No More Good Eats: Alton Brown Ends Show

All good things must come to an end: beloved food nerd Alton Brown, whose Food Network show Good Eats taught millions of people the science behind their favorite meals in a goofy, easy-to-digest fashion, has announced that he is ending the series after a 12-year run.

Via Twitter, Brown wrote: "G.E. fans, I've decided to cut the half hour series at 249 eps. There will be 3 new 1 hour eps this year and that's it. But mourn not. New things brew on the horizon...'good' things." The final new episode, which focused on Asian noodles, aired last week. Food Network will continue airing reruns of the show, which won everything from a Peabody to a James Beard Award.

The Chicago Tribune has an impressive rundown of every food and cooking technique the series ever covered—it's a lot. Brown, who was responsible for writing and producing every episode of "Good Eats," has yet to announce what his "new, good" things are, but thousands of fans await his next move.

Here's a look at a few of our favorite moments from the show:

And here he is explaining what a recipe is on Sesame Street:

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jamie Feldmar in Food on May 12, 2011 12:17 PM

Comments [rss]

Liberal Soup N Crackers

Man, I hate to see this series end. It is one of the best things on Food.network. PLEASE don't add another frickin cake show.

harveyharevi

Since when is it off limits to talk about Alton being a Born Again Christian (and Fat Hater?)

Kanger

He should continue doing more "Feasting on Asphalt" specials.

DoctorMemory

I somehow suspect not, sadly. Presumably some of the backstory here is that he's been on a pretty restricted diet since his heart attack back in 2007, and the Asphalt specials were all about greasy road food. :)

ktinnyc

Alton never had a heart attack he just realized he was a fat f*ck and lost the 50 pounds or so.

"
A.B. said that earlier in the year he had been shooting a segment for "Good Eats" in which he paddled a canoe. He was playing back some of the footage afterward and noticed that someone had apparently slipped a spare tire under his shirt. He stopped the tape and asked himself: "When did that happen?"
Confronted with the weight gain, Brown says he had an epiphany."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.co...

DoctorMemory

Brown collapsed on the set of "Iron Chef America" in 2004, and was diagnosed with a hear arrhythmia shortly after. (He blogged about it, but altonbrown.com seems to have gone off the air, so none of the links to it work any more.)

ktinnyc

"Alton was named Teacher of the Year by Bon Appetit and had the chance to be on the American adaptation of the Japanese Iron Chef program. Serving as play-by-play announcer in the "Battle of the Masters," AB infused into the role his now trademark culinary knowledge, wisdom and wit. However, during filming the special in Los Angeles, Alton became ill on the set and was rushed to the hospital with heart arrhythmia. Later it was determined he had eaten oyster sauce in one of the dishes and the reaction he had, originally thought to be a migraine, was due to his intolerance for oysters. Because of this event, Alton now does not eat the dishes prepared on Iron Chef America."

http://www.zimbio.com/Alton+Br...

Diana Smith Lewis

He doesn't eat much on his GE show either from what I could see. On the Cauliflower ep, the camera panned away from him as he was taking a bite of food, so you know he didn't eat it.

Professor Von Nostren

The episode about salt was my favorite. I can't believe it's been on for 12 years - that's a good run. I hope he goes on to do something just as cool.

Guest

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :(

Da Gooch

Wow, I've been watching this show for a long time and this makes me sad. The combo of cooking, science and history struck the right chord with me. This show will be missed.

Logan

This is doubly tragic as it wasn't just a good show but probably the best American cooking show on the air.

ktinnyc

America's Test Kitchen > Good Eats

Fofofofofo

I like that Alton had a sense of humor and tried to make his show fun. America's Test Kitchen takes themselves way too seriously.

SuperWittySmitty

Yet I am hooked on AKT but I rarely bother with Good Eats. I always found Alton too smarmy. I d not think I could hang out with Chris, either, but the tone of his show works for me. Alton's show (the couple I've seen) was too silly. I'll check out these clips, though- maybe I should give him another chance.

Diana Smith Lewis

Smarmy? Are you kidding me? Have you ever met the man in person? Probably not, you weren't as lucky as I was then. He is genuinely humble, funny, and intelligent. There is NOTHING on TV that compares to Good Eats.