Kiss The Cook! Ted Allen Serves Up Generosity

Wine me, dine me, sixty…hmmm, how does that old phrase go? For about a decade, fans of food, wine and out-of-the-closet celebs have been wishing for Ted Allen to use his “queer eye” talents on them.

 

Since his days as the gastronomic genius of the “Fab Five” on Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Ted has been keeping busy heading trends, not only in food creativity but also supporting the nationwide HIV/AIDS fundraiser Dining Out for Life (DOFL).

 

Ted has had a penchant for the kitchen skills since his early years, but the bulk of his pre-TV career has actually manifested itself through journalism.

 

“[Culinary school] is something I’d actually love to do, preferably in Southern Italy,” admitted Allen. “I’ve always been into cooking and food, but I didn’t really get into anything serious until I got a job at Chicago Magazine.

 

I was a senior editor there—I edited short stories and I wrote features and dining reviews. Like most city magazines, that was pretty much the restaurant bible for Chicago. It was the first place to have dining listings that were very honest and serious.

 

Food was just part of the culture at the magazine. I was getting sent out to interview chefs when restaurants would launch a new seasonal menu or something. I was in love with the culture of it all. I ended up becoming a member of the Dining Critic Team at the magazine. That got me exposed to more serious food, different types of cuisines and wine. One thing led to another.”

 

Apparently success led to more success. Allen was based in Chicago working for Esquire Magazine at the time of casting calls for a groundbreaking new “gay” show. “A friend in New York told me about a casting notice in New York for something called Queer Eye. I thought, ‘What the hell? I’ll get a cheap plane ticket, crash on a friend’s sofa, audition for this goofy show which I won’t get, get some face time with my editor and we’ll call it a day.

 

A lot of people auditioned…maybe 500… but they kept calling me back. We shot the pilot in Boston in July of 2002, which is now like 1,000 years ago. About a year later [the boys and I] were on the cover of Entertainment Weekly! It opened a lot of doors for all of us.”

 

99 episodes of Queer Eye later, Allen has the prestige of having been a judge on Top Chef and Iron Chef. “It was really kind of wonderful because it kept me visible on both of those networks while giving me the time to try to find a show of my own. Now I’m on Food Network doing Chopped—which is doing great. We just shot our 56th episode of that show. The new season starts this month.”

 

This is a considerable feat, keeping in mind that the popularity of most actors and TV personalities suffers after coming out of the closet. But the difference is, Allen was never in the closet to begin with. At least not on national television. “Well, I’ll tell ya, it’s one way to stop your relatives from asking your parents why you never have a girlfriend. (laughter)”

 

Speaking of societal pressure to couple up, it’s only natural for thousands to wonder if Mr. Allen has someone whom he wines and dines. “Actually, tomorrow is our 17th anniversary! Just to clarify—because that makes us sound even older than we are—we measure that from our first date…which was petrifying. That’s like 50 years for straight people. You know I don’t even think that’s true—all this ‘Defense of Marriage’ shit. Straight people aren’t all that great at staying married. It’s very helpful to have your first date on St. Patrick’s Day…or Christmas…you always remember your anniversary.”

 

As someone who knows what it takes to make things last, it’s appropriate that Allen allied himself with an organization like DOFL. “This is the 20th year for Dining Out for Life. They just came to me and asked if I would do it. It was a perfect fit as far as I was concerned. I really like this fundraiser because we raised $4 million in one day which is incredible, and we didn’t even have to rent a banquet hall, hire a band, hold a silent auction or any of that junk that everybody else does.

 

But aside from it being very effective, what I also like is that all the money that we raise in Los Angeles stays in Los Angeles. All the money we raise in Akron, Ohio stays in Akron, Ohio! So you know that when you go out to dinner on Dining Out for Life Day, all the money that you’re contributing goes right back into your own community. “

Looking at the assortment of charitable organizations around town, it’s interesting to see the variety in fundraising strategy. It’s also interesting to see how efficient the methods of DOFL are.

 

“Whenever you’re looking raise money and throw a benefit, the first place you turn for support is the restaurant community in your town. And they always step up. They offer things to be auctioned, free dinners, tours of the kitchen, etc. This fundraiser allows chefs to once again step up and contribute to the community, but it also brings new people into their restaurants and helps get them more exposure. It gives something back to the restaurant business—which is hurting right now.

 

As you and I know, the real heroes in the fight against HIV/AIDS are the activists and the health care workers who devote their whole lives to this—we can’t all dothat. But anybody can go out to dinner on this day and make a truly meaningful contribution so easily. It’s just a win-win situation. Why not do it? I just talked to one guy in Denver who said he and his friends go out to breakfast, lunch and dinner on Dining Out for Life Day.

 

I thought that was cool…a little decadent, but cool!” Now that it’s only a matter of time before the event kicks off, where will Mr. Allen and company be dining? “I think we’re going to hop on the train and go to Philadelphia which is where DOFL started. I expect that we’ll go to Chef Jose Garces’ restaurant. He’s one of the other chefs on Food Network—the newest one in fact. But we’ll probably bounce around to a few different places to get a sampling of Philly restaurants and try to cause as much trouble as we can. That ought to be really fun.”

 

Someone as familiar with the finer end of cuisine as Allen surely has an ideal dream plan for the perfect restaurant. “I’ve thought about it, I just don’t have any time to do it! Of course, owning and running a restaurant consumes your entire life. And now, my entire life is already being consumed by Food Network! These shows actually take a lot of work, and restaurants are very risky.

 

One kind of restaurant that I’m very intrigued by is a ‘gastro pub’—as in gastronomical. You can make creative food but it doesn’t necessarily have to be as precious or the ingredients don’t have to be as pricey. You can make a good bar business. They started in England. They have lots of them now here in the states—the most famous being The Spotted Pig in the West Village. It’s a place where Mario Vitale is an investor. Michael Stipe from R.E.M. and Jay-Z are investors. It’s always packed, the food is delicious.

 

I’ve worked in a couple of bad restaurants. Although I’ve never worked on the [cook’s] line. I really respect people who do that. I cook all the time but I don’t have to cook 200 orders and have people screaming at me. It’s a completely different animal. My fantasy is to go to culinary school in either Italy or France. If I could just get a six month window and take some classes for a while, I think that would be amazing.

 

But I don’t see that time window coming up any time soon. I’m a very dedicated cook. I take classes here and there whenever I can. In this business there’s always more to learn. On Chopped and Iron Chef, I do have the great advantage of sitting next to Daniel Boulud—you pick up a lot! I can also contact these people if I have questions. Maybe I should go to Scott Conant’s restaurant and maybe learn how it’s done.”

 

DOFL hits the streets of San Diego on Thursday, April 29. For a complete list of participating San Diego restaurants, visit diningoutforlife.com/sandiego or contact Chelsea at 619.497.2920 ext. 247 or send an e-mail to ccormier@thecentersd.org.

 

For Los Angeles, a complete list of participating restaurants is available at diningoutforlifeLA.org—or you can send an e-mail to kcrabtree@projectangelfood.org.