Ted Allen – An Interview

Ted Allen is a Food Network star that you most likely know from the hit prime-time television show Chopped. This year, Allen is an international spokesperson for the HIV/AIDS fundraiser Dining Out For Life, which is happening tonight, April 24th. Penn Appétit had the wonderful opportunity to talk with him about his work and the organization.

What is Dining Out For Life?

In a single day, in sixty something cities all over the country, restaurateurs donate a percentage of whatever they make to local AIDS and HIV organizations. Last year, in a single day they raised 4.25 million dollars. All of which stays directly in your community. It’s such a win-win situation. It helps restaurateurs get new bodies in their seats, it allows chefs an opportunity to try out food on new people, it raises a ton of money that stays right here in town, and helps your own neighbors who are affected by this. […] Some of us are parents, many of us have jobs, we just don’t have time to spend all of our lives fighting this disease. Almost everybody can go out to dinner someplace and make a meaningful financial contribution as a result. It’s just such a simple thing to do.

How do they determine which restaurants get involved?

There are volunteers for Dining Out For Life who will approach restaurants and ask them if they want to be a part. Anybody who’s ever trying to raise money for anything, the first place they always turn is restaurants. The restaurant industry its famous for its generosity and the way that they always step up, it’s just in their DNA. It’s just part of the business. I think these numbers show that. Most chefs and restaurateurs are socially conscious people.

How did you get involved with Dining Out For Life?

Seven years ago they asked me and I said yes! For most of us who are lucky enough to make a living in food or food media business, it’s a pretty good fit to do anything involving hunger or support of restaurants, and of course HIV and AIDS is a problem I’ve understood for a long time and while the treatment of HIV and AIDS has improved dramatically – it’s no longer necessarily a death sentence – the problem is still very much there.

Do you have any personal connection with HIV/AIDS?

I have amazingly not lost anyone to AIDS. I know people who are HIV positive who are living with the virus, and I know some people who have been living with it for a very long time. But I saw what happened when this epidemic first hit, and I saw the devastation that still ripples from it. Your generation has grown up in a time where they don’t remember the devastated people walking around looking so frail and passing away, 100% of them, because of AIDS. It strikes me as something that some people think has gone away and I think it’s important to talk about. I say I haven’t lost anyone personally close to me, but we all lost thousands that would’ve added enrichment to our lives one way or another.

Before Food Network, you were on Queer Eye. Do you ever feel like you might want to return to something that’s more LGBT visible?

I’m pretty happy where I am, to be honest. Food Network is a great place to work. We’ve shot […] some 263 episodes of Chopped, and I still enjoy it. I still really enjoy it. It’s a chance to work with some of the greatest chefs in the country, talking about food all day […] talking about ingredients, techniques, what we would do with the ingredients, how good we think the chefs are doing with the ingredients. We launched another show on the network called “America’s Best Cook”. It’s a competition among amateurs that allows me to work with Tyler Florence and Alex Guarnaschelli and Michael Symon and Cat Cora. I’m loving it. I wouldn’t say never in terms of doing other kinds of TV. […] But there’s a pretty endless number of stories to be told about food and wine.

When you had heard that DOMA had been struck down, what was that moment like for you and your partner?

Pretty amazing. It’s staggering, actually, the progress that LGBT people have made in the past two years. When the DOMA decision was announced, we decided to get engaged, we did it on the spot. When we put it on social media, we got a bigger reaction than I’ve gotten to anything ever. We’ve been together for 21 years, so it was sort of like, “yeah, it’s about time, America”. But were really grateful. […] It’s a recognition that our relationships are just as valuable as anyone else’s. It’s pretty cool. We are married filing jointly for the first time.

You got your start professionally in journalism. Can you speak a bit to the transition from journalism to television?

I was open-minded about pursuing new possible opportunities. I was never in a school play. I never had any ambitions to be on television. Nor did I particularly want to be openly gay to the whole country. Including those […] places that are [not] friendly, relatively-speaking, to gay folks. But I got an opportunity that was just too good to pass up, when Queer Eye happened, talking about food and wine. And it led me to Food Network and I’ve been on television for 11 years talking about food and wine.

Do you have any hobbies that you enjoy besides food?

I like to read, I’m into tech. I’m super deeply into music. I’m emceeing the James Beard awards on May 5th which has a music theme. A lot of chefs are really into music. Musicians […] like to have a place that’s sort of their own. A restaurant that Mario Batali is affiliated with, Spotted Pig, has investors ranging from Jay-Z to Bono to Michael Stipe. It also gives the James Beard Foundation an opportunity to have some really fun entertainers at the awards.

Do you have a favorite restaurateur here in Philly?

No! I could never say that! I mean, you’ve got so many dining stars filling out your dining scene, with great chefs like Marc Vetri, and restaurateur Stephen Starr, Iron Chef Jose Garces, and Chopped has had many many many many terrific chefs from Philly who compete and often win. It’s a beautiful city that I love spending time in.

Have you been involved in other fundraisers?

One of the greatest pleasures I get from being in a public job is it’s so easy to help good causes just by showing up. It’s a privilege, and it’s a responsibility. It’s not hard[…], the heroes are people working 60 hours a week for very low pay to try to work for social justice. But I get to play a little part too […] And frankly, it’s good business for me. Doing good is good business. I think most corporations would tell you the same.

Anything else you want to say about Dining Out For Life?

A little shout out to Subaru for sponsoring Dining Out For Life for the past 8 years. If you want to help raise money to fight this disease within your own community, you can find participating restaurants at diningoutforlife.com. If you’re into Instagram, there’s a contest this year where you take a photograph of the meal that eat while Dining Out For Life, and hashtag it #DineOutFightAids and you’ll have a chance to win a hundred bucks. To finance your future dining endeavors.

If you would like to support this cause (and you most definitely should), pick out a restaurant and head out to eat tonight, April 24th! A part of the cost of your meal will go to support HIV/AIDS organizations right here in Philadelphia.

— Rachel Beeson