Ted Allen born 20 May 1965Ted Allen was the food and wine connoisseur on the American Bravo network's discontinued, Emmy-winning television program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
Allen was born in Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in Carmel, Indiana. His Southern-born mother instilled in him a love of food and cooking from a young age.
After completing his studies he moved to Chicago, where he started working as a journalist for a local newspaper group. He got his start in restaurant criticism as one quarter of a bi-weekly group-review team called 'The Famished Four', along with his partner, Barry Rice, then the chain's entertainment editor, who initiated the concept.
Allen then became a freelancer for Chicago magazine, eventually becoming a senior editor, and often writing about food, wine and luminaries of the culinary world. He joined Esquire in 1997 as a contributing editor. He contributed to an Esquire food series, profiled many celebrities and co-authored the magazine's popular 'Things a Man Should Know' series. He has written for a variety of other magazines and continues as a contributing editor for Esquire.Allen gained great visibility in 2003, when he became a cast member of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Allen portrayed the 'Food and Wine connoisseur.' He continues to make TV appearances as a gourmet. Allen has appeared as a regular judge on seasons 3 and 4 of Bravo's reality television program Top Chef, following several guest judge appearances during the previous two seasons.
He lives in New York City with long-time partner Barry Rice.