Alton Brown talks Cortez seafood, iconic TV food career ahead of Bradenton-area show

TV food star Alton Brown will bring his live culinary variety show to the Bradenton area this month.

“Alton Brown Live: Last Bite” teases a combo of Brown’s fun, zany and scientific love of food, all blended into an interactive stage show. Like Brown’s past live shows, audiences can expect food experiments, strange cooking contraptions, music, comedy and a healthy helping of mayhem.

The Atlanta-based food fanatic rose to fame with the debut of “Good Eats” on the Food Network in 1999, where his unique approach to cooking seasoned with science and humor won loyal fans. Brown’s place in popular cooking culture was further cemented with roles hosting “Iron Chef America,” “Food Network Star” and “Cutthroat Kitchen,” as well as James Beard and Peabody Award wins.

This 2025 tour is the fourth time Brown is taking a live culinary show on the road, and it will be the last, he says. After the tour, Brown, 62, said he plans to spend some time out of the limelight.

The show will make six Florida stops, including Sarasota and Tampa.

“Alton Brown Live: Last Bite” will visit Sarasota’s Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Feb. 16. Ahead of the stop, Brown spoke to the Bradenton Herald about the show, his new book and some of his favorite Florida food. Here’s what he had to say.

Alton Brown on his new live show, ‘Last Bite’

“When I started doing this back in 2013, I had in my mind that I would do four tours. So this is the last one,” Brown said. “For me personally, they’re markers, each one of these live shows. More than any TV show I have done. Of course, my career has been defined by ‘Good Eats,’ and I accept that. But being able to do a show in front of live audiences is a very, very different thing. And for me at my point in life, it’s a more rewarding thing.”

“The wonderful thing about live shows ... I do whatever I want,” Brown said. “There’s no overseer of content. I can’t do that on say, Netflix, or anywhere else anymore. My deal with Food Network was that as long as I made my ratings, they would leave me alone. Creative autonomy has always meant more to me than money or anything else. That’s my true authentic currency is being able to have that real creative freedom.”

“I can’t get that on TV anymore. No one will give that to you. I guess Steven Spielberg gets it if he wants it. But most of the people that I know in my business have just been crushed by the realities of television show management by the major streamers.”

“So this is kind of, for me, the last refuge.”

Alton Brown on his new book, ‘Food for Thought’

Brown explained that his new book of food essays, “Food for Thought,” started by accident while he was repairing an old typewriter — an item he collects as a hobby.

“I had been trying to fix a stuck key. I put some paper in the machine because I needed to limber the thing up. So I just started typing nonsense. Two hours later, it was the first essay from the book,” Brown said.

Brown said the book, which touches on everything from childhood memories of his grandmother’s biscuits to behind-the-scenes glimpses of his TV days, allowed him to explore a different side of himself and reflect on life.

“I spent so much time writing scripts for TV shows to convey knowledge and to try to generate curiosity and appreciation for things. This is the first time that I’ve been able to write about more abstract ideas. And it is most certainly the first time that I’ve written about anything personal in my life.”

“I’ve often said I live my life with no rearview mirror. I don’t look back. I’m not sentimental. I don’t keep pictures. Forward is my gear. So this is the first time that I’ve gone through the exercise of looking back at things. Wherever here is, I think it’s good for a person to understand how they got there. This book is that.”

“It’s also sharing ideas as opposed to sharing factual knowledge or useful information. Let’s face it, an essay on why I think ‘Apocalypse Now’ is the best food movie — nobody really needs that essay. But by golly, I want people to think about things a little differently, so there it is.”

Alton Brown on his favorite Florida food

“This is not a tradition that you find in Florida as much as you used to. But when I was a kid, and my grandparents would go down the coast of Florida as kind of a roaming vacation staying in little beachside motels, there used to be a very strong tradition of smoked smelt. Smaller fish . . . fish that were caught really close to the beach, that were smoked. They would be sold on the side of the road or in small restaurants that specialized in small fish.”

“I have such strong flavor memories of that particular time in Florida cuisine,” Brown said. “Very, very old school. Whenever I do find it, which is very rarely these days, I really enjoy those flavors. I adore it. I’m not saying the newer cuisines and the more tropical cuisines are bad. I’ll eat guavas all day long. But I really do wish there would be a resurgence of what I call the Old Florida cuisine.”

Brown said the fishing village of Cortez in Manatee County is among Florida food spots that he admires.

“I’ve been to Cortez. Oh yeah. There’s some really good food right around there,” Brown said.

Alton Brown on the good and the bad of modern food

“I’m optimistic about the fact that so many cuisines that people have not paid a whole lot of attention to, at least in the 20th century, are getting a real moment to integrate into the American palate,” Brown said. “Whether it’s Micronesia or places from all over the world. It’s easier than ever to travel globally in American restaurants or even just in the grocery store.”

But Brown doesn’t mince words about his fears that social media is dumbing down modern cooking content.

“If I have a concern, it’s that social media outlets are unweaving the cloth that I spent years assembling. I’m afraid that in 20 years, Americans will know even less about cooking because there’s a whole generation that’s just watching TikTok videos, which is singlehandedly the stupidest, dumbest culinary content available ever by mankind,” Brown said.

What’s next for Alton Brown?

Brown says that he’s getting too old for the tour bus life.

“I’d rather be at home with my dogs,” he joked.

But he said fans can look for him to return to the stage with a new format in the future.

“This will be my last major bus tour. After this, I’m going to design small shows for audiences of less than 500 and fly back and forth to do them,” Brown said. “I like the personal stuff. I like being able to play to smaller rooms.”

Show details: ‘Alton Brown Live: Last Bite’ at the Van Wezel

Details: 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

Run time: About 2.5 hours

Tickets: $70 to $210

More info: VanWezel.org