By his own admission, Alton Brown’s newest book was a happy accident. Brown had been repairing a manual typewriter, lubricating a wayward ‘J’ key, when he loaded the machine with paper and began testing out its functionality. That day, he typed the first of the 39 essays that would make up “Food for Thought,” his tenth literary venture.

Of all the vignettes he wrote, that first piece, “The Howl of the Husky,” is still his favorite: a personal narrative about being a chubby kid and a chubby adult. The other 38 essays reveal a lifetime of culinary escapade, acquired kitchen ingenuity and introspection. Fans of the famous foodie will be happy to know that, while not all of the essays are about food, most are.

Brown released “Food for Thought” earlier this month, coinciding with the kick-off of his fourth and final tour, Alton Brown Live: Last Bite. It’s a triumphant farewell that promises to entertain and educate audiences across 62 cities.

The show comes to the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord on Tuesday, March 11, with a book signing at Gibson’s Bookstore on Monday, March 10. Brown spoke to the Insider from his tour bus, sharing the joys and practical demands of packing a variety show into an 18-wheeler and traveling the nation.

While his book may have been serendipitous, his show represents the fulfillment of a promise Brown made to himself to embark on four — and only four — tours.

“Live shows,” he said, are the “last bastion of creative freedom.”

But they’re also a grind and take a physical toll on the body. Brown, the star on a five-person tour bus, has the small luxury of a bathroom to himself, but there are few other creature comforts on the road.

“You get up and you unpack the show, you build the show, you do the show, you unpack the show, you put the show back on the truck, and you repeat,” he said. “It’s a hard, hard life because we don’t ever sit anywhere. It’s constant movement.”

Preparing for a live show isn’t frictionless either. Ideas don’t strike like lightning; they’re labored over. Each of Brown’s shows has featured a culinary demonstration that requires the construction of a large prop machine, for example. This tour features a 27-foot-long machine, the biggest his team has made.

“I’m not going to tell you what it does, but it’s the most mechanically challenging device that we’ve ever made. And there are a few things like that on this show. They come from research, they really do,” Brown said.

As with his previous tours, Brown will count on volunteers to liven up the spectacle he brings to the stage. Audience members can also expect a demonstration of the fascinating powers of steam. Tickets to the show can be purchased at www.altonbrownlive.com.

Rebecca Pereira can be reached at rpereira@cmonitor.com