When I was a younger gay, there were hardly any openly gay men to look up to in the Food Network realm. It's not that achieving Food Network celebrity status is the ultimate career status of a food media professional, because it certainly isn't, but it always helps to see what's possible out there. Ted Allen cut his teeth as a lifestyle and food writer in the mid-to-late '90s. His love of food and drink led him to be cast in the ensemble cast of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in 2003. In 2009, with the debut of Chopped, he made Food Network history as the first openly queer host of a food television series. Chopped became a huge sensation and is currently in its 53rd season—wow! Emmy Award-winner, host of Chopped on Food Network , and Nulo partner Ted Allen knows his way around a great meal. Chopped host Ted Allen's husband is interior designer Barry Rice. The couple, who first met in 1991, resides in Brooklyn, New York, and has been together for over three decades, having announced their engagement following the Supreme Court's DOMA ruling in 2013. At home in Brooklyn, that same attention to flavor and quality extends to his three Maine Coon cats, Rufus, Milo, and Flo. Family members in every sense, they eat like it, too. Ted says, "cats like food variety just as much as people do." Do you watch Chopped?

Lynn Crawford is nothing short of a Canadian culinary icon. She first entered the homes of Canadians by way of the popular mid-2000s series Restaurant Makeover, but reached true stardom with her series Pitchin' In, (these Episodes are Free on Youtube and they are great!) which saw the chef learning to better understand how Canadian ingredients are produced and processed. The show was equal parts hilarious and informative, and helped cement Crawford as a true Food Network Canada star. Her late Toronto restaurant Ruby Watchco, which she co-owned with her wife, Lora Kirk, celebrated daily menu refreshes and hyper-locality long before that mentality was in vogue. That mantra lives on in the four cookbooks she has authored over the years, including one with Kirk entitled Hearth & Home. Have you seen Lynn Crawford in either of her TV Series?

Melissa King's Pride Of Representing Asian-American, Queer Women - Melissa King tells the Daily Dish of her pride in representing the Asian-American and LGBT communities, and how Top Chef has given her the platform not only for food, but also to speak on the issues that mean most to her. The Top Chef family tree is a vast one, but it's hard not to look at Melissa King and see one of the most successful chefs to come out of the show's 20-season (and counting) lineage. After cooking their way to the finals on Top Chef: Boston (2015), but coming up short, King came back with a vengeance and won Top Chef: All-Stars L.A. in 2020. What followed was much fanfare, a huge social media following and what appears to be a permanent resident judge position on Top Chef since their season win. In summer 2022, they became the first Top Chef alum to attend the famed Met Gala, sporting a sharp tux and Chinese empress nail guards to fit the gilded glamour theme. Stunning! The first season of King's own food travel series, Tasting Wild, can now be streamed on Hulu. Do you watch Top Chef?