Words matter. These are the best Ted Allen Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
Sesame oil is probably my favorite condiment, period.
One of the smartest things you can do on ‘Chopped’ is to take one of those ingredients and make a pickle out of it, because almost every dish benefits from that. I’m feeling like those intuitions are becoming more natural.
What I bring to the table is a huge enthusiasm and love for this stuff.
I think that curiosity happened on these reviews where I was just a guest of the reviewer, because it introduced me to new cuisines and to the idea of cooking as a mechanism for studying other cultures and understanding other parts of the world.
People who hardly ever cook at all, suddenly at the holidays, feel like it’s their responsibility to not only cook dinner for large groups of people suddenly, but to serve things that are fussy or fancy or formal. And I don’t think that’s what anybody really wants, especially if you’re not good at it.
I am much more interested in the process than results.
I went in saying I wanted to be the food guy.
I’ve leased the apartment; my partner is going to come out here. But we’re keeping our house in Chicago because real estate is a really good investment and also because it is just crammed with full of stuff!
The world is full of people who would like nothing better than to spend six hours on a golf course. I would rather be chopping shallots.
For me, the kitchen is the most special room in the house. It’s a place for adventure – not drudgery, but discovery, sharing and showing off with friends, trying new ideas.
To me, the kitchen is a place of adventure and entirely fun, not drudgery. I can’t think of anything better to do with family and friends than to be together to create something.
You know the great irony is that people think you have to have money to enjoy fine food, which is a shame.
I had a really good time with Martha Stewart, who also is somebody I really admire a lot. I’ve learned a lot from her and I think all of America has, about attention to detail and using fresh ingredients and making things beautiful and special.
The great mystery to me is how restaurant critics think they can get away with doing their job without anybody noticing who they are.
In actuality, there was casting for the show and it was pretty difficult.
A friend told me about the casting notice for ‘Queer Eye.’ I was in Chicago and I had a contract with ‘Esquire’ magazine, so had been coming to New York City regularly and thought I’d catch a cheap flight, crash on a friend’s sofa and do this hilarious audition that I had no chance of winning.
My place in Chicago is a 105 year old house, but I really like contemporary spaces too, so it’s refreshing and fun to be in a space where you can do contemporary things.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they cook for other people is to think that it has to be fancy and elaborate. This results in enormous expense and nine days of labor, plus you end up trying to assemble a croquembouche in front of your guests and everyone’s experiencing flop sweat.
I’ve always hoped ‘Chopped’ would telegraph our enormous affection and love and admiration for chefs and food, but at the same time, we are inflicting extraordinary cruelty on them.
If I have committed any culinary atrocities, please forgive me.
When I come home from a shoot, I’d rather reheat food I’ve made than eat takeout.
I cook everything. I love Mediterranean cooking, I love Asian cooking. I do lots of Japanese noodles.
I’m in a loft and the kitchen is in the very center of the apartment. The whole place revolves around it.
I like to have friends in the kitchen and make a big mess and use every pot in the kitchen.
When the idea of ‘Chopped’ surfaced, it was originally meant to be taped at some guy’s mansion with him and his crazy Chihuahua. A stuffy fellow in a tuxedo was to host, and the losing chef’s dish was then fed to the dog! I am not kidding, I saw it! I think it is genius! Twisted, but genius!
I think what I do differently from a lot of TV chefs is that I break down barriers and make fine food more accessible to the regular person, who might be intimidated. I try hard, particularly with wine, to make it not intimidating. It’s sort of a teaching job.
Jay Leno is not a guy who likes change. He eats the same food every day.
The best way to learn is live, in person, cooking, feeling, smelling and tasting, but TV is the second-best thing to that; it’s a halfway facsimile.
Cooking allows you to have travels, adventures and journeys without going anywhere. The running joke between my partner and me is that I’m not really concerned about how long it takes, or how much I destroy the kitchen, because I just have such a good time doing it.
It’s a 12-hour cooking class for me on the set of ‘Chopped.’ You’d think I’d get sick of it, but it’s a source of endless interest to me. The only thing I don’t like about it is it’s a long day and my feet hurt. Otherwise, I love it.
I’m really trying to respond to the foods that are in the stores and just pulling the things that are the very best and cook what looks beautiful and is seasonal. That’s the way to go. I love going to the grocery store and the market. None of it’s drudgery for me. Washing dishes is the drudgery.
Oh, did I tell you I have a cookbook? I have a cookbook deal.
Because the show is popular, people do recognize us on the streets.
