32 Gay, Bi, & Lbian Chefs Who Competed on 'Top Chef'

food network gay

<em>The New York Tim</em>&nbsp;wh the help of Barney&#39;s creative ambassador Simon Doonan has cid this week that your food n be gay or straight.

Contents:

CHEF JASON SMH WIKI/B, GAY?, WIFE, KIDS, WORTH, A PERSONAL LIFE HELD CLOSE TO HIS CHT.

Ina Garten -- a.k.a. the Barefoot Contsa -- n't shake a spatula whout htg one of her many gay iends, who are forever lg about her fabulo East Hampton kchen. She, Pla Deen, Nigella Lawson, Sandra Lee, and the rt of the Scripps Networks' culary fag-hag harem have gay men tun... * food network gay *

The Barefoot Contsa -- n't shake a spatula whout htg one of her many gay iends, who are forever lg about her fabulo East Hampton kchen. She, Pla Deen, Nigella Lawson, Sandra Lee, and the rt of the Scripps Networks' culary fag-hag harem have gay men tung to and TiVo-g the Food Network and the Cookg Channel by the uchful. But, strangely, for all of this pk pantry programmg, you won't fd a sgle out gay chef chiffonadg on eher work.

And y, 2005, Steve McDonagh and Dan Smh, two gay men (a uple no ls) won the first season of the Food Network's wildly popular realy petn The Next Food Network Star, and were award their own show, Party Le Wh the Hearty Boys, but after srg dismal ratgs was nceled wh a year. So, where exactly is the first (never md the next) gay Food Network star, and why hasn't he or she been disvered yet?

'We're always lookg to broan the diversy of our hosts, and we work hard to fd talent that has the expertise, charisma, and broad appeal necsary to work on our air, ' says Bob Tchman, general manager and senr vice print of the Food Network, one of several gay high-level executiv employed by Scripps. There's also the possibily that gay men have simply fallen to the chasm between the culturally sanctned domtic approach of female chefs and the rough, often borrle homophobic atmosphere of profsnal kchens that breed and boast Anthony Bourda typ.

WHO IS THE GAY TV CHEF?

From the looks of Bravo and the Food Network, gay and lbian chefs are ubiquo. But big-name LGBT oks say they're still the mory -- unrpaid and unrreprented. * food network gay *

Until then, we'll have to settle for watchg Ina Garten's gay BFFs tuck to her famo tffle maroni and chee. But when to mercial kchens, women are still unrpaid and unrreprented -- that go double for lbian 's no secret that the culary dtry is male-domated, but acrdg to gay and lbian chefs, the macho environment has ltle tolerance for anythg feme -- whether that be a woman or a gay man whom workers view as culary dtry's misogyny is well documented. Dpe numero gay and lbian personali on Bravo and Food Network, cludg Ted Allen of Chopped, Cat Cora of Around the World 80 Plat, Elizabeth Falkner of Iron Chef, San Feniger of Too Hot Tamal, Anne Burrell of Worst Cooks Ameri, and Top Chef's Art Smh, out chefs who work the dtry say they're still the mory.

"There don't tend to be a lot of gay chefs, " says Yig Pura, a gay pastry chef and wner of the first season of Top Chef: Jt Dserts, and who September opened his own San Francis shop, Tout Sweet Patisserie. Pura said the first chef he worked for was a lbian, so he didn't enunter much homophobia unr her learship. But unlike gay chefs, several lbian chefs reported ls bullyg due to their sexual orientatn and stead had to nont the sexist, male-domated mdset of the culary world.

HOW GAY IS YOUR FOOD?

Jeff Mro bgraphy wh personal life (affair, girliend , Gay), married . A llectn of facts wh age. * food network gay *

Falkner beme San Francis's facto gay weddg ke baker wh her flagship bakery, Cizen Cake, known for s unique, creative nstctns, and s proximy to Cy Hall. "Pura stggl wh the same stereotypil assumptn, wh the poundg factor that people assume all pastry chefs are gay, he says. Elizabeth Falkner"Whether you're gay or straight, whether you're a Mlim, Christian, or Buddhist, people love food, " says Pura.

"I've found that [food is] actually a really homogenizg pot.

There are few people the world more regnizable than Guy Fieri. The spiky-haired, sunglass-clad host of the popular Food Network show "Ders, Drive-Ins, and Div" has bee a hoehold name thanks to his love of all thgs food. But there's one thg about Guy that has some people wonrg: is he gay? There has * food network gay *

"When somethg is lic, there's no homophobia or hatred.

* food network gay *

If they're gay, they're gay, but they are also great at what they do.

"But the great chefs who happen to be gay and lbian aren't jt rtg on their lrels. Smh also partners wh Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundatn and Brish gby player Ben Cohen's antibullyg 4 of Top Chef: Masters featured a married gay uple petg agast each other, both for Mae chari that promote LGBT equaly. Magaret ChoFeniger ss on the board of the Los Angel Gay and Lbian Center and partners wh and donat to several chari.

The gut of honor sisted that Feniger and Lachman attend the party, and proudly troduced the uple to his nservative horts as "my new gay iends.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* FOOD NETWORK GAY

Guy Fieri Gay: Is The Food Network Host Out Of The Closet? - CF .

TOP