Among the list of notable culinarians that hail from Columbus, Ted Allen might brandish the most imposing resume. Allen is most well-known as longstanding host of Chopped, the Food Network series that pits chefs against each other to create a three-course meal out of a basket of mystery ingredients. He’s also a contributing editor for Esquire, author of two cookbooks, Top Chef judge, and former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy food and wine specialist. Allen has backed AIDS awareness since the 90s, becoming a spokesperson for national AIDS fundraiser Dining Out For Life in 2009. AIDS Resource Center Ohio recently named Allen honorary chair of this year’s AIDS Walk Ohio. I was lucky enough to speak with Allen about his background in advocacy, his food philosophy, and what drink he’ll be taking tonight.
You’ve just been named honorary chair of AIDS Walk Ohio, which is very exciting. I know this is also your seventh year as spokesman for Dining Out For Life. How did you first get started with HIV/AIDS advocacy, and what makes you so passionate about it?
Well, this has been at the heart of necessary activism among the LGBT community for many decades now, and I lived in Chicago from 1990 to 2003, where the community activism there was super strong. Back then, it was much more of an almost guaranteed death sentence than it is today, and that’s the happy news. We’ve got some promising therapies for this disease. But the downside to that is that there’s a new generation of gay kids who are getting infected because they think that it’s not an issue anymore. Meanwhile, for the past couple of decades, the problem has become a greater problem for communities of color than it is today in the gay world. So, the issue is addressing complacency so that people can understand, as Queer Nation used to say back in the day, that the AIDS crisis is not over. Fortunately, we’re managing it a little better thanks to science and information and prevention, but it ain’t over.
What was your first move towards HIV/AIDS advocacy? Did you start once you got your career established, or when you were younger?
When we were younger in Chicago, my partner used to walk with a safety patrol in the gay neighborhood, more so than dealing directly on HIV stuff. We did support community organizations there, there’s one called Howard Brown Health Center, which is where we would go for testing, and for Horizon Community Services, which had coming out groups and stuff. I went through one, and realized rather quickly that I was really not at all uncomfortable with who I was! I stayed on because it was so fulfilling to see people make that journey. It was a little bit of a different journey 20 years ago than it is today, but as you may know, it’s still not necessarily easy to be different when you’re a child or teenager. Dining Out For Life got their hands on me seven years ago – I mean, we participated in Dining out for Life 20 years ago, and I can remember the night when my partner and I ate dinner to support that cause. Dining Out For Life raises four million dollars in a single day, just from people doing something ordinary like eating, which they’re going to do anyway. Not everybody is able to be an activist, but that enables a policeman, or a teacher, or a lawyer, to do something meaningful without having to upend your life. And it results in a big, big, big impact. Same is true of AIDS Walk Ohio. It’s a way to get together with a few thousand other people and take a walk, just take a little walk. It inspires people to make contributions that add up to a lot of money, and that amounts to a lot of awareness, and that amounts to less infections, so it’s kind of a win-win.
If you had any words for someone that’s growing up in the LGBTQ community today who’s young and dealing with these things, what words would you have that you’d want them to remember and know the most?
Mmm. You know, probably the best thing about being in Queer Eye was the letters we would get from young people who were freaking out, because for young people, that’s what you do. I think it’s a campaign like It Gets Better, that’s great. I think the access to information that this generation has is so much better than what previous generations had, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an issue with kids hurting themselves and being bullied by others. If there’s anything I could say, I’d say that there is a place for you. There’s a place for everybody. It might not be the place you are right now, but you are loved, you are needed, you are cherished by so many. There are lots of communities that love us and embrace us, and want your talent, want your humor, want your visions. It’s just like kids who aren’t gay – we all have to find our place in the world, whether it’s work, spirituality, sexuality, whatever aspect of life. It’s just another thing you’ve got to figure out, but there are answers, and there are people that want you in their lives and will cherish your talents, and that’s only increasing. I mean, who would’ve believed, even four years ago, that you would be able to marry a person of the same gender in 37 American states? That’s pretty hopeful stuff. So I would tell teenagers, and every teenager has stuff on their mind – I remember that pretty well – but I would just encourage hope. Try to find something that makes you happy, and focus your life around it.
Well said. So, I know you grew up in Columbus and went to high school in Indiana, correct?
Yes. I went to Old Orchard Elementary in Columbus. We lived out there on Old Bixby Road, somewhere on the east side. I grew up in suburban Indianapolis, a somewhat similar city to Columbus. I then went to college in Chicago, and now I’m here in New York City.
Have you gotten the chance to eat much around Ohio in the past couple years?
You know, my husband’s parents still live there, so we visit at least once a year. They’re both pretty great cooks, so we’re usually eating home-cooked food. I frequently give a shout out to Katzinger’s Deli, I love that place. I don’t often go out to fancy places there, but if you have any recommendations, I’d be happy to take them.
Oh man. If you’re looking for a really nice place to take his parents, Refectory has wonderful French cuisine. The chef is from Lyon, and the food is incredible. If you’re looking for a good place for brunch, there’s a restaurant called Tasi in the Short North that has great food.
Well, we go to the Short North every time we’re there, and German Village, so I’m going to write that down, actually.
Awesome. So do you have a favorite go-to home recipe?
I do a lot of cooking. I love making pulled pork. Ironically, considering where I work, I like to make food that takes hours to cook. I love barbecue brisket, I love grilling. There’s a guy who works for us that’s turned us onto lunch salads that are based on whole grains like faro, which has a great texture – it’s nice and chewy. Combine that with a piece of bread, some chicken, dried cherries, and nuts, and it keeps all week and makes a really easy, fast, healthy lunch. We spend most of the time in the kitchen here, and we like it that way.
Great. So, in the same vein, what food trends have you been seeing on a national level? Do you have any predictions of what could be the next big thing?
The main thing for me is just the continued growth in people appreciating honest, good, real cooking with fresh herbs and olive oil, and not so much processed ingredients. I’ve got colleagues at Food Network, restauranteurs like Maneet Chauhan who just opened, of all things, an Indian-inspired brewpub in Nashville. It’s amazing. And the place is packed, you can’t get in. The interest in honest cooking with real ingredients just continues to surge in every part of the country, not just in the food capitals. Even a fast casual place like Chipotle. I think their food is great. I think we should be eating more Mexican-inspired stuff instead of the burgers we’ve had in fast food for so long. You go to Chipotle, you get real black beans, and the most organic meat of any fast food restaurant in the country. If anything’s going to save us from the terrible food we’ve been eating – terrible in terms of health, and also terrible in terms of flavor – those trends are going to be what does it.
Definitely. You remind me of Michael Pollan, who I saw speak a few weeks ago. Are you a fan of his?
Big time! And thanks, in fact, that’s a compliment for you to say that. I’ve read all of his books.
Yeah, he was really interesting to listen to. He has a similar focus on eating natural, not eating many processed foods. Pretty cool.
Yeah, I met Michael when he was also in Ohio. He’s got a terrific blog with a huge following, and he did a post just three or four days ago about “Hey, suddenly, after 40 years of telling us we shouldn’t eat eggs, the government turns around and says ‘No, actually, eggs are great!’ First of all, eggs are so magnificent that I’m not going to knock them, no matter what you tell me about my cardiology or whatever. But it kind of comes around to a position on eating that’s inspired and shared by Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman, and so many great food writers and thinkers. I don’t pay attention to nutrition fact stories, because they’re all looking for a big headline, or some shocking new discovery, or some “breakthrough” that if you eat all dairy, your fat’s going to just melt away – which is complete bullshit, because it’s really high in something that makes you fat.
The point is, as Pollan always says, eat a great variety of natural food, focus on plants, don’t eat a lot of foods that were extruded out of machines and pumped full of weird chemicals, try to eat a lot of whole grains, and you’ll probably be okay. I think it’s a pretty simple way to eat, to be honest. I eat real foods. I don’t eat food that’s been squeezed out of packets, or that you microwave straight out of your freezer on a plastic plate. If you’re going to fast food joints and think that’s going to be good for you, I think it’s fairly obvious that a 200-ounce sugar soda is really not want you need.
Exactly. Along the lines of that, what’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten?
Ah, that’s a good question. [Laughs] I got into a little bit of trouble for a moment in an episode of Chopped the other day because they left in a segment where I was being rather insulting to a fast food hamburger chain. What’s the worst thing I ever ate? Oh boy. There’s been plenty. I mean, I’m no food snob; I love hamburgers. I just want a good hamburger, not a fake one. The worst things? You know, I love a deli sandwich, I love potato chips, I love beer. I consume most of these things on a daily basis. I think the worst thing for me is food that’s pretentious, that’s overpriced, that someone’s trying to be something they’re not, and they’re trying to fraud you by selling something that they’re saying is fancy, but is not cooked correctly, with love and soul. I think that would probably be it if I had to sum it up. I’m not going to point to one specific dish. The worst food I’ve eaten was food that was cooked poorly by someone who didn’t care enough. Fortunately, there are lots of people who really love what they’re doing with food, that pour their soul into cooking.
Absolutely. If I were to buy you a drink, what would you be taking?
Ah! Probably a Tanqueray negroni on the rocks.
Oh, you’re a fan of Campari?
Very much so. [Laughs] So, where is this drink? I guess it’s kind of early.
I don’t know, where are your preferred places to drink? Do you like dive bars, or do you tend to hit the new places around town?
I don’t know many places, I don’t go out a lot in Columbus. It’s more of a family thing. There are fewer and fewer remaining dive bars all the time, all the old crusty bartenders are slowly fading away.
If you’re looking to get a drink while you’re in Columbus, there’s a cool place called Curio, and they make excellent cocktails. They’re known for it in town right now, I would highly recommend going there.
Okay, and I’ll definitely have to look for…Refectory? I’ve heard of that. Maybe we’ll give mom a night off. These are great suggestions, I appreciate it.
No problem. Do you have a favorite culinary hero?
I have too many of them! The writer Harold McGee, James Beard, all the chefs on the show that I work with. Bobby Flay, Chris Stone, Gorner Shelly, Amanda Freitag, all those people. Too many to name. I’m very fortunate to have my job, and I get to work with talented people all day. It’s awesome. I don’t know how this happened. I like to refer to my career as The Hoax That I Call My Career [Laughs].
You mentioned you’re a fan of James Beard. What was it like winning your first James Beard award for Chopped?
Oh my God, it was an out of body experience. Really, really fulfilling. And part of the reason why that mattered to me so much was the fact that the winners of those awards are chosen by chefs and restauranteurs. So for Chopped to get recognized that way reassures me that the culinary community is behind us and respects what we do, even though we do get a little wack with ingredients, that chefs appreciate it. And of course we’ve had, we’re up to like 1,300 chefs that have come through our competitions, so that tells you something. And that means a lot because they can sense that we respect the craft and that our show is really not a reality show in my opinion at all, it’s a competition show among people who know and care about food. It really means a lot to us, because of who it came from.
And you still work with the James Beard Association, correct?
Yeah, I hosted the awards last year and I can’t go this year because they’re doing it in Chicago, which would normally make me want to go even more, but I just can’t because we’re shooting. But yeah, I’ve done parties with them, helped them fundraise. It’s an amazing organization.
If you’re interested in participating in the 2015 AIDS Walk Central Ohio, register at aidswalkohio.com. The walk will take place Saturday, April 18th, at McFerson Commons (Arch Park).
