How To Meet Your Hero, A Beginner's Guide

As I child, I didn't grow up watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. In my house, we watched DIY shows on PBS; This Old House and New Yankee Workshop, Victory Garden and Square Foot Gardening. My absolute favorites were the cooking shows! Julia Child and Justin Smith and even a young Martha Stewart. I loved learning how other people in other places in the world made food, at a young age I was fascinated by the relationship of food and culture.

Fast forward, I'm an anthropology student in college, and one afternoon I discover this quirky, FUNNY, informative, anthropologically and scientifically based cooking show on Food Network called "Good Eats". I'm instantaneously drawn in! Here's this guy in a retro bowling shirt, funky, nerdy glasses, explaining both the chemistry and culture behind the food we eat every day.That guy was Alton Brown, and over the years I've seen every single episode, and learned more about the "whys" of cooking than I ever thought possible. And this week The Gingerbuilders had the supreme fortune of seeing his stage show, The Edible Inevitable Show, in Dayton, Ohio... But more exciting than that, we briefly got to MEET him after the show!!!!!

Gingerbuilder Stephanie had a friend who happens to be a crew member for this current tour, and they MIGHT have indicated that there would be a certain time frame and location that we could, should we be so inclined, bump into Mr Brown after the show. And suddenly, things got REALLY real!

As we watched the show, I'll admit I was a little distracted by the thought that after all these years of being a fan, I might be about to MEET, as in IN PERSON, as in "reach out and poke him in the shoulder" close, Alton Brown!

After the show we headed outside and waited, and waited, and waited, in 6 degree weather. I was glovelessly gripping my copy of his cookbook I'm Just Here For More Food, knowing exactly which page I wanted autographed, wondering if I could be cool and just ask, or if I was going to dissolve into a giggling mess upon meeting him face to face.

And after what seemed like a frozen eternity... He walked out! And there he was, and I totally, mostly held it together and he asked if he could autograph anything and I flipped the book open to the recipe for pound cake (we use it A LOT) 

"Who can I make it out to?"

"The Gingerbuilders, please"

*starts writing, looks up questioning*

"It's one word"

*nods head in understanding*

"Thank you so much!"

"It's my pleasure"

What an incredible experience, meeting someone I consider "a hero" with my 2 best friends and fellow Gingerbuilders!