Ted Allen
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Edward Reese Allen (born May 20, 1965) is an American author and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the
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network's television program '' Queer Eye'', and has been the host of the TV cooking competition series ''
Chopped Chopped can have the following meanings: * Chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It ...
'' since its launch in 2009, as well as ''
Chopped Junior ''Chopped Junior'' is an American reality-based cooking television game show series hosted by Ted Allen that pits four adolescent chefs against each other, competing for a chance to win $10,000 and a Chopped Junior chef's coat. The show is a sp ...
'', which began in mid-2015. On April 13, 2014, he became the host of another Food Network show, originally called ''
America's Best Cook America's Best Cook was a limited run American cooking show which premiered on Food Network and Food Network Canada, April 14, 2014. It is hosted by Food Network host Ted Allen. It consisted of one six episode season. The winner of the competition ...
''; a retooled version of that show, retitled ''All-Star Academy,'' debuted on March 1, 2015. In early 2015, he also hosted a four-part special, ''Best. Ever.'' which scoured America for its best burgers, pizza, breakfast, and barbecue. He is a longtime contributing writer to ''
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'' magazine and is the author of two cookbooks, and regularly appears on the Food Network show ''
Beat Bobby Flay ''Beat Bobby Flay'' is an American cooking competition show on the Food Network. It features various chefs competing against Bobby Flay. The show is taped in front of a live audience. Format In the first round, two guests, often a celebrity che ...
'' and other television cooking shows.


Early life and education

Allen graduated from Carmel High School in
Carmel, Indiana Carmel is a suburban city in Indiana immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 100,777, the city spans across Clay Township in Hamilton County, Indiana, and is bordered by the White River to the east; the Hamilton-Boone county ...
in 1983 and was inducted into the school's Alumni Hall of Fame in 2011. He received a degree in psychology from
Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
in 1987. Subsequently, he enrolled in Purdue's Krannert Graduate School of Management but left to accept a job as a copy editor at the
Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...
, ''
Journal & Courier The Lafayette ''Journal & Courier'' is a daily newspaper owned by Gannett, serving Lafayette, Indiana, and the surrounding communities. It was established in 1920 through the merger of two local papers, the ''Journal and Free Press'' (establish ...
''. He later returned to graduate school, earning an MA in journalism from the Science and Environmental Reporting Program at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
. He then moved to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, where he worked as a reporter for
Lerner Newspapers Lerner Newspapers was a chain of weekly newspapers. Founded by Leo Lerner, the chain was a force in community journalism in Chicago from 1926 to 2005, and called itself "the world's largest newspaper group". In its heyday, Lerner published 54 we ...
, a chain of community weekly newspapers.


Career

Allen got his start in restaurant criticism there as one-quarter of a bi-weekly group-review team called "The Famished Four," along with Barry Rice, then the chain's entertainment editor (and now Allen's husband), who initiated the concept with Lerner food editor Leah A. Zeldes. Allen then became a freelancer for ''
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
'' magazine, eventually signing on as a senior editor and often writing about food, wine, and luminaries of the culinary world. He joined ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' in 1997 as a contributing editor, where he wrote features, food pieces, and profiles and co-authored the magazine's popular "Things a Man Should Know" series. He also has written for '' GQ'', ''
Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...
'', ''
Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...
'', and ''
Epicurious ''Epicurious'' is an American digital brand that focuses on food and cooking-related topics. Created by Condé Nast in 1995, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, where it is part of the publisher's Foo ...
''.


Television

Allen gained great visibility in 2003 when he became a cast member of the television makeover series ''
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy ''Queer Eye'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the cable television network Bravo in July 2003. Originally ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'', the title was later shortened to broaden the overall scope. The series was cre ...
'', serving as its food and wine specialist. He continued to make television appearances as a
gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, of ...
, including as a frequent guest judge on
Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...
's ''
Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, whi ...
''. Allen hosted a six-part documentary, ''Uncorked: Wine Made Simple'', on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
starting May 7, 2007. Beginning June 13, 2007, Allen appeared as a regular judge on seasons 3 and 4 of
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's
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
program ''
Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chef ...
'', following several guest judge appearances during the previous two seasons. In 2008, he left Bravo when Food Network offered him the host job on two shows: ''
Food Detectives ''Food Detectives'' was a food science show hosted by Ted Allen that aired in North America on Food Network from July to September 2008. Ted Allen, backed by research conducted by ''Popular Science'' magazine, investigated food-related beliefs, s ...
'', which debuted on July 29, 2008, and ''
Chopped Chopped can have the following meanings: * Chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It ...
'', which launched a 13-episode season on January 13, 2009. "Detectives" returned for a second season of 13 episodes, also in January 2009. "Chopped" was renewed for 26 episodes and went back into production in March 2009 in New York. The show took off with viewers and was renewed for another 33 episodes, which were shot in January and February 2010. Now one of the highest-rated prime-time shows on the network, as of May 2022, ''Chopped'' has shot some 850 episodes, and "Chopped Junior" has shot 100. In an interview with the
Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...
about his favorite moments on ''Chopped'', Allen stated, "My favorite mystery basket ingredient remains the whole chicken in a can, not so much because I love the food, ut becauseI love the sound it makes when it plops out of the can." Since moving to the Food Network, Allen has made appearances on many of that channel's programs, including ''
Beat Bobby Flay ''Beat Bobby Flay'' is an American cooking competition show on the Food Network. It features various chefs competing against Bobby Flay. The show is taped in front of a live audience. Format In the first round, two guests, often a celebrity che ...
'', ''Best Ever'', ''
Cutthroat Kitchen ''Cutthroat Kitchen'' is an American cooking show hosted by Alton Brown that aired on the Food Network from August 11, 2013 to July 19, 2017. It features four chefs competing in a three-round elimination cooking competition. The contestants face ...
'', multiple episodes of ''
The Best Thing I Ever Ate ''The Best Thing I Ever Ate'' is a television series that originally aired on Food Network, debuting on June 22, 2009 (after a preview on June 20). The program originally aired as a one-time special in late 2008. After being cancelled by The Food ...
'', ''Dear Food Network'', and ''
The Next Food Network Star ''Food Network Star'' is a reality television series that premiered June 5, 2005. It was produced by CBS EYEtoo Productions for seasons 1–8 and by Triage Entertainment for subsequent seasons. It airs on the Food Network in the United States. ...
''. On November 16, 2008, Allen returned to ''Iron Chef America'' as a co-floor reporter for the show's Thanksgiving special. Allen reprised the role as a co-floor reporter for the Thanksgiving special on November 20, 2011. On December 2, 2012, Allen served as a sous chef to Iron Chef
Masaharu Morimoto is a Japanese chef, best known as an Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show ''Iron Chef'' and its spinoff '' Iron Chef America''. He is also known for his unique style of presenting food. Career Morimoto received practical training in sush ...
and chef Robert Irvine in a special "Holiday Battle," pitting the Food Network stars against reps of the sister network Cooking Channel, Ben Sergeant, Nadia G, and Michael Symon. Morimoto's team won.


Books

*''Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Style'' (Riverhead Books, 1999) with Scott Omelianuk (, , OCLC 42310518) *''Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Marriage'' (Riverhead Books, 2000) with Scott Omelianuk (, , OCLC 42462917) *''Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Sex'' (Riverhead Books, 2001) with Scott Omelianuk *''Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Handshakes, White Lies and Which Fork Goes Where: Easy Business Etiquette for Complicated Times'' (Riverhead Books, 2001) with Scott Omelianuk (, ) *Co-author, ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab Five's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better'' (Clarkson Potter, 2004) (, , , ) *''The Food You Want To Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes'' (Clarkson Potter, 2005) (, ) *''In My Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Discoveries for Passionate Cooks'' (Clarkson Potter 2012)


Personal life

Allen became engaged to Barry Rice in 2013 after being together for 20 years. They married the same year.


Filmography


Awards

In May 2012, Allen received a
James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...
for his work as the host of ''Chopped'', and the show also won for best in-studio television program. In 2004, he won an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
along with the other cast members and producers of '' Queer Eye'' for "Outstanding Reality Program" from the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...
. The show was also nominated again for that category in 2005. In 2001, he was a finalist in the National Magazine Awards for an ''Esquire'' feature on the little-known phenomenon of male breast cancer. He later contributed to an ''Esquire'' food series that was a finalist in the
National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
in 2003. In 2011, he received a Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. He also holds two awards from the
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals i ...
for ''Queer Eye'', presented in 2004 and 2005.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Ted 1965 births American cookbook writers American male non-fiction writers American television chefs Carmel High School (Indiana) alumni Emmy Award winners Esquire (magazine) people Food Network chefs Gay entertainers American gay writers Krannert School of Management alumni American LGBT broadcasters American LGBT journalists LGBT people from Ohio Living people New York University alumni People from Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Writers from Columbus, Ohio Judges in American reality television series