Alton Brown is one of the most intimidating characters on the Food Network—only it’s not a character choice. If you follow him on social media (or seen his live tour), you’ll find he actually is a funny, impressive, knowledgable, and yes—intimidating—person. He constantly preaches using brains and food knowledge when cooking to produce the highest quality dishes. Some of his more famous quotes can be applied to any part of life, which makes him so inspirational.
1. “Although I don’t take myself very seriously, I do take my work extraordinarily seriously.”
GIF courtesy of @blackdarkness on tumblr
Alton Brown has worked furiously to get where he is today—and he doesn’t quit. His lifestyle is all fun and games, but his work isn’t, and that’s how he got to where he is today.
2. “I want fans to like the shows, but I’m not going to make it for them. I’m going to make it for me.”
GIF courtesy of youtube.com
It sounds selfish at first, but he does his work to make himself happy. It just so happens that others also enjoy it.
3. “Through my efforts to attract the opposite sex, I found that not only did cooking work, but that it was actually fun.”
GIF courtesy of Food Network
Boys, listen to Alton.
4. “I love poking fun at myself. I have a rather mean sense of humor.”
GIF courtesy of Food Network
We knew that, Alton.
5. “Laughing brains are more absorbent.”
Photo courtesy of Penn State on Flickr.com
Alton Brown: Combining humor and education since 1999.
6. “Do not allow watching food to replace making food.”
GIF courtesy of @prettynerdieworks on tumblr
The Food Network is there to inspire you to cook, not keep you from cooking.
7. “Listen to your appetite, and play with your food.”
Photo courtesy of altonbrown.com
The man’s a genius, I tell you.
8. “Cooking is an observation-based process that you can’t do if you’re so completely focused on a recipe.”
GIF courtesy of @cutthroatkitchens on tumblr
Clearly, cooking involves a lot of (mostly forearm) work.
9. “The more you try to impress people, generally the less you do.”
GIF courtesy of @prettynerdieworks on tumblr
Is Alton ever impressed? I’m not so sure.
10. “All the gravy is better than some gravy.”
GIF courtesy of giphy.com
Truth.
11. “Anything that contains raisins can be replaced with M&M’s.”
GIF courtesy of imgur.com
More truth.
12. “Stupid hurts.”
Photo courtesy of twitter.com
Even more truth.
13. “Everything in food is science. The only subjective part is when you eat it.”
GIF courtesy of popsugar.com
Once again, Alton pushes education and knowledge when cooking. It’s not always about the lovin’ you put in your food, as Paula Deen would say.
14. “My advice: Write down everything you eat. It’s amazing what ‘self honesty’ can do for you.”
GIF courtesy of bestanimations.com
As I assume from his Instagram pictures, Alton is not the healthiest person. But, he suggests to be more aware of what you eat if you want to make a change.
15. “The most underused tool in the kitchen is the brain.”
GIF courtesy of @prettynerdieworks on tumblr
And it was quite underused in this episode of Cutthroat Kitchen.
16. “My goal is simple: get every American within the sound of my web voice to cook three meals a week. Is that too much to ask?”
GIF courtesy of @altonbrownfaces on tumblr
Apparently, Alton. Apparently.
17. “Your patience will be rewarded.”
GIF courtesy of @prettynerdieworks on tumblr
Does Alton ever give reward for anything…?
18. “The kitchen’s a laboratory, and everything that happens there has to do with science.”
GIF courtesy of @thatscienceguy on tumblr
This quote can be reinforced with Alton Brown’s live tour, Eat Your Science.
19. “We’re all so busy taking Facebook pictures of our food, we never take pictures of the people sitting across from us… We’ve shifted away from the things that actually matter in human interaction.”
GIF courtesy of Lauren Zaser on Buzzfeed
Even though Alton is pretty active on Twitter and Instagram, that doesn’t mean he has to like it.
20. “These things are not meat shredders, they are a lifestyle.”
Photo courtesy of youtube.com
He doesn’t believe in kitchen gadgets, or “unitaskers,” as he describes them.
21. “It’s not about finding the biggest or the strongest or the most elaborate or expensive, just the best.”
Photo courtesy of instagram.com
Naturally, he was referring to espresso when he said this.