Ted Allen
You know the great irony is that people think you have to have money to enjoy fine food, which is a shame.
What I bring to the table is a huge enthusiasm and love for this stuff.
Well, we don't take money from people and then show the product. It has to be a product that we like anyway, and that's true for all five of us, which is one of the really nice things about the way we make the show.
We're not out to turn rugged straight guys into weenies who paint their fingernails.
Thom is one of those wonderful people to cook for because he absolutely loves it, just loves it. He loves to eat and drink and he'd be a great guest at any dinner party.
The great mystery to me is how restaurant critics think they can get away with doing their job without anybody noticing who they are.
The funny thing about Thanksgiving, or any huge meal, is that you spend 12 hours shopping for it and then chopping and cooking and braising and blanching. Then it takes 20 minutes to eat it and everybody sort of sits around in a food coma, and then it takes four hours to clean it up.
That's what I want to do when Queer Eye is over. Just follow Mario Batali around, I'll eat his leftovers or be his royal taster.
Six months ago, I was just a writer for Esquire, typing up in my little garret on the far north side of Chicago, and no one had any idea who I was.
Sesame oil is probably my favorite condiment, period.
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is a form of service journalism. To be successful, I think it has to be a combination of a good story, it has to be funny, and it also needs to be packed with useful information.
Oh, did I tell you I have a cookbook? I have a cookbook deal.
No, Queer Eye has a book coming out before mine, in the Spring of 2004, in which each of us has a section and we do a brief overview of our subject area.
My whole problem is that all of my favorite things at Thanksgiving are the starches, and everyone is trying to go low-carb this year, even a green vegetable has carbs in it.
My place in Chicago is a 105 year old house, but I really like contemporary spaces too, so it's refreshing and fun to be in a space where you can do contemporary things.
Jay Leno is not a guy who likes change. He eats the same food every day.
It's very important to me that people who are actual chefs and other professionals in the culinary world, understand that I'm not, and have never held myself out as being, like a CIA trained chef.
In actuality, there was casting for the show and it was pretty difficult.
If I have committed any culinary atrocities, please forgive me.
I've leased the apartment; my partner is going to come out here. But we're keeping our house in Chicago because real estate is a really good investment and also because it is just crammed with full of stuff!