashes... in order to give color to his pretzels. Neither of the two lawyers talks, instead they open their briefcases and hand Brown papers which he reads and complains about , giving brief descriptions of the law. The joke goes on when the two are constantly handing Alton many papers. Sometimes, Alton is beaten by the system and must find an alternative way to cook food, and in other cases Alton uses his own method as a loophole. In "Orange Aid", it is revealed that Itchy can talk, as heard when he had a brain freeze Brain freeze An ice-cream headache, also known as brain freeze, cold-stimulus headache, or its given scientific name sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia , is a form of brief cranial pain or headache commonly associated with consumption of cold beverages or foods such as ice cream and popsicles... from AB's orange ice cream. |
Real
| Name | Specialty | Role on the show |
|---|---|---|
| Shirley Corriher Shirley Corriher Shirley O. Corriher is a biochemist and author of CookWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking, winner of a James Beard Foundation award, and BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking. CookWise shows how scientific insights can be applied to traditional cooking, while BakeWise applies... |
Author, chef, self-labeled "mad Mad scientist A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if... " food scientist |
Shirley appears on the show to help explain the scientific processes behind cooking. She is the author of CookWise, the Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking, which won the 1998 James Beard Award James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York-based national professional non-profit organization named in honor of James Beard that serves to promote the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors at annual award ceremonies and providing scholarships and... for Food Reference and Technique. Whereas Brown tends to use comedy around the other experts, particularly Deborah Duchon, he generally plays straight with Corriher. |
| Deborah Duchon | Nutritional anthropologist | Duchon is from the Department of Anthropology and Geography at Georgia State University Georgia State University Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities... , who helps explore the history History History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians... of the episode's topic. In later seasons she tends to appear out of nowhere, with Brown reacting in mock fear to the words "nutritional anthropologist" appearing in the script. She is probably the most featured expert on Good Eats, appearing in many episodes since part of the show is normally dedicated to exploring the history of a food. Generally, Brown ends his scenes with Duchon by asking her, "how do you like your (food of the day)?" One fourth season episode ("Chile's Angels") featured a character called "Debbie Duchon" who was supposed to be Duchon's daughter. In fact, she was Brown's fictional creation when Duchon was not available for filming. The character led to a bemused reaction from Duchon when fans of the show asked her about her "daughter." |
| Caroline Connell | Nutritionist Nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises on matters of food and nutrition impacts on health. Different professional terms are used in different countries, employment settings and contexts — some examples include: nutrition scientist, public health nutritionist, dietitian-nutritionist, clinical... , dietitian Dietitian Dietitians supervise the preparation and service of food, develop modified diets, participate in research, and educate individuals and groups on good nutritional habits. The goals of dietitians are to provide medical nutritional intervention, and to obtain, safely prepare, serve and advise on... |
Connell (and other similar experts) tend to appear on episodes where Brown features a food that has positive health effects, and uses nutritionist's data as evidence. She appears many times in the first seasons, but now it seems that Brown retrieves his information from many specialists who only come on the show once or twice. |
| Carolyn O'Neil The Lady of the Refrigerator |
Dietitian Dietitian Dietitians supervise the preparation and service of food, develop modified diets, participate in research, and educate individuals and groups on good nutritional habits. The goals of dietitians are to provide medical nutritional intervention, and to obtain, safely prepare, serve and advise on... |
O'Neil is a dietitian who occasionally shows up to discuss nutritional value of foods with Brown. She also plays The Lady of the Refrigerator (a parody of The Lady of the Lake), who occasionally appears in Brown's refrigerator to impart information about the food or cooking technique covered in the episode, and to tease and needle Brown. |
| "Ma" Mae Skelton | Brown's grandmother | In addition to being referenced by Brown in several episodes, she appeared in "The Dough Also Rises," and baked biscuits alongside Brown. She also appeared in the first episode of season 2, "It's a Wonderful Cake" as number 7 of the secret food organization, mimicking SPECTRE from the James Bond movies, and gave Brown the idea for a fruit cake. She died in 2001. |
Brown plays other roles from time to time, often consisting of him explaining something in the foreground while another Brown demonstrates in the background (similar to the technique used to present B.A. Brown). Sometimes he participates in an on-screen skit to re-enact such topics as cavemen discovering cooking techniques, while providing a voice-over narrative. At other times Brown talks to another character played by himself, with the camera cutting between the two as each delivers his lines, for instance, when he is (also) playing a Government Agent.
History
The pilotTelevision pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
for Good Eats first aired on the Chicago, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
affiliate WTTW in July 1998. The show was picked up in July 1999 by Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
, which now owns exclusive rights to the show. As of Summer 2009, episodes air Monday nights at 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., as well as every weeknight at 11 p.m. Each airing has a late-night replay at 2 a.m. New episodes, when available, debut in the early Monday slot.
New episodes aired on Wednesdays in the late evenings from 1999—2007, when they were moved to Mondays at 8 p.m. From July 9, 2007, until Summer 2009, at least two different episodes aired each weeknight (8 p.m. and 11 p.m., along with late-night replays at 2 a.m.), with a third airing on Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m.; additional episodes were occasionally added (usually coinciding with a Food Network series or event).
On Food Network Canada, the show generally airs on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. The time appears to change from week to week, but it tends to air sometime before 2:30 a.m. and/or after 7 p.m. on the aforementioned days. Only one episode, "Cran Opening", aired in Canada before the U.S.
On October 10, 2009, Good Eats celebrated its 10th anniversary with an hour-long live stage show aired on the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
. Guests included Ted Allen
Ted Allen
Ted Allen is an American writer and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the American Bravo network's Emmy-winning television program Queer Eye. He now is the host of the prime-time series on Food Network Chopped, a culinary competition in which four chefs per episode...
of Food Detectives
Food Detectives
Food Detectives a food science show hosted by Ted Allen that airs in North America on Food Network. Ted Allen, backed by research conducted by Popular Science magazine, investigates various food-related beliefs, such as the validity of the five-second rule or the effectiveness of ginger as a means...
and Chopped
Chopped (TV series)
Chopped is a reality based cooking television series created by Michael Krupat, produced by Daniel Kay, and hosted by Ted Allen that pits four chefs against each other competiting for a chance to win $10,000. New episodes air every Tuesday at 10pm EST on Food Network.-Format:In each episode, four...
. One of the demonstrations in the show proved that a fire extinguisher was not a unitasker, as Brown constantly repeated in regular episodes that the fire extinguisher was the only unitasker in the kitchen.
On the January 4, 2010 episode, Good Eats revealed Alton Brown's changed eating habits that led to his losing 50 pounds in 9 months. Brown emphasized that he was not on a diet; in spite of this claim, however, Brown went on to describe a regimen that prescribes certain healthful foods with specific degrees of regularity (daily, once every two days, etc.) while proscribing unhealthy foods. He did, however, make clear that this was not a diet in the modern American sense of the word, but in the original Greek meaning. Prescribed foods included breakfast every day (usually a fruit smoothie), oily fish
Oily fish
Oily fish have oil in their tissues and in the belly cavity around the gut. Their fillets contain up to 30 percent oil, although this figure varies both within and between species...
, whole grains, etc. The episode comically claimed the entire story was in Brown's new book, "Buff Like Me".
Reception
Good Eats was nominated for the James Beard Foundation's "Best T.V. Food Journalism Award" in 2000, and the series earned a Peabody AwardPeabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
in 2006. "Rarely has science been taught on TV in such an entertaining – and appetizing – manner as it is in Alton Brown's goofy, tirelessly inventive series."
In 2011, Alton Brown was given the James Beard Award for Best TV Food Personality for his work on Good Eats.
The end of Good Eats
On May 9, 2011, Alton Brown announced via his Twitter that he is "retiring" the show after 249 episodes, and there will be three new one-hour episodes to be produced and premiered in 2011. The back catalog of shows were added to the repeat rotation of sister network Cooking ChannelCooking Channel
Cooking Channel is a television specialty channel that airs recurring programs about food and cooking, owned by Scripps Networks Interactive. It is a spinoff of Food Network, also owned by SNI, but focuses more on instructional shows rather than "reality style" and contest programming that Food...
in the fall of 2011.
External links
- Official site
- Alton Brown official site
- Good Eats Wiki
- Good Eats Fan Page - including comprehensive episode guide, equipment lists, and a forum.