Andrew Zimmern facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrew Zimmern
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Zimmern in 2008
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Andrew Scott Zimmern
July 4, 1961 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Vassar College (BA) |
| Occupation | Chef, restaurateur, TV and radio personality, food critic, director, producer, columnist |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse(s) | Rishia Haas (m. 2002–2018) |
| Children | 1 |
Andrew Scott Zimmern (born July 4, 1961) is a famous American chef, restaurant owner, and TV personality. He is well-known for hosting several TV shows, especially those where he explores unique and sometimes unusual foods from around the world.
Andrew Zimmern has created and hosted many popular TV shows on the Travel Channel. These include Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Foods America, and Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations. He also hosted Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World and The Zimmern List. On the Food Network, he hosted The Big Food Truck Tip. For his work on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, he won the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award four times. Andrew also has a cooking web series on YouTube called Andrew Zimmern Cooks. In 2020, his show What's Eating America premiered on MSNBC.
In November 2018, Andrew Zimmern opened a Chinese restaurant called Lucky Cricket in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
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Andrew Zimmern's Early Life and Career
Andrew Zimmern was born in 1961 in New York City. His parents were Caren and Robert Zimmern. His father worked in advertising. Andrew grew up in a Jewish family.
From a young age, Andrew was interested in cooking. He went to famous chef James Beard's open houses with his father. He says that Beard's kindness and love for food inspired him to become a chef. When he was in high school, he often visited the Trader Vic's restaurant chain, which his mother's college roommate founded. Andrew started his official cooking training when he was 14 years old. His first job in a restaurant was at The Quiet Clam in East Hampton, Long Island.
Andrew Zimmern went to the Dalton School and later graduated from Vassar College in 1984. After college, he worked in several fancy restaurants in New York. He was either the main chef or the general manager. He also taught classes about how to manage and design restaurants at The New School for Social Research.
Andrew faced some tough times, including being homeless for about a year. In 1992, he moved to Minnesota to get help and start fresh. He went to the Hazelden Treatment Center, where he now volunteers his time. Today, he lives in Minneapolis. He became very successful as the main chef at Café Un Deux Trois in Minneapolis's Foshay Tower. His menus received top ratings from many magazines and newspapers. Andrew stopped working in daily restaurant operations in 1997.
Andrew Zimmern considers himself a "progressive Democrat." He is also friends with former U.S. Senator and comedian Al Franken.
Andrew Zimmern's Writing and Food Events
Andrew Zimmern is a writer for Mpls. St. Paul Magazine and Delta Sky Magazine. He writes a monthly column and has won awards for his work. He has also written for many other magazines and newspapers around the world. Andrew has worked as a "meal adventure guide" for SuperTarget, sharing his love for different kinds of foods with shoppers. He is also a spokesperson for Travel Leaders and Elite Destination Homes.
Before his Bizarre Foods TV show, Andrew Zimmern had a long career in radio. His shows like Chowhounds and The Andrew Zimmern Show were very popular in the Twin Cities area.
Andrew was also a food reporter for the Fox TV station KMSP-TV. He appeared on HGTV's Rebecca's Garden and Tip-ical Mary Ellen, where he shared cooking tips. In 1997, he was a food and lifestyle reporter for the nationally televised show Everyday Living on the UPN network.
Andrew Zimmern has been a guest chef at many charity events, food festivals, and galas. These include Food and Wine Magazine's Aspen Festival and the James Beard House in New York City. He has often appeared on the Food Network's Best Of..., CNN's Money and Health, and NBC's Today Show. He also starred in a cooking video series for the Cooking Club of America.
Andrew regularly gives talks to professional groups around the world about all kinds of food topics. In 2002, he was a special guest in the People's Republic of China. He traveled, gave talks, and showed how to make Chinese cuisine.
Andrew Zimmern has written several books. His book The Bizarre Truth: How I Walked out the Door Mouth First ... and Came Back Shaking My Head was published in 2009. It shares his food and travel stories from around the world. He also wrote Andrew Zimmern's Field Guide to Exceptionally Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Foods, which came out in 2012. His most recent book is a series for young readers called Alliance of World Explorers, Volume 1: AZ and the Lost City of Ophir, released in February 2019. This book won a Gold IPPY award in Juvenile Fiction in 2019.
Andrew Zimmern also has a food stand named Andrew Zimmern's Canteen at Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Andrew Zimmern's Travel Channel Shows
Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern first aired on the Travel Channel on November 1, 2006. This show has aired over 140 episodes. In the series, Andrew Zimmern visits many different countries and states to try their unique foods. Bizarre Foods won two CableFax awards in 2009. One was for Best Television Program: Food, and the other was for Best Online Extras for Andrew's web series Bizarre Foods in the Kitchen.
In 2009, Andrew Zimmern hosted a show called Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World. This show was a spinoff of Bizarre Foods. They made a pilot episode and nine regular episodes, visiting eight countries and two states.
Andrew Zimmern appeared as a guest on a 2007 episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain in New York City. Anthony Bourdain also appeared on Bizarre Foods. Andrew Zimmern was also on a 2009 episode of Man v. Food with Adam Richman in Minneapolis. On that show, he introduced Richman to a traditional Scandinavian dish called lutefisk.
In January 2012, another spinoff of Bizarre Foods started. It was called Bizarre Foods America. In this show, Andrew Zimmern focused on different cities in the United States. He tried local foods and learned about the ways of life in those places.
Awards and Recognition for Andrew Zimmern
In May 2010, Andrew Zimmern won the James Beard Award for Outstanding TV Food Personality. This is a very important award in the food world. He won another James Beard Award in 2012, a third in 2013, and a fourth in 2017.
His online series, Toyota's Appetite for Life, won an Effie Award in 2010.
Andrew Zimmern is also an "entrepreneur-in-residence" at Babson College. This means he shares his business experience and ideas with students there.
