Noshing Out – Eat Your Science

                 “If I was your food god, [which I am increasingly believing is an inevitability] I would decree that…*Slams whisk-ended regal staff on the floor*you would need a license to use sriracha!” declared Alton Brown to a fully filled Bushnell theater Sunday night. His “If I were your food god…” pronouncements, made in Grecian deity regalia and all, was just one portion of the concert/standup/cooking demonstration/lecture that is Eat Your Science, his second live tour.

                Alton and his original show, Good Eats, was an enormous factor into how and why I got into cooking. My best description of Alton as a food personality is Bill Nye the Science Guy meets Julia Child. He is witty, smart, and most importantly, honest. His show took a scientific look at the “anatomy” of an ingredient or specific dish. This analysis allowed me to learn about that food and manipulate a personal idea, rather than simply following the prescribed method from a recipe. I’ve seen every episode of every season of Good Eats, and still refer to them for concepts and ideas.

                This was my third time seeing Alton live. My first was back in college. He was on a book tour for his release of “Feasting on Asphalt.” He was at the Mall of America and my parents and I waited for almost two hours to get my copy of his book signed. Before the signing though, he did a Q&A session with the audience. I was called on and asked him, with regards to an upcoming date, what dessert to make that would pair well with his pizza recipe. He clarified if I lived alone and if this was a potential girlfriend situation, both were true. He then said, “In that case, the best dessert…is breakfast!”

                My next encounter was about two years ago. He came to Hartford as part of his Inevitable Edible Tour. Similar in style to his current tour, he brought audience members on stage to cook a pizza in his “Mega Bake,” an over-the-top remake of an Easybake Oven using rock and roll stage lighting to create a 650˚ light tunnel in which he cooked. His performance on Sunday was equally quirky, using liquid nitrogen to alter to texture and reduce the polyphenols of an acrid cocktail, its ingredients selected at random from a Price-Is-Right style wheel (the lucky audience member spun tequila, fernet blanc [a herbaceous liquor similar to Jägermeister], and instant coffee). In addition, using the same principles as a supercomputer, created the Astro Pop, a rocket ship shaped cone of hot air popcorn poppers capable of popping four bushels of corn at once.

                Alton’s whimsical curiosity with food, is anchored in science, research, and knowledge. His light-hearted demeanor makes him amicable, but he also has a childlike deviousness. All of this comes together to create a food personality that is unique, and to me, a model to strive for. Thank you Alton for the inspiration, the knowledge, and a wonderful night.