Food personality Alton Brown launched his career on Food Network in 1999 through the show Good Eats, which dove head-first into the science of food and cooking. Instead of simply showing viewers how to prepare his recipes, he broke down the science of what makes a good recipe work, often debunking long-held food theories—like that washing mushrooms causes them soak up too much water, making them soggy during the cooking process.

Instead, Brown demonstrated how tossing the mushrooms into a bowl of water, scrubbing them clean and rinsing them had no effect on their texture when they were cooked—but did effectively remove dirt and other nasty stuff. And that's just one example.

At the time, Brown’s ideas were revolutionary. They paved the way for other food-science leaders like J. Kenji López-Alt and his Serious Eats website. Brown’s science-based approach to food even influenced this writer to study food science and nutrition after graduating from culinary school.

Since leaving Good Eats in 2012, Brown has taken his encyclopedia knowledge and zany charisma on the road. He’s also written 11 books, including Food for Thought, a collection of essays, which was released earlier this week.

This year, Brown is crisscrossing the country for Alton Brown Live: Last Bite, which he's calling his final tour. We chatted with him about the show, which will be here in Sarasota on Feb. 16 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Food for Thought and more. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Tell us about what we can expect from Alton Brown Live: Last Bite.

"Anybody who has been to these shows knows that I call them culinary variety shows, which mix comedy and storytelling with all kinds of audience interaction, experiments, live music and a very large, very strange culinary demonstration.

"This year we have a machine of our own design and construction that is so large we can’t bring our band on stage during the second act. We can’t get it all on stage. It's the biggest, most complicated thing that we've done, which has me a little bit terrified. It will be an evening of culinary hijinks—and there's more educational stuff in this show that we've ever done before."

You claim this will be your last tour—I don’t want to believe that. Why stop now?

"Touring is not as glamorous as it sounds. It’s tough, living on a tour bus and being away from home. I don’t want to do that anymore.

"But you’re right, I won’t be stopping the tours altogether. I’ll be redesigning the shows for smaller theaters and a less rigorous travel schedule. If I were a musician, I’d say this is my last stadium tour before moving onto the club tour scene. I’m not disappearing, just downsizing."

You have a long history in television. How have you had to adjust your delivery for a live audience?

"When I started touring in 2013, I did it mostly because of a dare. I was only really interested in doing things that made me uncomfortable. I didn't know if I could do it, or if there was even an audience for this kind of thing. When you’re making a television show, the camera kind of sucks the life out of you. But when you’re in front of an audience, the show becomes a new thing every single night. I get a real charge out of that.

"I also think live performances are more important now than ever. Culturally, do we need more television or online content? I don’t think we do."

Has there ever been a time when you’ve spectacularly failed while on stage? And how do you come back from it?

"Well, sure, but having flexibility is an asset. When things go sideways, I look at that as an opportunity for something even better to happen. As a matter of fact, two tours ago, I was at the Van Wezel and the power went out in the whole theater three times. It felt doomed at first—but once the power finally got sorted out, the crowd was more invigorated than ever."

 

 

 

 

 

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You just published a new book called Food for Thought, your first collection of essays. Why that format instead of a traditional cookbook?

"It came together by accident, actually. I like to putter around with typewriters and was repairing a particularly difficult one. I sat down to test it out after fixing it, and two hours later I looked at what I had written and thought, 'Wait a second, who is this person?'

"So, I wrote a little more and sent it to my literary agent and he agreed that, yeah, people needed to read it."

What advice would you offer aspiring food professionals who want to expand their messages outside of the walls of the kitchen?

"Culinary schools forget to tell students that there are opportunities outside of working in a kitchen or in food production facilities. There is so much opportunity out there, like in communications, writing, teaching and community building. Sure, kitchens are a great start, but there's so much more out there in food."

How does it feel when a fan tells you that you’ve influenced their life?

"I'm overjoyed when I hear this. I often hear about how I inspired someone to cook as a hobby, or how I brought families together to watch the show—that’s always great to hear. When someone tells me they’ve built a career that was inspired by my cooking, that's the best legacy that I could possibly hope for— especially if they’re happy and inspiring others."

Alton Brown: The Last Bite will be at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Sunday, Feb. 16. For tickets, click here.