Alton Brown ending Food Network’s ‘Good Eats’ after 249 episodes
CREDIT: AP
Marietta food guru Alton Brown announced yesterday that after 249 episodes, he is shutting down “Good Eats,” a Food Network staple since 1999.
Beau Benton, his spokesman, confirmed that “Good Eats” will no longer be a regular series though Brown does plan three one-hour specials this year. He said Brown was not available for interviews.
Brown’s “Good Eats” has been a standard dish on Food Network’s menu for years, frequently in prime time. A fast-paced, intricately-created concoction, the show provides viewers with food history, cooking tips and oddball trivia on a single topic in Brown’s signature light-hearted and frequently sardonic tone. Over nearly 250 episodes, he chewed on almost every food subject there is, be it olives, steak or bouillabaisse. With some common staples like pasta or eggs, he’s done multiple episodes. And he’d hire local actors to play goofy parts.
One of those actors, Vickie Eng, who played the mysterious W character on about 30 episodes, said Brown put “blood, sweat and tears” into the show as director, writer and star. Her favorite moment was dangling from the ceiling Tom Cruise/”Mission Impossible” style for an episode on oysters.
Bobby Flay, another Food Network staple, said in an interview yesterday that he admires Brown for his “encyclopedic knowledge” of food and how he’s able to leverage that in multiple arenas.
Brown owns a 15,000-square-foot studio in Atlanta where he has shot “Good Eats.” Much of his staff and crew has been with him for years, a testament to his good works as a boss. “Everybody there is like family,” Eng said.
The Welch’s spokesman and author recently re-signed a new contract with Food Network and has an entrenched job with “Iron Chef” and its various incarnations. Undoubtedly, he has another show idea in his fridge.
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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog
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89 comments Add your comment
Reds
May 12th, 2011
4:07 pm
/cry
Jack
May 12th, 2011
4:08 pm
First
Jack
May 12th, 2011
4:08 pm
or second
ew
May 12th, 2011
4:11 pm
great show
Buzzjob 1
May 12th, 2011
4:12 pm
Really, the best of the best cooking shows. Hate to see this ultra entertaining half hour go away.Hopefully, we’ll continue to see the retuns.
Mich
May 12th, 2011
4:15 pm
No!!!!!! This is my FAVORITE show!!!! ***tears***
Reality Bites
May 12th, 2011
4:15 pm
well……poop. Testament to Ga that several of Food Network stars live/work/play here.
Singu
May 12th, 2011
4:29 pm
Tant pis. Cannot stand his puerile Middle School drama meets Bill Nye the Science Guy approach.
jimintn
May 12th, 2011
4:36 pm
NOOOO!!! Alton don’t do it!
faninmarietta
May 12th, 2011
4:36 pm
No doubt AB will have something bigger and better up his multi-talented sleeve. Have faith people!!
msrat
May 12th, 2011
4:40 pm
oh no…I’m going to miss this….one of my fav FN shows…bye Alton, see you on Iron Chef America.
jarvis
May 12th, 2011
4:42 pm
It was a good run, but I have to agree with Alton, it was time for him to do something new.
I just hope it’s not another competition show….too much of those on FN. Cupcake Wars? Really?
barneyb
May 12th, 2011
4:49 pm
I hate it that good Eats will end……but hope to see more of Alton Brown on all sorts of other shows. Good Eats was a great foor educaitonal program. God Bless Mr. Brown in all his endeavors!
Baltisraul
May 12th, 2011
4:50 pm
Do I smell a rat here? Is this another power play by the ever hateful Food Network. The most mean-spirited group of network executive that ever gathered at a conference table. maybe Alton has a reason not to make a comment right now. He may be dodging kitchen knives being thrown at him by the FN top brass.
DK
May 12th, 2011
4:57 pm
A little Alton goes a long way. He is a cartoon character,
GadgetGeek
May 12th, 2011
5:01 pm
Drat!
Matt
May 12th, 2011
5:03 pm
Excellent…now there is even MORE room on the “Food” Channel for yet another competition show. *sarcasm off*
Steve
May 12th, 2011
5:07 pm
I enjoyed the show, quite a bit the first few years, but I think it is time. The two part water episode was a few years ago, and I thought that might be the shark moment. Still, it leaves room for the trash reality cake series for FoodTV. It looks like they are not chasing that market.
Scholar
May 12th, 2011
5:07 pm
Can’t wait to see what you have in store, Alton. I hope we haven’t seen the last of you in the kitchen.
Gettin' Wiggy With It...
May 12th, 2011
5:22 pm
Bon appetit!
Rick
May 12th, 2011
5:23 pm
Hopefully he will have another food road trip in store. The “Feasting on” was my favorite thing ever on Food Network.
bonnie
May 12th, 2011
5:29 pm
love you Alton!!! I hope you do have a new show coming out, you are the best of FN
Cat Flay Morimoto
May 12th, 2011
5:30 pm
He is a hack. Never had the guts to compete on Iron Chef just sat back and played mouthpiece for the good chefs. He doesent deserve a show. Perhaps he can be a checkout clerk at the Whole Foods he loves soo much. Alton your a coward and a phony. Buh Buy
Matt
May 12th, 2011
5:37 pm
@Cat…what a truly bizarre comment.
Absolutely not
May 12th, 2011
5:37 pm
Alton went to a prestigious culinary school, NECI. Far from phony in my opinion. OH and it’s “YOU’RE”, by the way, Cat Flay Morimoto.
Cat Flay Morimoto
May 12th, 2011
5:50 pm
Thank you for the English lesson. My anger got the better of me. I am well aware of his background. It is impressive. He not only has a culinary background but also a chemistry background. He has been asked to compete on Iron Chef several times. In fact he could BE an Iron chef if he wanted to but he refused. Even Rachel Ray who is not a chef had the guts to go on the show…and won. I have no respect for him. He is a phony.
steve brown
May 12th, 2011
5:55 pm
Continued great success.
Tommy Maddox
May 12th, 2011
5:58 pm
Please keep the good shows coming – especially the “Feasting on” shows.
See ya @ Superior…
We_will_miss_u_Alton
May 12th, 2011
5:58 pm
Feasing on asphalt was a great show!—
We_will_miss_u_Alton
May 12th, 2011
6:06 pm
Alton will be missed!–and by the way–why waste time competing on the show when you make more money hosting it and producing your own shows?
Alton is Georgia Bulldawg too.
I am sure he will Flourish wherever he ends up.
Bino
May 12th, 2011
6:16 pm
Where did you get your shirts…love the shirts!! By the way, also enjoyed “good eats!”
LW
May 12th, 2011
6:29 pm
I hate to see this show end – I learned a great deal about food & cooking from Good Eats. And Alton was always entertaining.
fellow bulldawg
May 12th, 2011
6:48 pm
noooo!!!!!!!! don’t end. LOVE that show
(
Mike
May 12th, 2011
6:53 pm
This was the only show that dove into food science, as opposed to being a competition or “Watch me eat and moan” food show. I learned a lot from Good Eats and was also entertained. This will be sorely missed.
Drew
May 12th, 2011
7:02 pm
Awesome… now the Food Network can drop any pretense of being about cooking and just do stupid game shows and reality shows about cake-making. Oh, and following Guy Fieri around. He’s so money.
alton fan
May 12th, 2011
8:02 pm
(chant) NO NO, Please don’t go, NO NO, Please don’t go. I love good eats and I hate cupcake wars. I will still follow him and watch any other show he is on, Iron Chef included. Don’t matter to mei f he is announcing or competin. NO NO, Please don’t go!
G.J.GERACCI
May 12th, 2011
8:05 pm
I have enjoyed every program I,ve seen .ALTON made learning about food a real thing for those who couldn,t boil water . I have cooked at my own place and folks still talk about it .That doesn,t mean I would go on IRON CHEF . There,s too many competitive shows today . Let,s learn without all this T.V. angst !! Good luck ALTON on any future endeavor !
Mitchell
May 12th, 2011
9:01 pm
Maybe in his next show he can not cut to commercial when he’s right in the middle of doing something.
I enjoy the show when I catch it and find Mr. Brown to be somewhat entertaining on occasion but my God, the editing of that show is terrible.
The commercial breaks just come from out of nowhere and completly ruin the pacing of the program.
It’s really annoying.
Mitchell
May 12th, 2011
9:04 pm
Mike
May 12th, 2011
6:53 pm
This was the only show that dove into food science, as opposed to being a competition or “Watch me eat and moan” food show. I learned a lot from Good Eats and was also entertained. This will be sorely missed.
I definitely learned a lot watching it over the years and it had it’s moments.
But does anybody else agree that always right when you were really getting into an episode they would cut away to some random piece of trivia and then a three minute commercial break?
I mean, really.
TRIP
May 12th, 2011
9:25 pm
Has anyone else noticed the parallel to the old MTV that FN seems to be living? A Music station without music and a food network without cooking shows?
Joey M
May 12th, 2011
9:57 pm
Today is a sad sad day. The reason I started watching Food Network is leaving. And with him, I will be going.
dsm
May 12th, 2011
10:20 pm
@matt, I truly agree, what a bizarre comment.
I won’t leave, I like the competitions for learning techniques too. Will miss Brown, but I always liked his specials better anyway.
BigGAdawg
May 13th, 2011
1:37 am
I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of the Food Professor. I sure hope not.
michaeleville
May 13th, 2011
1:46 am
A.Brown is the Joy of Cooking on T V. Maybe he goes on the new O network.
Ari Northington
May 13th, 2011
2:03 am
Alton will be missed. Let’s hope FN does not add another cake show in place of Good Eats; no more competition shows either. Goodness knows FN needs a new gimmick.
JAXX of ATL
May 13th, 2011
7:20 am
I agree with Rick 5:23pm. I too ride a motorcycle and hope AB makes Feasting on Asphalt one of his specials. I have riden to a couple of spots featured on his shows.
dod
May 13th, 2011
7:26 am
THANK GOD
JPop
May 13th, 2011
7:30 am
The show he did about chile; where he played a rootin’ tootin’ wild west cowboy, was one of the funniest TV shows I’ve ever seen. Thanks Alton.
James
May 13th, 2011
7:47 am
Great show;Gonna miss you A.B. Very funny show.
Doris M
May 13th, 2011
8:13 am
I truly enjoyed watching Good Eats and learned a lot about the science behind cooking. I think I’ve seen almost all the episodes. I also enjoyed watching the Feasting on Asphalt shows. Alton is too popular for FN to just let him fade away; there’s a new show in there somewhere and I am eagerly awaiting it.
WHY??????
May 13th, 2011
8:15 am
To all of the food-consumed couch potatoes- “Please Move Away From The Television”…and get a life…or possibly exercise.
carlaroqs
May 13th, 2011
8:50 am
i cannot believe no one has mentioned the turkey frying episode. even though i could not watch ALL of the episodes, some were too teachy- don’t scream, i know that was the point; alton brown totally roqs. he thinks outside of the box and the fn is not going to let him get away. for all of the haters: YOU get a life.
carlaroqs
May 13th, 2011
8:55 am
oh, and the pie episode was eerily good.
Donna
May 13th, 2011
10:56 am
So sorry to see this news, Brown’s knowledge and humor has made this learning experience so fun and so intriguing….made me want to try many of the subject matter recipes. I’ll miss your show, Alton Brown!
lal
May 13th, 2011
11:16 am
@Cat Wow, so hateful. You must really have a miserable life. Pity.
Fred
May 13th, 2011
11:49 am
Best show on the Food Network, I learn something new everyweek. Sure hope they show reruns!!!
Benita Wheeler
May 13th, 2011
12:19 pm
I love that show. It will be a great loss with creative ideas he brought to it. Besides, I love science.
Kathy Hawkins
May 13th, 2011
1:50 pm
What a shame! One of the few shows that really teaches you something. It is rare that you get both entertaining and educational all at one time. Have cooked so many of your dishes and learned so much. We will miss you Alton! Thanks for all you do.
Quad
May 13th, 2011
1:50 pm
It has not aired on tv in a while and there has been a void in my life cause of it. I have 80 or so episodes on my DVR, but it will never be the same! This was, is and will always be my one ultimate favorite show of all (cooking or otherwise)! Hey Alton If it means anything to you You were a Genius! and I really truly wish you would come back! Hey Food Network would it be too much trouble to at least ask for reruns?
And another thing...
May 13th, 2011
2:38 pm
Alton, you will be missed! I still remember when you spoke at UGA’s graduation ceremony this same time last year. You were so engaging and funny, but yet serious in your message to the 2010 graduation class. No matter what you do for a living, in the end its all about your family foundation that you create with love, respect, sharing, nurturing, and commitment to raising your children to be good citizens of the earth and mankind. You nailed it!
currymac
May 13th, 2011
3:44 pm
There goes the only show left on Food Network that was worth watching… and that includes the other crap Alton graces. I want to learn about food and cooking. That’s what Alton taught. So did Mario, for the first year or 2. Now it’s nothing but contests and primadona “celebrity” chefs like Paula Dean… Gomer Pyle in drag. What a waste!
B. Thenet
May 13th, 2011
4:34 pm
Thanks for everything Alton. A fantastic show.
dnb
May 13th, 2011
4:40 pm
I will truly miss you
Susan
May 13th, 2011
4:47 pm
Have enjoyed your shows so much. I’m sure you’re working on something else that will be just as informative. P.S. I’m still using the cooktop and vent-a-hood you installed when you were my neighbor. Good Luck in all your ventures.
PTC DAWG
May 13th, 2011
4:59 pm
This show will be missed by me.
The Feasting on…..shows were one of the most enjoyable things I’ve seen on Food Network. I hope we more of something like that from Alton.
mama moe of milton
May 13th, 2011
5:33 pm
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo! It was actually one of the very few shows me and my kids learned from!
shells
May 13th, 2011
6:04 pm
I agree with what Javis said, cup cake wars?? ??? Realy ???? and also Mat there are too many
competition/challenge shows,,,, where did all the show ya how to cook shows go???
i will to miss Good Eats,,,, but wait… there ARE the DVDs!!!!
my thoughts
May 13th, 2011
7:00 pm
Alton Brown was awesome…easily the best cooking show imo…the show will be missed as one of a kind!
Food Network is tanking
May 13th, 2011
8:19 pm
FN is getting away from what got it “there”- good shows about COOKING- not fake cook-off quasi-reality shows with loads of manufactured drama.
Bilbo
May 13th, 2011
8:45 pm
I enjoyed the science behind cooking on GOOD EATS. Alton Brown is a very talented showman with a deep knowledge of cooking and possesses the real spirit of a teacher. I will miss his show!
19&41
May 13th, 2011
8:46 pm
Please keep the reruns going for a while. I know I haven’t seen all the episodes! Jack Webb couldn’t fill a half hour with such interesting content! Good luck AB!
Tim K.
May 14th, 2011
10:31 pm
Damn, that was a great show. And it LOOKED amazing (Okay, aside from the opening show credits sequence). Anyway, bright guy and great food. That’s the kind of show Food Network was known for and I hope we aren’t stuck with another competition show about baking.
Tawana
May 15th, 2011
8:48 pm
I love his Thanksgiving episode….watch every year the best!!
Kamla
May 16th, 2011
12:06 am
I can’t believe i’d only started watching this show in November ‘10. since then, i’ve been absorbed in reading food science until my eyes bleed.. and of course catching up on all his episodes through hulu/youtube. Thanks for keeping it real Mr. brown and you will always be the best food network guru ever.
Veronica
May 16th, 2011
1:50 pm
RIP Good Eats especially for those of us that could actually keep up w/ a host that has an extended vocabulary and mad skills unlike Paula who is cackling and groaning as she adds sticks of butter to everything. I hope Alton replaces Good Eats with something equally as good.
Baltisraul
May 16th, 2011
5:45 pm
R. Ray and P. Dean are combining to do a show. One hour specials with at least 5 min of cooking. Mostly with butter and lard as the top ingredients. First show “how to make a shepards pie key lime cake.” This is good ya’ll. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holley .
May 17th, 2011
12:01 pm
I am terribly sad to hear this news. Love Alton!!!
Praveen
May 17th, 2011
12:15 pm
“SCIIIIIIIENCE” (OK, you gotta be old enough to watch the Thomas Dolby video to get this).
Anyway, Alton Brown is the reason why I started to watch the Food Channel. The channel sucks otherwise. All the good food shows are on the TRAVEL channel.
A lot of these “learning” type channels are showing a lot of reality crap(TLC being the worst). I learn very little from the Food network’s other shows.
Hopefully Alton Brown will have something good in store.
Lyle Gunderson
May 18th, 2011
12:05 pm
I’m glad to learn the show is on DVD. 249 shows should be quite a stack! Time to start saving up!
Browsing Catharsis – 05.19.11 « Increasing Marginal Utility
May 19th, 2011
8:09 am
[...] Good Eats is canceled??? NOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo [...]
Carole
May 22nd, 2011
9:34 am
This is probably the REAL reason why the best program on FN is stopping and Alton is going on to bigger and better things! Thanks Alton, for the one of funniest shows on any network of TV programs. I found Good Eats thought provoking, exciting, creatively entertaining and many of the episodes memorable.
Alton lost weight on a sorta low carb diet, but he probably is not allowed to make a really great – Low Carb show to help the viewing audience! It is too radical to sell and is not supported by FN, the ADA, or the medical community.
I know I’m not just speaking for myself, the viewers of food network are seeking a well produced show which helps us combat diseases, while being entertaining, knowledgeable, funny and intelligent! This would require out of the box thinking…
As many of us develop diabetes,age related illness, etc where are the programs on FN to address our real needs?? Americans are tired of being treated like a bunch of undereducated consumers.
Create TV and PBS should not be the only food networks diverse enough to handle complex intelligent and funny programs on cooking and disease prevention.
Susie
May 22nd, 2011
3:21 pm
so so soooooooooooo sad about Good Eats. Had already missed Alton for weeks now. Loved putting folks onto his show. Hope all is well with him and the family. He brought nothing but joy to my household.
AltonfaninNY
May 23rd, 2011
11:10 am
Are you kidding? Of all the BS shows on Food Network, they are getting rid of one of the only decent, intelligent, and educational shows they’ve got? I will never watch FN again, even if they keep Alton on the Iron Chef America series, because that crap blows too. Good going FN, nice work.
Mike B
May 23rd, 2011
8:50 pm
I agree with AltonfaninNY… drop the drama shows and get back to cooking. I’m sure if Julia were still alive she would disapprove of these vapid, drama filled shows.
Perhaps you could have a smart aleck Brit making fun of new cooks trying to make something of themselves but end up being the butt of jokes on national TV…now theres an idea.
Alton, Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Ginakuma
May 25th, 2011
12:04 pm
@Cat Flay Morimoto, Alton does not think of himself as a chef, nor has he ever called himself that. He declines competitions and other signs of culinary recognition because he has so much respect for REAL CHEFS. His reasons are that he doesn’t think he has the culinary intuition or creativity to be on par with that kind of talent. In all actuality, he could NOT be an Iron Chef, “if he wanted.” His drive to study food came from his aspiration to create a cooking show, not to be a chef.
You’re calling him a “phony”, but a phony what? A phony chef? He never claimed to be a chef and doesn’t pretend to be one. You are mistaken. He is an educator and an entertainer, and is very good at both.
Nathan
May 26th, 2011
2:57 pm
Alton Brown is to cooking as Bob Ross was to painting…both are masters of what they do (did) and I appreciate both of them. Alton, you can come cook in MY kitchen, anytime.
Thanks Food Network.
May 31st, 2011
11:49 am
I can see AB leaving he is kind of hitting the limit of shows he can do.
If Food Network is forcing him out.
NO… NO… NO… Don’t get rid of AB get rid of Cupcake Wars or one of the other competition shows.
Michael
June 2nd, 2011
1:30 pm
Say it aint so! Good Eats was my favorite show! Well I guess there will always be reruns… Thank you Alton Brown, for writing and starring in such a fantastic show. Good Eats will be greatly missed, but I wish you luck and success in whatever your future plans are.
Dee M.
June 2nd, 2011
4:39 pm
Alton, I literally cried when I found out you were leaving. There is no show to compare on Food Network like the ones you have produced since 1999. We love you, please don’t go!!!
I will keep checking your website in the hopes that you miss us as much as we miss you, and then you will put back on your cute and funny outfits and teach us the REAL way to cook. Hugs (and tears).