Notes from Alton Brown’s Booksigning in San Jose, 6/15/2002
Alton had to buy one of his own books at a signing in L.A. He signed it with the wrong name (Rick/Eric) so he is passing it around at his appearances for everyone else to sign, like a “yearbook” (he claimed not many people wanted to sign his high school yearbook). Someone outright asked if he liked Emeril. He replied (I’m paraphrasing): “If it wasn’t for Emeril I wouldn’t be here today. He opened up the television food business. Also, the steak I had at his restaurant in New Orleans was the best I’ve ever had.” At one point during the lengthy signing session, Alton got up to yell at the people towards the end of the huge line, asking how they were doing, telling them that the supply drop would be arriving any minute. For photos, he posed everyone differently. For our photo, he turned his back to the camera. I asked if his daughter was the girl in the episode with the tea party, he said no, that was a neighbor’s daughter, but his daughter was in the honey show, “she was much smaller then.” Someone asked where he ate dinner last night and what he had. He said his driver, who was Chinese, dropped him off in a dark alley in Chinatown and he had yummy garlic prawns and other dishes I can’t recall. He also said he was trying to get into Chez Panisse tonight (he’s never eaten there). He joked that he was going to bring the poster for his book with him and hold it up next to his face. He may market a ready-made brine mix. His final meal request would be duck confit (it takes 3 days to prepare). To sum up, a really nice guy with a lot of wit and charm, very happy to meet and interact with his fans.