In the Fridge with Alton Brown

Take a look at 5 things Alton Brown keeps in his fridge.

Alton Brown launches his farewell culinary variety tour, Last Bite, on February 13, in the same month his 10th book, Food for Thought (Gallery Books, 2025), hits stores. The star of Good Eats and former host of Iron Chef America hasn’t let his popularity (and general likability) go to his head, however; when we asked him what his takeaway has been during his culinary journey, his answer was “I’m still not a great cook.” Respectfully, we disagree; anyone who can successfully include Captain Crunch cereal in a sweet and savory tasting experience involving buttermilk, garam masala, and aged cheddar (the first essay in Food for Thought) isn’t giving himself enough credit. But we do agree with his pick for favorite quintessentially Southern food: “Real grits.” —Emily Havener

Five Things in Alton Brown’s Fridge:

1. Champagne

“I usually buy splits because they’re enough for two people,” says Brown, who shares with his wife, Elizabeth Ingram.

2. Asparagus

“The fatter the better,” according to Brown, who keeps it simple when preparing the spring vegetable.

3. Chicken Salad

Brown makes his from roasted chicken leftovers: “I roast a lot this time of year.”

4. Mayonnaise

“Duke’s is my go-to, though we do keep Kewpie around for sushi and okonomiyaki.”

5. Frank Corriher Country Liver Mush

Brown says he’s “not terribly brand-centric,” but this product made in China Grove, North Carolina, holds a certain nostalgia.

Q&A with Alton Brown

We asked Brown about his tour and the special place Southern ingredients play in his life.

TLP: Why did you decide this would be your farewell tour?

Alton Brown: Back in 2013, when I mounted my first tour, I told myself I’d do four and for some reason it feels right to just stick that number. On top of that, touring is really, really difficult, physically, mentally, and emotionally—and frankly, I’m not quite as young as I used to be. Close, but not quite. 

TLP: Since your initial Southern biscuit episode in 1999, have you learned anything new about biscuits?

Alton Brown: I have an entire essay about biscuits in Food for Thought, and I do share that one thing, which is that I discovered that my grandmother, whose biscuits were perfect, kept her fingers straight when she kneaded, due to her arthritis. Turns out, that was the secret. 

TLP: What’s an ingredient that brings up a special memory for you?

Alton Brown: Cool Whip.

TLP: What else do you typically have in your fridge year-round?

Alton Brown: Kerry Gold butter, Heinz ketchup, and eggs (farm fresh if I can get them).

TLP: Do you have a favorite quintessentially Southern food?

Alton Brown: I have to go with grits. Real grits. Stone ground, hominy grits, cooked long and low, stirred often and finished not just with cheese, but pimento cheese.

TLP: Since starting your culinary science journey, what have you learned that has surprised you the most?

Alton Brown: After all this time, I’m still not a great cook.

Perhaps you consume your buttered biscuits sandwich-style, but I have always followed my Oreo MO, separating the lids from the bottoms, thus protracting the pleasure. I would start with the lids, my eyes rolling back in my head like a shark tucking into a harbor seal, before savoring the bottoms, always butterier thanks to gravity. The next day would offer even more exquisite pleasure, as Ma Mae would split the leftovers, butter them, park the halves on crumpled foil, and toast them, an operation that converted the staling pucks into something akin to tiny English muffins. Even now, fifty years later, I can remember looking forward to spending the night with my grandparents, because: biscuits. — “Biscuiteering”

Reprinted from Food for Thought by Alton Brown, published by Gallery Books. Copyright Alton Brown 2025. Used with permission.

keep reading

On the Road

5 Things in Darius Rucker’s Fridge

We sat down with Darius Rucker to discuss the 5 things he absolutely can’t live without in his refrigerator.

From the Magazine

In the Fridge with Marcus Samuelsson

Atlanta culinary legend, Marcus Samuelsson, takes us in the fridge to explore five fall staple ingredients he uses in and out of the kitchen.

At the Table

Country Captain Shrimp and Grits

Birmingham chef, Sedesh Boodram, adds shrimp and grits to a Country Captain-style sauce for an inspired new take on the Lowcountry favorite.