Alton is great!
He is the direct inheritor of the mantles of two of the best TV Chefs of the past -- Julia Child and Jeff Smith (The Frugal Gourmet). Just as they had a connection to ingredients, techniques and food culture, so does he. (Yes, there was some controversy surrounding Jeff's show towards the end, but the man knew his food!)
Too many of FN's current crop of chef's are "just cooking" -- they don't seem to know their ingredients except as just an ingredient with which to make something else. The connection to ingredients as food, is missing. They also seem to be lacking in the culture of the foods they make.
Alton gets it. So, do Giada
and Mario.
Don't get me started on Emeril the has-been, or Rachel the product placement/advertising whore. (I still don't understand how she has that gig -- the newbs they bring in for "Next Food Network Star" have more culinary chops than she does.)