Alton Brown, Culinary Analyst
Analytic Lessons from a Food Scientist
For nearly two decades, Alton Brown has been educating audiences on the science of cooking. He is a well-known celebrity chef and food network personality. He is also widely heralded as a food scientist. Above all else, he is an analyst.
Analyst is one title that you aren’t likely to find ascribed to Alton Brown in many (possibly any) other articles. The idea only really occurred to me in the process of writing another article on related topic. But this cinematographer turned foodie qualifies for a number of reasons which can serve as an example for most analysts.
It’s All About The Science
Alton is known first and foremost for his use of science. From Good Eats to Cutthroat Kitchen, he provides scientific explanations and commmentary to inform his audience.
Everything in food is science. The only subjective part is when you eat it.
These explanations include chemistry, physics, and even biology. He critiques design and nutrition with ease. His style and delivery, while occasionally campy, allows his audience to engage at their own pace.
Break It Down
Alton has a knack for reducing challenges their bare essentials. On Cutthroat Kitchen, where contestents are sabotaged often by having either important ingrediates or tools removed, Alton is able to break down the issue. Ingrediates can often be replaced, if the chef thinks about the base purpose. Equipment can be modified to replicate key cooking techniques typically provided by more specialized tools.
Educate
Alton is a teacher first. While other television chefs present recipes and techniques that can be easily replicated at home, Alton concentrates on educating his audience in key concept and major principles. His shows are entertaining and his food is good, but it is the education that has made him a Food Network star.
Synthesize
Another key to his success is his ability to synthesize complex subjects. When chemical equations make regular appearances on your show, it is important to be able to roll them up into easier to remember concepts. He mixes in creative adages and even stories from history that allow his audience to synthesize his explanations.
Synthesis is a hard skill to master. The entertainment industry has no allowance for those who can not accomplish it. Television has rarely been a medium where detail and depth is rewarded, unless accompanied by synthesized soundbites and colorful lessons.
Experimentation
Finally, Alton is known for experimentation. Not everything he has tried has made it to the air waves. He routinely creates shows that touch on any number of cooking styles and techniques. He has made a success of small failures. He has turned them into entire shows unto themselves.
Alton has made a great career from culinary analysis. Educational series like Good Eats, providing analysis as host of Iron Chef, and generating the challenges of Cutthroat Kitchen; all draw on this talent. He is well-educated. He is entertaining. He is a teacher. But he is also an analyst.
