Central Ohio native reflects on path to fame

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — He’s won an Emmy, two James Beard Awards and has published best-selling cookbooks. Ted Allen’s rise to fame led him on an unforgettable path.

“I think there’s a lot of luck in life, but also a little bit of hustle certainly doesn’t hurt,” Allen says.

That mentality has driven Ted his entire life. His life began in 1965 in the Children’s Hospital in Columbus. Ted’s father moved the family to central Ohio for his work as a CPA.

“This all started out in a small apartment on Broad Street.” Ted days. “Later in Columbus, we lived on a street called Conestoga Drive. The view from our front yard,I could see them building up the soil, the berm to create the beltway that now exists around the city of Columbus.”

The Allen family moved to Indianapolis when Ted was 7. He went on to earn college degrees in psychology (from Purdue) and journalism (from NYU), but it was his passion for food and wine that drove his career path.

“Chefs are in the business of making happiness, as are winemakers, and they also tend to do it in really exciting or very beautiful places,” he says. “The whole food and wine world is in pursuit of happiness and joy. And who doesn’t want to be a part of that culture?”

Allen became a writer for Chicago Magazine and Esquire. While at Esquire in 2003, he got an audition for a new reality-style show on Bravo: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

“I was the only one who wasn’t from New York City. I’m from the Midwest, as you know. I was from Columbus, Ohio, and I didn’t talk like them. I was different.”

Allen earned the role of food and wine expert in the cast, and the show went on to win an Emmy Award. His profile soared.

“Grateful again, nothing but grateful. It was a trip getting famous.”

That led to Ted’s next big break as the host of one of television’s longest-running shows. He’s hosted nearly 1,000 episodes of “Chopped” and other Food Network shows under the “Chopped” brand. He’s also published best-selling cookbooks.

Ted and his husband, Barry, met while they were both working in Chicago, and oddly enough, Barry was also born in Columbus. He still has family members in central Ohio.

Allen’s traveled the world, but in his trips back to Columbus, he’s found world-class culture.

“I tasted the food and thought, I’m in Soho, New York,” he says. “This was a moment when it really gelled for me that the culinary revolution of the United States is certainly not confined to New Orleans, San Francisco, New York. It is everywhere. And Columbus was an excellent example of that. The food was just killer.”