Alton Brown (AltonBrown)

http://www.altonbrown.com

Alton Brown is host of the Food Network's "Good Eats" as well as the author of several popular cookbooks.

Raised in his mother's and grandmother's kitchens, Alton Brown worked as a cook throughout high school and college. But he never considered a career in food until—after a decade working as a cinematographer and video director—he realized that he spent all his time between shoots watching cooking shows, reading cookbooks and, yes, eating.

After this epiphany, Alton and his wife DeAnna left the film business and moved to Vermont. Why ditch the film career? To pursue his first love: Food. Alton attended the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, VT, but during his years as a culinary student and throughout the restaurant and catering jobs that followed, he couldn't forget about television. Visions of comedy sketches, film noir and grilled beef filled his mind. He started to conceive a new kind of cooking show, one that would entertain and inform with wit and humor —- something for his sitcom-and-fast-food-junkie generation. With that in mind, he started writing Good Eats, a show that combines his passion for food with quirky pop culture. Alton not only writes the shows but also stars in each offbeat episode. He has also written I'm Just Here for the Food, Alton Brown Gear for Your Kitchen, and Alton Brown Kitchen User's Manual.

Alton lives in Atlanta with his wife DeAnna, two worthless hound dogs and a beautiful daughter named Zoey.