Okay, enough is enough. It’s seriously time for me to get back in the saddle and get back to this project. A four month hiatus is just too long and I’ve been missing all of my time in the kitchen trying the old Good Eats recipes. I recently saw that Alton made a social media post indicating the official conclusion of new episodes of the show. He spent 22 years making Good Eats, and if I don’t step it up big time, it’ll take me longer than that to complete this blog! I recently purchased a toddler kitchen stool, so I hope to start bringing my daughter into the kitchen with me for some of the simple tasks she can help with.
Episode 148 finished out season nine of the show and had no recipes for me to test. Instead, this episode was a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show, including glimpses of the sets and a trip to a home owned by a producer; the kitchen of the home served as the set for the fifth and sixth seasons of the show. Eventually, due to complaints from neighbors about the filming, the show was no longer able to film at the home and had to move to a set.
During this episode, Alton takes viewers through the process of building an episode of Good Eats, beginning with research and recipe development and continuing on to filming locations and set design. He then takes a tour of the props department, which appears to be a disorganized mess of bins filled with random items from all of the years of filming, yet the props masters seem to have some miraculous catalog in their brains of just which items are where.
Several of the more prominent/regular actors from the show are showcased, including Daniel Pettrow who played “Chuck” and “Rusty,” among other characters. This part of the show wouldn’t be complete without introducing the main “experts” on the show, including food scientist Shirley, nutritional anthropologist Deb, The Lady of the Refrigerator aka Carolyn, and W. W’s actual name is Vickie Eng, and it turns out that she’s a chiropractor in “real life.” The funny thing about that fact is that I recall my dad telling me this years ago when he saw this episode, but I had never actually seen the episode until now.
Throughout the episodes of Good Eats there have been many family members on the show, some of whom are actual relatives of Alton, while others are actors. So, who are the real family members? Alton’s mother has been in a few episodes of the show, and was his only “kitchen crew” for the pilot episode. In addition to her, his real grandmother was featured in the biscuit episode. Alton’s daughter also played a role in episode 49 and his dog, Matilda, was in episode 78. Matilda, by the way, was a hound dog, which we all know is my personal dog of choice. Don’t tell my husband, but I’ve been eyeing a couple cute Beagles lately.
To finish the episode, Alton pays visits to the editors, animators, and musicians who fine tune the details of each episode. This really makes you realize how many people are working unseen (perhaps underappreciated?) to bring a show like Good Eats to fruition. Last, but not least, a tribute is played to puppets of the show and their many roles throughout.
As such a long-term fan of the show, I enjoyed this look at production. With the newer episodes that have been produced in recent years, I’m sure many things have changed, yet I also would be willing to bet that many of the same faces have continued to work to bring Good Eats into our homes.
I’ll be back with a new recipe post sooner than later. Season 10 starts with an episode about tortillas and I just purchased a tortilla press to get my butt in gear. Until then, I hope everyone is enjoying some good eats.
Allison Cooks Alton's Good Eats 