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Ted Allen

Whether you are a fan of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Top Chef or Iron Chef America, you are bound to be a fan of Ted Allen.  I first fell in love with Ted as the smart food and wine connoisseur on Queer Eye, but always felt his talent was better showcased on Top Chef. I thought he added a human element to the often-times pretentious cooking competition. Don’t get me wrong, no one can toss out a multi-syllabic French adjective like Ted Allen, but somehow he doesn’t make you feel insecure when you hear it.

Needless to say, this mom-blogger was excited to be included in a phone interview with Ted to learn about his new show on Food Network called Chopped, which debuts on Tuesday, January 13 at 10 p.m./9 CST. (Set your TiVo now!)  Here’s a recap of the conversation:

Introductions: Before the interview, I asked my friends on Twitter and Facebook if they had any questions for Ted.  Many of my friends recently met (and loved) Ted during Camp Baby, so they asked me to send their regards. So, when it was my turn to ask questions, I began by asking if Ted remembered the ladies from Camp Baby, and his reply was classic: “How could I forget moms let loose without kids and lots of wine?”

About Chopped: Ted Allen hosts a new cooking show called Chopped to find the chef who can cook with creativity, excellence and quick-thinking.  Each episode challenges four budding chefs to create a three-course meal based on three surprise ingredients. After each course is presented and judged, one contestant gets “chopped” until there is one chef standing. Each episode will feature a rotating panel of judges including Alex Guarnaschelli, Aaron Sanchez, and Geoffrey Zakarian who will decide which dishes are the best and award the winner $10k. It’s worth noting that Ted is not a judge for this show, rather he is the host and facilitator.  [It will be interesting to see if he can keep his opinions to himself.  And I mean this in most loving way possible!]

What makes Chopped stand out from other cooking shows? Ted says there is a “realness” to Chopped.  There are so many chefs out there who want a real cooking competition, and “this one is special because of the real feeling.”  Ted promised that we will see “panic, bloodshed and tears” from the chefs who focused on making a good dish out of good ingredients. Ted also said that the three surprise ingredients “don’t go together in an obvious way.” The chefs needs to show creativity and quickness as they only have 30 minutes to think, execute and plate their dishes.

What are Ted’s top three secret ingredients when he cooks? Ted could not keep his list to three, so he listed pork (he talks about pork all the time), cauliflower (roast it until it’s brown on the edges), black beans (great if you are trying to save money, they are cheap and full of protein), and salt (currently the “it ingredient.”)  Of course, the final ingredients Ted cannot live without are butter and Tanqueray.

What staple ingredients should a kitchen never be without? Ted answered this quickly: “You mean other than salt, pepper and oil? A bottle of champagne in the fridge when people pop over. And lots of cheeses and mustard.  I have a mustard fetish. And BACON. Oh my God, you gotta have bacon.”

Any tips for planning a dinner party? Don’t worry about preparing something “fancy and fussy.”  At the end of the day, people really want food that tastes good.  No one will ever turn down a delicious bowl of chili.

Do you have any advice for moms who want to make delicious and healthy dishes but don’t have three hours to cook? Ted said to avoid buying pre-packaged foods and focus on developing cooking skills. He said moms should learn to work with what’s available in the kitchen or foods that are in season. He recommended searching online recipe databases, such as Food Network, Epicurious or Cookstr, to find recipes based on specific foods that are handy when it’s time to cook.  Finally, Ted reminded us “you can’t go wrong with a stir-fry.”

Conclusion: Ted spent another 20 minutes chatting with the bloggers about Food Network, Top Chef and Queer Eye. He was so kind and so gracious. I cannot wait to see the show on Tuesday night! Please tune in and share your comments below!

- LTV Mom