In many people's eyes, Ted Allen will always be a foodie from Bravo's first hit, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, although he has gone on to so much more. He wrote two cookbooks, is a regular on cooking shows, and is the host of Food Network's Chopped.
Allen has spent a great deal of time in Chicago, where he was a reporter and wrote for Chicago Magazine as well as many other publications as a freelancer. He has since moved to New York with his husband, Barry Rice.
After Queer Eye for the Straight Guy became a massive hit he went on to judge such shows as Iron Chef America, and Top Chef.
Allen received a James Beard Award for Chopped and an Emmy Award for Queer Eye with the other cast members for Outstanding Reality Program.
On April 24, Allen—along with other celebrities and supporters—will eat out for a good cause with Dining Out For Life. More than 3,000 restaurants raise proceeds to benefit essential HIV/AIDS services with this event. It is estimated that four million dollars will be raised in this one night of dining.
Allen called Windy City Times to talk about his career and how important this night is to him.
Windy City Times: Hi, Ted. Are you calling from New York?
Ted Allen: I am in Brooklyn. I live here now. Are you still like 45 below zero in Chicago?
WCT: Yes, unfortunately. [Both laugh.] You have been involved with Dining Out For Life for six years?
Ted Allen: I think that is about right, yeah. The first time I was involved with it was many years ago, when I did live in Chicago. It was at a restaurant on the corner of Belmont and Sheffield. It is long gone now.
The organization is a perfect fit for me. It is an opportunity to encourage people to go to restaurants, get out and taste new things, help support this industry that I love so much, while making a meaningful contribution in the fight against HIV/AIDS in their own communities without having to do anything particularly difficult. It doesn't cost extra. It is just a reflection of what chefs and restauranters do for communities. It is pretty amazing.
WCT: I worked at a restaurant called Andies that has participated and it is rewarding to be on that end of it.
Ted Allen: Excellent. I used to order from there all the time. It is good food. I used to live on Magnolia [in Andersonville].
WCT: What does Dining Out for Life require from you? Being a spokesman?
Ted Allen: They use me, Pam Grier, Daisy Martinez and Mondo Guerra to access media. The event happens on April 24 in most cities. We are doing interviews and getting the press excited about it. Although [it's] not a new event, we want to remind people that it's around and still needed.
When I first started doing this the face of AIDS had changed from the gay, white male disease that is started out as but now the pendulum has swung back. Now there is a whole new generation who did not see the first plague, watching all kinds of videos with unsafe sex in it and thinking this problem has been solved. It is not the death sentence that it used to be, but if you know someone that has HIV and takes all of these medicines you know it is not without awful side effects. It is still a serious thing.
WCT: Mondo himself is part of that generation and is open about being positive. He is in Chicago all the time and will probably be eating at a participating restaurant here. Do you have a favorite one that you will be dining at that night?
Ted Allen: It depends on where I am. I have been in Philadelphia in the past, which is the home city, where it was founded. My problem is that we are shooting Chopped that day. They don't let me get out much.
WCT: How has that show been going?
Ted Allen: Chopped is going great. The network is really behind us and we are doing well. In February we will be airing eight new episodes on Tuesday nights and also on Sunday nights. It is probably the networks attempts to defend itself against the Olympics I would imagine. I don't think that is an official position but it certainly makes sense to me. As with many of the gay community I am not impressed with Sochi so far to say the least and not just because of the anti-gay legislation in Russia but it looks like a mess.
We are going to film more episodes and the goal is to refresh the show without messing it up. In the past we have done Chopped champions, celebrity tournaments, and brought back people that almost won but not quite. This time we are doing a five part tournament with all teens, which I think is really going to be fun. That will be four episodes of semi finals where whomever wins competes in the finale. The winner of that walks away with $50,000. Maybe because they are teenager that translates into a scholarship, I am not sure.
WCT: Tell our readers about the Queer Eye reunion.
Ted Allen: It was great and a lot of fun to see everybody. I thought all of the boys looked great. The camaraderie and raunchy humor was intact! My favorite part was that Andy Cohen and his staff did such a great job of pulling old clips. It has been a while and they really worked hard finding good stuff. I kind of wished it was two hours long.
WCT: Those clips must be like a scrapbook and it still holds up today. It was very funny.
Ted Allen: Totally, like a video scrapbook. It is funny to look back at it and Bravo has become such a huge player in the culture but yet they still lean on the categories that they assigned to the five of us. It is still largely about food, fashion, culture with a little touch of bitchiness that we didn't quite have with all of these Housewives.
WCT: Is it hard to not interrupt each other when the five of you are talking?
Ted Allen: Oh you picked up on that, huh? It is a specific skill being able to jump in and get a word in edgewise in a group of very talkative people. Nobody wants everyone talking at once then nobody gets heard but at the same time everyone has something to say. I guess that is part of what good casting is. It is finding a group that has enough respect of each other to let people make their points but has enough strength and ego to talk really fast. It was just like old times. Getting a word in edgewise with those queens was not easy!
A lot of people just can't do it. It is a credit to Andy that he was able to. I was wondering if he would be able to withstand that.
WCT: He's used to the Housewives!
Ted Allen: Andy was one of the producers on Queer Eye. He wasn't one of the originals but he was a producer on the show. That special was the first time we had been together in like seven years and the first time Andy was ever on camera with us so that was an interesting challenge for him for sure.
WCT: Are you still writing for Esquire Magazine?
Ted Allen: I have a little project for Esquire that we are kicking around but I can't talk about it yet because it's not official. I was at their office yesterday and it was great to see my editors there. It has been the same team for 17 years, which is a really long time at a national magazine.
WCT: What is coming up for you with new projects besides Chopped?
Ted Allen: I just finished shooting another show for Food Network but can't talk too much about it but I am excited. Right now I am just enjoying being off work.
WCT: You are currently engaged?
Ted Allen: We actually got married last July. I made a public spectacle about it when we got engaged the day that DOMA was overturned. I decided not to make a show of it when we actually got married. One thing I learned about marriage when we did it is that a lot of people claim ownership of it. I have always thought of it as our business so we did it very quietly. It was very low key with a couple of close friends. We had a lunch and bottle of champagne at Balthazar.
WCT: Did your family always cook?
Ted Allen: Oh, yeah. My mom is a great cook. It was healthy food with lots of vegetables.
WCT: That leads into my last question. Any new tips for healthy eating in 2014?
Ted Allen: I'm not into fads or low fat ingredients. I am into real food. I use butter. I don't use much cream but I have a real weakness for cheese. For me it is all about portion control and moderation. I don't eat polish sausage everyday. I should probably use a different example than that, shouldn't I? [Both laugh.]
A little exercise doesn't hurt, although when it's below 45 degrees it must be hard to go to the gym. Please say hello to my beloved Chicago for me!
Now in its seventh year look for restaurants participating in Dining Out for Life ( April 24 ) at www.diningoutforlife.com . Keep up with Ted at tedallen.net .
