Food for thought Essays & ruminations

Food-science wiz Brown, perhaps best known for hosting 16 seasons of Good Eats, looks back on his life from the vantage point of his early sixties. When a memoir was first proposed to him, Brown argued against writing one because "nothing had ever really happened to me." Whether a fan of Brown or new to him, readers will find that to be true--if only because it's Brown himself who made things happen. A workaholic with a penchant for martinis, Brown ruminates on his life and career, and readers sense the ambition and determination that got him where he is today. While not bragging--he also discusses insecurities, whether about his "husky" body or mediocre dating success early on--Brown demonstrates that perseverance and curiosity for learning got him through difficult times like the loss of his father. From his humble culinary origins delivering pizza to cooking to impress women to nonstop researching for and writing his science-minded cooking show, Brown's essays reveal a real human being many will relate to and enjoy reading about.

Food Network host Brown (Good Eats: The Final Years) details his culinary career in this appealing memoir in essays, which takes readers from the author's early life in North Hollywood, Calif., through his stints at Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen. As a child with a penchant for "unorthodox flavors," Brown developed an early fascination with food science, and attended culinary school in New England before finding work at a bakery. While in school, he dreamed up the concept for his first show, Good Eats, which put a cheeky spin on food science, and recounts the bumpy road to getting it produced on the Food Network. Elsewhere, Brown reveals what he hates to cook (hard shell blue crab); examines famous scenes of cooking and eating in Hollywood blockbusters including The Godfather and Apocalypse Now; and shares some of his favorite regional dishes, like Nebraska's unlikely combination of chili and cinnamon rolls. The author's dry wit ("I'll never go back because I don't want to see the inevitable change that forty years have wrought," he writes of a magical trip to an Italian village. "Looking in the mirror is bad enough") makes this irresistible for home cooks and foodies alike. It's another delicious treat from Brown. Illus. Agent: Eric Simonoff, WME. (Feb.)