How Much Does It Cost To Hire Chef Alton Brown?
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Alton Brown is a busy man, with IMDb listing him as the host of a number of popular cooking shows, including Good Eats, Iron Chef, and Worst Cooks in America. According to Alton Brown's Facebook profile, he originally worked as a cameraman and then as a commercial director, before deciding to pursue a career in food media.
Brown enrolled in culinary school, with the plan to create a different type of cooking show than the ones that were on television in the early '90s (via Atlanta Magazine). In addition to producing, directing, and hosting television shows, Brown is listed as the author of a number of cookbooks by Amazon, hosts a podcast (available to download or stream through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and his website) and occasionally does live cooking shows, including two touring shows, as reported by Time and Eater.
Watching an episode of one of these programs can feel a lot like being a kid and hanging out with your favorite uncle, as you sit in his kitchen and laugh at his dumb jokes and goofy impressions — but then you realize you actually learned something once you get home. Brown is funny, personable, and seems so easy to get along with, so naturally, you want him to come speak, do a performance at your event, or maybe even just hang out!
The real question is, can you afford him?
Alton Brown comes with a high price tag
Celebrity Speakers Bureau lists Alton Brown's fee ranging between $100,000 to $1,000,000. The company claims you can hire Brown for endorsements and events as a culinary consultant, speaker, or to do cooking demonstrations, among other roles.
CelebrityTalent.net quotes his fees as being slightly lower, beginning at $75,000, and Celebrity Chef Network prices start even lower than that at $50,000. While Brown performs a variety of roles, don't expect him to cater your dinner. Journalist David Sax told The New York Times, "The beauty of Alton Brown is he's not a chef, he's just a host."
Listed as being based out of Atlanta on his Facebook page, in an interview with Fast Company, Brown stated he runs his own production company, Brain Food Industries, which gives him complete creative control and allows him to create something "not like anything anyone's seen before." Brown's contact page states that he doesn't "have an assistant or minions," so you're welcome to try reaching out directly to see if you can snag a deal.