'I'm not normal' - the quirky genius that is Alton Brown

Touring show

There will be more of Brown on view on Broadway when his touring show Eat Your Science lands at the Barrymore Theatre. A former actor with a theater degree who did summer stock, Brown models his shows on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and describes it as "culinary vaudeville."

"I can finally say to my mom, 'Yes, my theater degree did matter,'" he jokes.

Lee D. Marshall, a producer at MagicSpace Entertainment, says Brown's stage shows are funny and informative, drawing on his background as a writer, producer, cinematographer and comedian.

"Most folks that are television chefs, they cook. He explains how things work," Marshall says. "He can make making scrambled eggs the most interesting topic on the planet."

Brown says he doesn't get caught up in food trends and often doesn't trust them. He avoided jumping on the molecular gastronomy bandwagon a few years back because he really didn't care.

"Nobody wakes up in the middle of the night craving soy sauce spheres. We wake up craving pizza. I'm far more interested in helping people get to the dishes they kind of already want," he says.