Queer Eye’s original food expert defends Antoni Porowski’s cooking: ‘I know better than the haters’
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 24: Antoni Porowski and Ted Allen attend City Harvest’s 35th Anniversary Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on April 24, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for City Harvest)
You only have to search the Queer Eye hashtag on social media to see that everyone is fawning over food and wine expert Antoni Porowski.
His sympathetic eyes, sweet smile and unadulterated enthusiasm for avocado has won the hearts of Netflix subscribers everywhere.
But there’s a dark corner of the internet that has become incensed by the fact that the rebooted series never shows Porowski actually cooking, and have therefore concluded that he must not be a very talented cook after all.
It’s a theory that Queer Eye‘s original food and wine expert Ted Allen vehemently disagrees with.
“He’s an excellent cook,” he assured Vanity Fair. “He taught me a lot. Food is his passion.”
Queer Eye sees culture expert Karamo Brown, style specialist Tan France, interior designer Bobby Berk, Porowski and grooming guru Jonathan Van Ness transform the lives of straight men (Netflix)
Allen appeared on Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy between 2003 and 2007 and recommended Porowski for the Netflix revival.
The chef went on to explain that while Porowski’s doubters are right about the fact that he shows the straight men getting makeovers how to make simple foods, that doesn’t mean he’s a bad chef.
On the contrary, it proves that he’s a good one, in Allen’s opinion, as it would be pointless to start an amateur’s food education with something too difficult for them to manage.
“I know better than the haters do on whether the boy can cook,” Allen reiterated. “I ate his food for three years. Bottom line, when you are dealing with people who don’t know anything about cooking, you don’t begin by showing them how to roast a goose or make a croquembouche.
“I would argue that there is an art to making a good cheese sandwich [though]. I hear you: it is simple. But you start with the basics. A lot of the stuff he does is what I call comfort-food bliss . . . he’s a cook with a point of view, and I appreciate that.”
Allen also added that his favourite Porowski dishes to eat often include duck breast, as the 34-year-old star is a dab-hand at cooking it to perfection.
Allen is no stranger to Porowski’s culinary skills. Not only because he’s been friends with the Canadian-born foodie for six years, but also because Porowski worked as his personal assistant for three years and would often schedule and prepare meals for Allen and his husband, Barry Rice.
Kyan Douglas, Jai Rodriguez, Carson Kressley, Ted Allen and Thom Filicia (Bravo)
The pair didn’t meet through work, however. They actually met when Porowski attended one of Allen’s cookbook signings in Brooklyn back in 2012.
After hitting it off, Allen invited Porowski and his friend to a wine party and the rest is history. Just a few short years later, Allen was recommending Porowski for the popular Netflix revival.
Talking about his time on the original show, Allen candidly said: “Going through Queer Eye with the four other guys is a pretty intense experience, so we are bonded forever, whether we like it or not.
“I would love to come together with all the guys and have a Fab 10 dinner, but I don’t want it to be for a show. I’ve been there, done that with that show. I have Chopped. I am very happy where I am with the Food Network. Makeovers? No, thanks. Let the youngsters take over that gig.”
