Chef friends

[FoodMan]

Mathew, thnaks again for this great session,

I have two questions really

1- Where you ever good friends with any of the chefs, specifically Mario or Alton?? Or was it mainly business? If you were, do u still keep in touch with them??

2- How is Alton Brown in real life?? Is his show a true reflection of his personality; one of the best shows on FTV by the way; you know meticulous, precise, analytical,...kinda nerdy ?

FM

[mstillman]

Mathew, thnaks again for this great session,

I have two questions really

1- Where you ever good friends with any of the chefs, specifically Mario or Alton?? Or was it mainly business? If you were, do u still keep in touch with them??

2- How is Alton Brown in real life?? Is his show a true reflection of his personality; one of the best shows on FTV by the way; you know meticulous, precise, analytical,...kinda nerdy ?

FM

i had a friendly professional relationship with almost all the on-air talent on the network by the time I was fired, October 11, 2000.

I have run into Mario at the Union Square Farmers Market and elsewhere and we chat. I ran into David Rosengarten the other day on the train. We exchange emails every six months or so. There are others, but the contacts are intermitent. When you change jobs you only stay in touch with a small percentage of the folks you worked with. Some of my closer chef friends never were permanent talent on air but we became friends anyway.

Alton Brown. He is a remarkable man. Brilliant, funny, philosophical, humble, intense, well read...I can go on about his fine qualities. He is someone I consider a close friend, someone I have learned a tremendous amount from (and not just about food). We have stayed in touch but not nearly as much as I would like...but he is really busy. I would say that the character Alton Brown is strongly related to the person Alton Brown, but obviously there is a difference, as there should be. The real Alton has broader interests than just food but is just as nerdy(positive nerdy) and passionate.

I am glad you love "Good Eats" - I am lucky to have been involved in it and its success and I am lucky to have befriended Alton.

[beans]

Good Eats is perhaps one the few remaining reasons I watch FN. Alton fascinates me almost to the point of something cultish, which I'm sure has its own life form and exists among his fans. Perhaps the love of film and a fine sense of sharp wit and humour. (I did start out in university as a Film/Television Studies major).

Mario rocks. Was it Bourdain that called him the lightning in a bottle? Or something like that?

[FoodMan]

Alton Brown. He is a remarkable man. Brilliant, funny, philosophical, humble, intense, well read...I can go on about his fine qualities. He is someone I consider a close friend, someone I have learned a tremendous amount from (and not just about food). We have stayed in touch but not nearly as much as I would like...but he is really busy. I would say that the character Alton Brown is strongly related to the person Alton Brown, but obviously there is a difference, as there should be. The real Alton has broader interests than just food but is just as nerdy(positive nerdy) and passionate.

Glad to hear this about Alton, hopefully I will get to meet him sometime, since I missed him last time he was in town.

Mario rocks. Was it Bourdain that called him the lightning in a bottle? Or something like that?

Mario does rock. Yes Bourdain called him "lightning in a bottle" as well as "magnificent bastard" !!!!

FM