Ted Allen knows the difference between a Scotch Bonnet and a Habanero. He does now, anyway.
Thanks to the intrepid readers of his "Top Chef" blog, which can be found at BravoTV.com/blog/TedAllen, he won't mistake one for the other as he did a few weeks ago when he chastised a since-eliminated contestant for never having heard of the Scotch Bonnet.
"I got [crap] about that for weeks," Allen says. (They are both in the same species of chili pepper but have distinct flavors.)
But he's enjoying the rabid reaction to Bravo's culinary competition, either way.
In fact, life post-"Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" for the foodie fifth of the original Fab Five has been one satisfying meal after another. He's got the highest profile of the quintet these days, and his face is now ubiquitous with food TV fans, from recurring judging gigs on Bravo's "Top Chef" and Food Network's "Iron Chef America," along with his own PBS series, "Uncorked: Wine Made Simple."
"Eating the food of good chefs and complaining about it on TV. It ain't bad," Allen says on the phone from his home in Brooklyn.
It's a busy life but a welcome relief after several grueling seasons of "Queer Eye." "Each episode took a week to shoot, so really, you couldn't do anything else, which was sometimes frustrating. It made it hard to write books or make any other appearances," he says. (Note to die-hard "Queer Eye" fans: The series will begin its final season Oct. 2 on Bravo with 10 new episodes.)
Meanwhile, "Top Chef" is enjoying a first-ever Emmy nomination for outstanding reality competition series and bigger audiences than ever. The show is watched by an average of 2 million people, up 28% from the same point in Season 2, and last week's episode won the 10 p.m. period on cable.
The only pitfall of Allen's "Top Chef" gig, one might be surprised to know, is the occasional all-nighter. Turns out brawls are a-brewin', and not just between the contestants. There has been more than one heated argument at the judges' table, and the debates that appear to last moments on camera have actually gone on for hours.
During a recent taping, Allen and fellow judges Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi discussed the merits of the contestants under the ax until 5:30 a.m. "I'm not complaining," Allen says. "I feel bad for the contestants." They, after all, are relegated to "The Stew Room," where they await the judges' final decision after each challenge.
