Andrew Zimmern
Encyclopedia
Andrew Zimmern is a James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, food writer, and teacher. As the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of Travel Channel's series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
and Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World
, he travels the world exploring food in its own native region, wherever it is found. He also hosts the show "Dining with Death" which explains some of the foods that could cause death.
to a Jewish family. He began his formal culinary training at the age of 14. He attended the Dalton School and graduated from Vassar College
. Contributing to many of New York’s finest restaurants as either executive chef or general manager, he has also lectured on restaurant management and design at The New School for Social Research.
Due to severe drug and alcohol addiction, Zimmern was homeless
for about one year. During this period, he survived by stealing purses from cafes and selling the contents. In 1992, Zimmern moved to Minnesota
, where he checked into the Hazelden
Treatment Center for drug and alcohol addiction treatment, where he now volunteers. He later gained wide acclaim during his four and a half year tenure as executive chef of Cafe Un Deux Trois in Minneapolis's Foshay Tower
. His menus received the highest ratings from the St. Paul Pioneer Press
, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Monthly, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, as well as national publications. Zimmern left the daily restaurant operations in 1997.
Zimmern resides in Edina, Minnesota
, with his wife and their son, Noah.
Sky Magazine. As a freelance journalist, his work has appeared in numerous national and international publications. Zimmern has served as SuperTarget's meal adventure guide, sharing his passion for ethnic foods with supermarket customers around the country. He is the international spokesman for Travel Leaders and Elite Destination Homes.
Prior to Bizarre Foods, Zimmern had an extensive radio career. His shows Chowhounds, The Andrew Zimmern Show, and Food Court with Andrew Zimmern achieved wide popularity in the Twin Cities.
Additionally, Zimmern was the food features reporter for Fox 9 News Minneapolis
, and was also a featured contributor on both HGTV
's Rebecca's Garden and Tip-ical Mary Ellen, where he handled on air food duties for both shows. He was the food and lifestyle features reporter during the 1997 season of the UPN
network's nationally televised Everyday Living.
Zimmern has been a guest chef at many national charity events, food festivals, and galas, including Food and Wine Magazine’s Aspen Festival, The Twin Cities Food and Wine Experience, and the James Beard House
in New York City. He has appeared on The Food Network
's Best Of..., CNN
's Money and Health and NBC
's Today Show. He also starred in The Cooking Club of America's instructional video series.
Zimmern regularly speaks to professional associations around the globe on all culinary matters, from the American Federation of Chefs to the Chinese Chefs National Committee. In the fall of 2002, he was an honored guest of the People’s Republic of China, traveling, lecturing, and giving demonstrations on Chinese cuisine
.
Zimmern's book The Bizarre Truth: How I Walked out the Door Mouth First...and Came Back Shaking My Head was published by Broadway Books in 2009. It is a collection of Zimmern's food and travel stories around the world.
premiered on the Travel Channel
with a pilot episode on November 1, 2006. The show has been on for five seasons and over 50 episodes, with Zimmern visiting 32 countries and 14 US states. Bizarre Foods also took home two CableFax awards in 2009, one for Best Television Program: Food, another for Best Online Extras for Andrew’s web series Bizarre Foods in the Kitchen.
In 2009, Zimmern hosted a spin-off of Bizarre Foods called Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World. A pilot and nine episodes were produced in eight countries and two states.
Zimmern guest starred in a 2007 episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain
in New York City; Bourdain did the same on Bizarre Foods. He also appeared in a 2009 episode of Man v. Food
with Adam Richman
in Minneapolis where he introduced Richman to lutefisk
.
Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern is a documentary-styled travel and cuisine television show hosted by Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. The first season debuted on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 9pm ET/PT....
and Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World
Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World
Bizarre World is the followup to the successful Bizarre Foods. The show encompasses not only the classic bizarre foods of the world but also the unique cultures of the world. The new show appears to have been dropped in favor of new episodes of Bizarre Foods, which began in April 2010...
, he travels the world exploring food in its own native region, wherever it is found. He also hosts the show "Dining with Death" which explains some of the foods that could cause death.
Early and personal life
Zimmern was born and raised in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to a Jewish family. He began his formal culinary training at the age of 14. He attended the Dalton School and graduated from Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
. Contributing to many of New York’s finest restaurants as either executive chef or general manager, he has also lectured on restaurant management and design at The New School for Social Research.
Due to severe drug and alcohol addiction, Zimmern was homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
for about one year. During this period, he survived by stealing purses from cafes and selling the contents. In 1992, Zimmern moved to Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, where he checked into the Hazelden
Hazelden
The Hazelden Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Center City, Minnesota. Hazelden has alcohol and drug treatment facilities in Minnesota ; Newberg, Oregon; Chicago, Illinois; Naples, Florida and New York City, New York...
Treatment Center for drug and alcohol addiction treatment, where he now volunteers. He later gained wide acclaim during his four and a half year tenure as executive chef of Cafe Un Deux Trois in Minneapolis's Foshay Tower
Foshay Tower
The Foshay Tower, now the W Minneapolis – The Foshay hotel, is a skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Modeled after the Washington Monument, the building was completed in 1929, months before the stock market crash in October of that year. It has 32 floors and stands high, plus an antenna mast...
. His menus received the highest ratings from the St. Paul Pioneer Press
St. Paul Pioneer Press
The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the eastern metro region, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, along with western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota and Anoka County,...
, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Monthly, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, as well as national publications. Zimmern left the daily restaurant operations in 1997.
Zimmern resides in Edina, Minnesota
Edina, Minnesota
Edina is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and a first-ring suburb situated immediately southwest of Minneapolis. Edina began as a small farming and milling community in the 1860s. The population was 47,941 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
, with his wife and their son, Noah.
Writing and food events
Zimmern is a contributing editor and award-winning monthly columnist at Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine and a senior editor at DeltaDelta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
Sky Magazine. As a freelance journalist, his work has appeared in numerous national and international publications. Zimmern has served as SuperTarget's meal adventure guide, sharing his passion for ethnic foods with supermarket customers around the country. He is the international spokesman for Travel Leaders and Elite Destination Homes.
Prior to Bizarre Foods, Zimmern had an extensive radio career. His shows Chowhounds, The Andrew Zimmern Show, and Food Court with Andrew Zimmern achieved wide popularity in the Twin Cities.
Additionally, Zimmern was the food features reporter for Fox 9 News Minneapolis
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
, and was also a featured contributor on both HGTV
HGTV
HGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
's Rebecca's Garden and Tip-ical Mary Ellen, where he handled on air food duties for both shows. He was the food and lifestyle features reporter during the 1997 season of the UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
network's nationally televised Everyday Living.
Zimmern has been a guest chef at many national charity events, food festivals, and galas, including Food and Wine Magazine’s Aspen Festival, The Twin Cities Food and Wine Experience, and the James Beard House
James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation is a New York-based national professional non-profit organization named in honor of James Beard that serves to promote the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors at annual award ceremonies and providing scholarships and...
in New York City. He has appeared on The Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
's Best Of..., CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Money and Health and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today Show. He also starred in The Cooking Club of America's instructional video series.
Zimmern regularly speaks to professional associations around the globe on all culinary matters, from the American Federation of Chefs to the Chinese Chefs National Committee. In the fall of 2002, he was an honored guest of the People’s Republic of China, traveling, lecturing, and giving demonstrations on Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
.
Zimmern's book The Bizarre Truth: How I Walked out the Door Mouth First...and Came Back Shaking My Head was published by Broadway Books in 2009. It is a collection of Zimmern's food and travel stories around the world.
Travel Channel
Bizarre Foods with Andrew ZimmernBizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern is a documentary-styled travel and cuisine television show hosted by Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. The first season debuted on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 9pm ET/PT....
premiered on the Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
with a pilot episode on November 1, 2006. The show has been on for five seasons and over 50 episodes, with Zimmern visiting 32 countries and 14 US states. Bizarre Foods also took home two CableFax awards in 2009, one for Best Television Program: Food, another for Best Online Extras for Andrew’s web series Bizarre Foods in the Kitchen.
In 2009, Zimmern hosted a spin-off of Bizarre Foods called Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World. A pilot and nine episodes were produced in eight countries and two states.
Zimmern guest starred in a 2007 episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.A...
in New York City; Bourdain did the same on Bizarre Foods. He also appeared in a 2009 episode of Man v. Food
Man v. Food
Man v. Food is an American food reality television series. It premiered on December 3, 2008, on the Travel Channel. The program is hosted by actor and food enthusiast Adam Richman. In each episode, Richman explores the "big food" offerings of a different American city before facing off against a...
with Adam Richman
Adam Richman (actor)
Adam Richman is an American actor and television personality. He was the host of the Travel Channel's eating challenge program Man v. Food and is currently hosting Man v. Food Nation.-Early life and education:...
in Minneapolis where he introduced Richman to lutefisk
Lutefisk
Lutefisk or Lutfisk is a traditional dish of the Nordic countries and parts of the Midwest United States. It is made from aged stockfish or dried/salted whitefish and lye . It is gelatinous in texture, and has an extremely strong, pungent odor...
.
Awards and recognition
In May 2010, Zimmern won the James Beard Award for Outstanding TV Food Personality. His online series, Toyota’s Appetite for Life, won an Effie Award in 2010.Controversy
Andrew Zimmern was highly criticized when he consumed shark fin and other endangered species on an episode of Bizarre Foods filmed in Beijing, China. Subsequent petitions on Change.org were influential in the Food Network's decision to remove shark recipes from the network's website.External links
- Andrew Zimmern's personal website
- Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern website
- Appetite for Life with Andrew Zimmern website
- Andrew's Blog Chow & Again
- Citypages article about a dispute involving Andrew Zimmern
- "If it looks good, eat it!": interview with Andrew Zimmern
- Going Where the Fringe Isn’t Extreme by Mike Hale, The New York Times
- Travel Channel 2011 interview