Ted Allen (born Edward R. Allen on May 20, 1965 in Columbus, Ohio) is the food and wine connoisseur on the American Bravo network`s Emmy-winning television program Queer Eye. He is a frequent guest on TV cooking shows and author of magazine articles and books.
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.

He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with long-time partner Barry Rice, a former instructor at Columbia College Chicago.
Allen received a degree in psychology from Purdue University in 1987. Subsequently he enrolled in Purdue`s Krannert Graduate School of Management, but left to accept a job as a copy editor at the Lafayette, Indiana Journal and Courier.

He later returned to grad school, gaining an M.A. in journalism from the Science and Environmental Reporting Program at New York University. He then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a reporter for Lerner Newspapers, a now-defunct chain of community weekly newspapers. He got his start in restaurant criticism there as one quarter of a bi-weekly group-review team called "The Famished Four," along with his boyfriend, 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 the reality TV program originally titled Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Allen portrayed the "Food and Wine connoisseur." He continues to make TV appearances as a gourmet, including as a frequent guest judge on Food Network`s Iron Chef America. Allen hosted a six-part documentary, "Uncorked: Wine Made Simple," on PBS starting May 7, 2007. Beginning June 13, 2007, 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.