Alton Brown is amazing. Wish he still did Good Eats. The geekiness of it all... I think he really loved that.
(For those who don't know - he plays a caricature of himself on Cutthroat Kitchen, an angry and "evil" version, he grew the beard just for the show. Naturally his normal persona is a food geek.)
Good Eats was on for 14 years and has 252 episodes, what more can you possibly ask for? That's a good run for any show nevermind one as labor and time intensive as Good Eats.
What makes you think his Good Eats host character is his "normal persona"? He doesn't play a caricature, just a character.
(For those who don't know - he plays a caricature of himself on Cutthroat Kitchen, an angry and "evil" version, he grew the beard just for the show. Naturally his normal persona is a food geek.)