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Good Eats is a cooking show on the Food Network. Since moving to the UK, I haven't been able to see it outside of some videos sent from my parents. I have missed it a lot. Good Eats is really more than just a cooking show. On the average cooking show, there are 2 cameras positioned across from a counter where the host calmly explains the recipe of the day. That is not Good Eats. Good Eats is hosted by the ultimate Geek/Chef, Alton Brown. Alton started life as a camera operator in television, but with a love for food and cooking. He eventually caved to his true love and went to culinary school. He made a pilot episode for his fast-paced and witty style of cooking show and sent it off to the Food Network. That kind of thing hardly ever works, but when you're clever and funny and know how to work the camera, it makes an irresistable show. Alton Brown does not teach recipes. He teaches techniques. He equips his audience to be creative with their food instead of always following the recipe. There is always a heavy dose of science and chemistry explained because when you know why you're doing the things you're doing in a recipe, it shows where you can ad-lib and where you can't when you're cooking. I've been watching cooking shows for as long as I can remember. When I was 8, my favorite show was Yan Can Cook with Martin Yan. I learned a lot from all the shows I've watched, but never as much as I have from Alton Brown. For those who love to cook and create in the kitchen, you learn the basics and how to expand on them. For those who have no idea how to cook, and are just beginning, you will learn the basics. And not just the "how", but also the "why". And the whole way you'll be laughing. It isn't just about teaching a recipe or even a technique. Even if you don't care about food and always order out, it's just plain entertaining. For instance, the pudding episode shows Alton Brown wondering how he's going to pay the $6000 the IRS wants. Then he sees a pudding contest on tv, offering a $6000 prize for pudding recipes. So like a mini-movie, he creates pudding recipes to try to pay off his debt. So if you've never seen it, I highly recommend Good Eats. And if you ever bump into Alton Brown, tell him I'd love to meet him. |