Alton Brown, creator of Good Eats and host of Iron Chef America, was recently a guest on the excellent podcast The Moment with Brian Koppelman. During the discussion, Alton said this about his teaching:
Curiosity is the most powerful force on the earth. People talk to me about, “Well, you know, you’re a great teacher, blah, blah, blah,” actually, I’m not a really great teacher. My main thing is to infect you with curiosity. If I can infect you with curiosity about food, you will get, eventually, up off your sofa and you will do something.
Alton Brown taught me how to cook, and I have the utmost respect for his skill as a performer, a cook, and a writer.
That’s why I feel comfortable here saying he’s wrong.
Infecting people with curiosity is the definition of good teaching.