Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

I’ve been watching Alton Brown cooking shows since way back when Good Eats first came on the air. I loved the combination of science and food, and how Alton made the how and why as important as the taste of the final dish. My younger daughter and I watched many an episode together, loving his snarkiness, his unique clothing style, and his Southernness. When I saw a social media post about his new book, a collection of essays about his life and food called Food for Thought, I just knew it would be written in his own authentic POV. And, I was 100% correct!

Where to start with what I loved about this book? Chapter 1 rolls right out with a favorite of mine, “Meals That Made Me, Part I.” The 4th chapter on trying to nail down his grandmother’s biscuit recipe was reminiscent of me attempting to make the scones of my mother’s Scottish cousin. I also loved reading about the inception of Iron Chef America, a show I’ve watched quite a bit of over the years. Alton is a great storyteller, and I loved hearing about his early professional years, including how he developed his unique sartorial style, which was originally based upon his 10-year-old self watching James Bond movies, something he was allowed to do to get him out of the way when his parents had dinner parties.

I didn’t know that Alton’s father died when Alton was very young. Alton doesn’t go into detail in this book, but he does say that he doesn’t believe his father committed suicide, which was what the police report concluded. I’ve known several men who lost their fathers when they were just young boys, and I think it is a heavy burden to carry throughout life. I also didn’t know he had struggled with an eating disorder off and on, gaining weight from too much food and drink, and then losing so much that people suspected he was undergoing chemotherapy.

This book is a quick read, the chapters fly by as Alton spins one tale after another. It has humor, sharpness, and poignancy. The book really shows the many layers of Alton Brown. He is not just a cook, not just a chef, not just a TV personality, not just a filmmaker. As much as I’ve enjoyed his many TV iterations, and his cookbooks, I really enjoyed this collection of essays. If you are a fan of Good Eats, Iron Chef America, or Alton himself, pick up a copy of Food for Thought.