The season finale of the Bravo reality show Top Chef will be airing soon, but out cooking maestro Ted Allen won't be off TV long. The Food Network has tapped the former Queer Eye guy to host its new show, Food Detectives.

The show will look at "commonplace misconceptions and myths" about food, and it will premiere this summer during the network's "Guys Night" (and how great is it that an openly gay man is hosting a show on something called "guys night"... unless they mean Guy's night?).

I'm not sure what food myths he's going to debunk, but I have a few ideas for him:

Bubble Yum contains spider eggs. (Actually, I know for a fact that this is true, it happened to a friend of a friend's cousin.)

Eating carrots leads to improved vision. (Actually, this one is true, as well. On Gilligan's Island, Mary-Ann ate some radioactive carrots, and she could see all the way back to Hawaii.)

Soylent Green is people!

Green M & M's make you horny. (Of course, that's silly...or is it?)

And my all time favorite ... SOY IS TURNING KIDS GAY!

You can watch Ted doing his detective work starting July 29th at 9 pm.

Out actors Mario Cantone and Cheyenne Jackson at the recent amfAR gala (Photo: Getty)

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Funny, when I think of John Barrowman making the "Music of the Night", it doesn't involve any masks, capes, or roses ... Barrowman rumored as lead in Phantom of the Opera stage sequel.

• I don't know about you, but I'd kill to see a Wham! movie. Heck, I saw Music and Lyrics because I thought it was the closest thing we'd ever get!

• Bad news for Dirt fans: It ain't coming back. Worse news for Dirt fans: You are Dirt fans. (Zing!)

• Does Top Chef daddy judge Tom Colicchio have a gay following? Um, does a bear flambe in the woods?. While we're on the topic, check out the adorable pic above of co-judge Ted Allen and his man, Barry Rice. Anyone else wondering if they play "Judges' Table" at home?

• Indiana Jones and the Insult of Doom: A video of hot young thing Shia LaBeouf — sorry, make that "drunk young thing" — goading a friend to slap him by calling him "faggot" has surfaced. Blech. Is it too late to kick him off the Hot 100?

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Top Chef judge Ted Allen (photo by Jason Smith)

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• A radio personality named Dan Watson has launched the first gay commerclal radio show in Melbourne, called "The Stick Shift". I'm guessing the automotive metaphors stop there.

• As though Tom Cruise didn't hate us enough already: The American Psychoanalytic Association officially supports same-sex marriage.

• Gay Top Chef judge (and AfterElton.com fave) Ted Allen on Hillary Clinton's rumored love of hot peppers: "We don't need Hillary having to run to the can every 20 minutes ... I'd go easy on the Scotch bonnets if I were her."

• Voice gossip Michael Musto chatted up John Waters at the preview of the new Cry-Baby musical, and Waters revealed that his last Daily Show appearance prompted a call from ice-show producers who took his "Hairspray on Ice" joke seriously.

• A reader directed us to this interesting clip that shows what happened when a radio host asked American Idol's Danny Noriega if he is gay: Apparently, the AI people cut off the call. (Warning, the host uses some very NSFW language to make his point) (t/y Outrageous Orator!)

• "I'm lovin' it in a way that dare not speak its name": An officer from McDonald's Corporation joins the Board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Ever-adorable Top Chef judge Ted Allen (shopping for jeans)

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Top Chef: Chicago has announced the roster of Cheffersons for the show's fourth season, and we've been told by Bravo that there are no openly gay men on this season (a first since Season 1). Ted Allen will be back as a judge, and there are lesbian contestants, but I don't know ... with Ted only making occasional appearances, it was Dale who kept me coming back every week last season.

• Amy Winehouse reminds Boy George of ... himself?

• MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski has joined colleagues Keith Olbermann and Dan Abrams in slamming John Gibson's mocking of Heath Ledger's death, noting, "I don't know how you stay on the air after something like that, quite frankly." Brzezinski gained fame for refusing to read (and tearing up) a news item on Paris Hilton and calling for Don Imus to be fired following his racist comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

• In related news, GLAAD has called for anyone offended by Gibson's comments to email and call as many people at Fox News as they can. While you have them on the phone, be sure to tell them you're sorry you dropped a house on their sister.

Last night, Bravo aired the series finale of Queer Eye, a show that was a breakthrough when it debuted in July of 2003 as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (with its time slot partner the gay dating show Boy Meets Boy). Proudly announcing the sexual orientation of its stars in the series' title, the series made gay men the leads of a reality TV show. Instead of chasing away viewers by being so openly gay, Queer Eye became an instant hit that brought buzz to Bravo, the former arts and culture channel. The show was such a sensation it got special airings on (Bravo's corporate sibling) NBC, was highlighted on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and inspired a variety of international editions and one short-lived spin-off. The show's audience included viewers in conservative areas of the country that was expected to avoid a show with "Queer" in the title, seeming to signal an unexpectedly optimistic level of gay acceptance.

That excitement faded quickly, however. A year later, viewership was down by nearly 40% (though it was still Bravo's most-watched show at the time) and the show was discussed less as a step forward for gay visibility. Instead it was seen more as a re-enforcement of a limiting "model minority" stereotype that positions gay men as helpful fairy godfathers who use their cultural expertise to help straight people improve themselves.

While I find those complaints valid, I think it'd be a shame to overlook what the series accomplished. Not only did it show that a program led by gay men can find a widespread audience, it helped set the tone for the variety of gay-inclusive shows on Bravo. We regularly see gay competitors on Bravo's talent-based competition shows who are valued for their abilities. Meanwhile, Bravo's reality soaps like Work Out and Flipping Out show us gay people who are talented and have complicated personal lives. More importantly, when we caught up with Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas and Jai Rodriguez before the final season's debut, they talked about hearing from gay viewers who were happy to finally find someone they could look up to. Even after the buzz had faded, Queer Eye tried to bust down barriers, like in one episode that featured a transsexual male.

While Queer Eye's time has clearly come and gone, it'd be a shame to forget that it represented a step forward for gay representation. Happily, things have moved so quickly in Queer Eye's wake that it made itself obsolete.

On Survivor, the reunion specials offer the pleasure of seeing people who clearly loathe each other pretending (badly) that they don’t any more, as well as after-the-fact insights into the hugely misguided thinking behind their failed strategic decisions.

That’s something Top Chef can’t really replicate -- how interesting would it really be to hear reflections along the lines of “I guess in retrospect I really should have cooked that chicken all the way through” -- so the only real interest I had in watching the second reunion special this season was confirmation that it wasn’t just a horrible dream and Hung had in fact won. (Part of me was hoping we’d actually get a “do-over” challenge here, because it’s not like this show has proven itself above that kind of blatant disregard for established procedure.) Oh, and I also wanted to see if Dale is still cute. Happily, the answer is "Yes," but sadly, it’s also "Yes" to the Hung question as well.

The reunion kicks off with this very topic, as Bravo Andy (a.k.a. “Brandy”) asks if the right chef won. The only one to answer is tellingly the person who spent the least amount of time with him, Sandee, who says, Hung was “the one to beat,” apparently forgetting about the other 13 cheffersons she also wasn’t able to beat. Brandy pushes the point and directly asks if Hung should have won and is met with a show of hands. These are not, I suspect, hands raised in support of Hung but more likely requests for permission to leave the room and barf.

I was hoping that in an hour of television that managed to find time for such urgent topics as which person Gail would like to cater her wedding, Brandy would ask Hung if there’s a special someone in his life and of what gender, or at least clarify his “I can go both ways” comment from his audition tape. No such luck. Instead, Hung is given yet another chance to defend his strategy of being an a-hole. Hung blah blah blahs about not letting feelings get in the way of competition. And Dale, bless his bandana-ed heart, pipes in here that it’s also about the kind of chef you are and says he’s the type of chef who’s going to help out the person next to him, whether it’s in the restaurant kitchen or in a competition.

We’ve made it through Clay, Sandee, Micah, two Saras, and a bunch of other people I don’t really remember or care about. We’ve also made it through two wars, IQF, the Smurf Village, disasters on sea and air, dinner at the Elks, and dinner made from elks. And now, we’ve finally made it to Top Chef: Miami: Aspen, and it’s going to be coming to you (almost) live. I’m a liveblogging virgin, so please be kind. And if you can’t be kind, please be quiet.

For the occasion, I’ve lined up a festive meal for myself of an applecore amuse bouche, vanilla lobster tail, reinterpreted meatloaf, raw jerk chicken, broccolini, prosciutto cigars, black-and-blue elk, yogurt cheesy poofs, and of course everyone’s favorite -- salmon -- all stored in the fabulous, handy Glad family of products. (There you go, Glad people. I did it just like you asked, so you can go ahead and send me that check now.) And of course I’ve got my big bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin (ditto for you Bombay). I plan on drinking whenever Padma does, so who knows if I’ll even be able to type after the Quickfire. This should be, if not coherent, at least interesting.

Tonight all our Top Chef questions will be answered. Will Casey’s frog Grandmama have a Pan-Asian family recipe to help the perky Rachel-lookalike to victory? Will Chef Tom like the taste of Hung, if the Robochef starts, as directed, putting more of himself in every bite? Will Dale remember to count how many judges there are and make enough entrees? And most importantly, where is Ted and what have they done to him?

Across the blogosphere, Hung or Casey are the odds-on favorites, but here, we’ll only let ourselves celebrate if the self-proclaimed “Big Gay Chef” wins. He might not be crowned Top Chef, but here at AfterElton.com, Dale will always be Top.

Liveblogging starts after the jump a few minutes before 10PM EDT!

Finally we’ve made our way to Aspen, the appeal of which I have to admit is largely lost on me. I’m more on the Eva Gabor end of the Green Acres spectrum, and all the John Denver outdoorsy porn shots in the world – snowcapped mountains, gurgling rivers, and all that fresh air crap – aren’t going to change that.

Bravo kept calling this “the first part of the finale.” I kept calling it the “second to last episode,” because other than the fact it was in a different location and the four remaining cheffersons had had a relaxing month off – as signified by Dale’s reddish-to-blondish ‘hawk shift – it was pretty much more of same challenge-wise.

The Quickfire Challenge was at the “Frying Pan River,” which sounds way too cutesy to be a real place, more like a reference from a lesser-known verse of “Puff the Magic Dragon.” And when I saw the giant balloon that would take them there, I naturally assumed Howie was around, because how else do you explain all that hot air?

The challenge focused on using freshly caught trout and preparing it in just 20 minutes, and frankly, anyone who has to gut and clean a fish deserves an award of some type. On the less disgusting side, the guest judge was “badass” (Hung’s words) fish savant, Eric Ripert of the famed Le Bernadin, who, unlike the smug, insufferable Frenchman of the Daniel variety, was more the handsome, sensuous Frenchman of cologne and hair salon ads.