# More, 'Beware of your heroes' (Alton Brown) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793 "2020-11-17T14:03:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/41 "2020-11-17T22:38:59Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > What is it about chefs having personality issues? Ramsey, Brown, Bourdain, never mind Jeff Smith. The profession seems to attract a lot of assholes - not just the famous ones (apologies to @Chefguy who I believe isn’t a real-life chef by trade anyway, but if he were, we would exempt him from this stereotype). If I understand correctly, it’s something people in the food world tend to expect. I’ve only known one professional chef well so that’s not much of a sample, but yeah, he was an arrogant jerk. It may be that there is something about the skill set needed, or the process you have to go through to achieve professional status, or maybe the fact that chefs get to boss people around just attracts a certain type. I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/42 "2020-11-17T22:52:52Z")
My understanding is that there is a lot of pressure in a real, high-end restaurant kitchen _but_ the kind of yelling that Gordon Ramsay does on something like Hell’s Kitchen would not be tolerated. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/43 "2020-11-17T22:58:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > the kind of yelling that Gordon Ramsay does on something like Hell’s Kitchen would not be tolerated. Isn’t all the yelling all played up on the show? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/44 "2020-11-17T23:00:20Z")
Definitely. And if you watch the UK versions of his shows, like the UK Kitchen Nightmares or The F Word, you’ll hear much less yelling and fewer curse words. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/45 "2020-11-17T23:23:58Z")
Alton Brown has never been a chef. He’s never worked in the restaurant business. He also had a really messed-up childhood (his father was a media executive who died under odd circumstances and his mother married multiple times after that) so I suspect he’s got some issues going under the surface. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/46 "2020-11-17T23:24:19Z")
This is not evidence of anti-semitism to you. It is to me. I don’t believe his later explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/47 "2020-11-17T23:24:37Z")
No, I’m not. But like a lot of professions, I would assume that many of those who are successful at it are type-A personalities, with little tolerance for error. I’m a bit of a Nazi in my own kitchen, as my spouse will attest. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/48 "2020-11-17T23:31:07Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > This is not evidence of anti-semitism to you. It is to me. I don’t believe his later explanation. I don’t have to believe his later explanation. The meaning is evident to me in the original posts. The later explanation just confirms it. What exactly do you think he meant? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/49 "2020-11-17T23:48:09Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > Alton Brown has never been a chef. He’s never worked in the restaurant business. This is true, pretty much. He was originally in television commercial production (and also was a cinematographer for music videos), and when he came up with the idea for _Good Eats_, he realized that he would have to get a culinary education in order to get the knowledge base and kitchen skills he needed. So, he attended, and graduated from, the New England Culinary Institute. I would suspect that he did have to do some commerical or restaurant kitchen work as part of his studies at NECI, but you’re right in that he was never a chef, or really worked in the restaurant business. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/50 "2020-11-17T23:56:22Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > This is true, pretty much. He was originally in television commercial production (and also was a cinematographer for music videos), and when he came up with the idea for _Good Eats_ , he realized that he would have to get a culinary education in order to get the knowledge base and kitchen skills he needed. So, he attended, and graduated from, the New England Culinary Institute. > > I would suspect that he did have to do some commerical or restaurant kitchen work as part of his studies at NECI, but you’re right in that he was never a chef, or really worked in the restaurant business. Not sure what your point is? I wouldn’t have posted what I did if it wasn’t correct and easily verifiable, so …? My point was that he’s being referred to as a chef here, and that isn’t really right since he’s never actually been one. And of course you don’t need to be a chef to be an a-hole or have other personal problems. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/51 "2020-11-18T01:09:06Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > Not sure what your point is? I wouldn’t have posted what I did if it wasn’t correct and easily verifiable, so …? My point was simply to elaborate that while Brown isn’t a chef, he does have culinary training. And, yes, what you posted was “correct and easily verifiable,” but I thought it might be helpful to elaborate so that other readers didn’t have to go fishing for that information. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/52 "2020-11-18T01:32:25Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > My point was simply to elaborate that while Brown isn’t a chef, he does have culinary training. Well, OK then? Still not sure how this matters - I very much doubt his issues have anything to do with his training or his work. However, his popularity gives a whole lot more people exposure to what he thinks, which probably isn’t such a great idea for him personally right now. I think the last four years have unwound a whole lot of folks, and very much not for the better. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793/53 "2020-11-18T01:56:54Z")
I found **kenobi\_65** ’s clarification useful at least. Not a Chef, but trained as one is good to know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-beware-of-your-heroes-alton-brown/925793.md?page=2)