Ted Allen recalls two James Beard awards

Ted Allen said in an NBC4 profile published May 15 that a mix of “luck” and “hustle” helped carry him from a Columbus birth and central Ohio childhood to national food television. The station said Allen’s career includes an Emmy, two James Beard Awards and bestselling cookbooks. The profile, part of NBC4’s Ohio 250 coverage, revisited Allen’s path through magazine journalism, Bravo’s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and Food Network’s “Chopped.” NBC4 said Allen was born in 1965 at Children’s Hospital in Columbus and spent his early years in central Ohio before his family moved to Indiana when he was 7. Allen told the station that he still remembers Broad Street, Conestoga Drive and the construction of the beltway around Columbus. ### What did Ted Allen say about how his career took off? Ted Allen told NBC4, “I think there’s a lot of luck in life, but also a little bit of hustle certainly doesn’t hurt.” The station said that outlook carried him from degrees in psychology at Purdue University and journalism at New York University into food and wine writing. (nbc4i.com) Food Network says Allen began his magazine career at Chicago magazine and later became a contributing editor at Esquire in 1997. (nbc4i.com) NBC4 reported that while he was at Esquire in 2003, he auditioned for Bravo’s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” where he became the show’s food and wine expert. ### Where do the Emmy and James Beard awards come from? Allen’s official website says he is an Emmy winner and that “Chopped” won two James Beard Awards during its run. (nbc4i.com) The site also says Allen received a James Beard Award for his work as host of “Chopped,” while the show itself received another Beard for best in-studio program. NBC4 said Allen “earned the role of food and wine expert” on “Queer Eye,” and that the show “went on to win an Emmy Award.” Allen’s website likewise says Bravo’s “Queer Eye” was nominated twice for an Emmy and “took the prize in 2004.” Food Network’s biography describes Allen as the “Emmy-winning host of Chopped.” (nbc4i.com) ### How large is Allen’s Food Network career? (tedallen.net) Food Network says Allen is the host of “Chopped” and a frequent contributor to “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” His official website says “Chopped” and “Chopped Junior” together have run for nearly 1,000 episodes, and NBC4 said he has hosted nearly 1,000 episodes of “Chopped” and related Food Network programs. Allen’s website also says he has appeared on holiday specials, “Beat Bobby Flay,” “Top Chef” and “Iron Chef America.” NBC4 described “Chopped” as one of television’s longest-running shows and said the Food Network role followed the fame he gained on Bravo. (nbc4i.com) ### What else has he published besides television work? Food Network says Allen wrote “The Food You Want to Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes” and “In My Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Discoveries for Passionate Cooks.” The network also says he co-wrote the New York Times bestseller “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab Five’s Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better.” (nbc4i.com) NBC4 said Allen has published bestselling cookbooks, and Allen’s website says he has also written for GQ, Bon Appétit, Epicurious and Food Network Magazine. Those credits extend the journalism career that began in Chicago before his television work started in 2003. ### What did Allen say about returning to Columbus? Allen told NBC4 that later visits to Columbus changed how he viewed the city’s food scene. “I tasted the food and thought, I’m in Soho, New York,” he said, according to the station. (foodnetwork.com) The same NBC4 profile quoted Allen saying Columbus showed him that “the culinary revolution of the United States” was not limited to New Orleans, San Francisco or New York. (nbc4i.com) NBC4’s story remains available on the station’s Ohio 250 page, while Allen’s official site and Food Network biography continue to list his books, television credits and award history.