Ted Allen takes on food facts, fables

NEW YORK, July 28 (UPI) -- Food and wine guru Ted Allen says his Food Network show, which tackles weighty food question like the five-second-food-on-the-ground rule, is a great fit.

Allen's show, "Food Detectives," attempts to address questions, myths and rumors about food and answers or debunks them through scientific experiments.

The fit? "Nerdy, funny, smart, goofy, science-y," Allen told United Press International.

"Food Detectives," which debuts Tuesday and previewed Sunday, uses culinary technicians and the scientific know-how supplied by the science and technology magazine Popular Science to conduct experiments to find the truth behind most food myths

"It's interesting stories about food," said Allen, explaining he and Food Network have been working for some time to find the right show.

Allen burst onto the cable television scene with "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" on Bravo as the culinary expert. He also has been a guest judge for the popular "Top Chef," also on Bravo, and "The Next Food Network Star."

"We've wanted to work with Ted for years on a series of his own and we've found a great fit in 'Food Detectives,'" said Bob Tuschman, Food Network's senior vice president of programming and production.

Wacky sets and snappy repartee "won't win a Nobel Prize," Allen said in the telephone interview from New York, but the approach yields 30 minutes of information with a "playful sense of humor."