Chopped Judge Ted Allen Shows Off His Incredible Knife Rack
A significant number of my friends are real-life rock musicians, armchair rock musicians, or just music nerds, which is why I’ve been excitedly refreshing a Facebook post about which rock legends have played the same instruments for huge chunks of their careers.
You know, like how Charlie Watts, the drummer for the Rolling Stones, has sat behind the same Gretsch drum set for 40 years, Queen guitarist Brian May has played the same handmade Red Special since 1963, and, most famously, Willie Nelson has used “Trigger,” his worn-out, barely held-together Martin guitar since 1969.
And then there’s Slash. The sneering, smoking, top hat-wearing Guns N’ Roses guitarist is known for his massive collection of Les Pauls, and he’s accumulated — and has played — more than 100 different Gibson guitars.
And it seems that Ted Allen, the cookbook author and Chopped host, takes the Slash approach when it comes to knives.
A couple of days ago Allen tweeted a picture of his knife rack, and it is truly impressive, with more than two-dozen blades. “Guess which one is my favorite?” he asked, before fielding a few questions about his setup, his preferences, and his … sinks.
He responded to a handful of replies, reassuring everyone that he had more than one cheese knife, including “a few sets” that come out for parties. He also said that the small sink was just for food prep, and his real sink is “big enough to fit a cookie sheet.”
When he eventually answered his own question, Allen confirmed that his fave knife is also the strangest. It’s the one in the center of the rack, with a spring for a handle. It’s also probably the cheapest item in his collection: He paid $4 bucks for it at an Ohio flea market. “No idea what it’s designed for, but the handle suggests it’s meant to be heated,” he said. “Something to do with hooves/horseshoes? Anybody recognize it?”
A couple of people chimed in and said it looked like a welding hammer that had been repurposed and attached to the knife blade; the design of that handle disperses heat, which is why it shows up on welding hammers and some fireplace tools.
That’s cool and everything, but can we see those cheese knives? And maybe stop by for some cheese? Let’s pull one of those sets out of the drawer, Ted!