OK, I’m a fan of Alton Brown and Good Eats since getting Dish Network. I particularly like the parts where he goes to “Bed Bath & Beyond” to shop for equipment and interact with “W” the Equipment Specialist.
Does “W” really work at BB&B? If I went to that store, which one in Atlanta?, would she be working there?
Or is she an actor on the Good Eats show playing a BB&B employee?
Gotta post and run here, but according to the IMDB, W is played by Vickie Eng, who is an actress. In fact, all his “family members” are played by actors as well.
“W” is played by Dr. Vicki Eng, a resident of Atlanta. You can find out a little bit about her and her book here.
Thanks for the quick response. Guess I won’t be stopping by BB&B next time I’m driving through Atlanta.
Huh…I always thoguht that was his real sister and nephew…I feel kinda cheated that’s it not.
However, he DID have his real, live, actual-factual grandma on the show for the biscuit episode.
He recounted a touching story at the book signing in Saint Louis about how his daughter, who was too young to know the grandma, got introduced to her when that episode reaired.
I really don’t like W. I tend to get a snack or something when she is on. I finally put my finger on why she bugs me so much–She can’t remember her lines. She’s always pausing at inopportune times and stuttering a little and shaking her head to dislodge her next thought. Bugs me.
No, no, no.
Haven’t any of you ever seen the after-Thanksgiving episode where they all get snowed in, and the crew takes Alton’s sister hostage in exchange for food? A film student is there making a documentary and films Alton making all sorts of things out of leftover turkey.
We see a quick shot of W in the basement closet - she’s a cyborg.
And on the Honey Episode (Season 4, episode 8: Pantry Raid IV: Comb Alone) his real-life daughter, Zoey, makes a brief appearance.
Hijack: I got to meet Alton Brown yesterday, at a book signing!!! I’m very excited about this; I’ve never done the “meet-the-celebrity” thing before. 
Good call, Little Bird. I, too, was trying to figure out what bugged me about W’s acting. Alton interacts with many other “real” people on the show, like butchers, fishmongers, knife sharpeners, etc., who presumably are not reading scripted parts, just answering Alton’s questions. The same goes for Shirley Corriher and Deb Duchon, who certainly know their stuff, but just don’t act very well. I wonder why they had to “create” a role like that and cast an actor for it, rather than use a real BB&B or restaurant supply store employee. Maybe just because they wanted a recurring character to be a “foil” to Alton.
As far as I recall, W hasn’t always worked for BB&B – sometimes it’s been other restaurant supply stores. So I imagine it was to have the recurring character, but also so they weren’t stuck with one store.
Blasphemt, Mike. W rocks. Of course, considering the small crush I have on her, it’s not surprising I like her character, but still.
Blasphemy too.
So this isn’t about the President, then?
Wait a minute. An “equipment specialist”? Named after a single letter of the alphabet? Is this some kind of a James Bond spoof-gimmick?
Considering their somewhat antagonistic personalities, it’s pretty much a given.
Mmmm, pretzels.
What’s that supposed to mean, that Q doesn’t like Bond? Why doesn’t he just give him some doohickey that’ll get him killt, then?
I didn’t say Q hates Bond or that W hates Brown, only that there’s a certain amount of antagonism between both pairs with Bond and Brown always exasperating their colleagues. There’s a world of difference between being annoyed by someone’s exuberance and wanting them dead.
Was it crowded? I was going to go and them forgot about it. I tried to console myself by telling myself that the line was probably several hours long.