40 Fun Facts About Andrew Zimmern

Which cable network launched Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern after its pilot rated well in reruns?

Travel Channel was Zimmern's own pick: he had talked to Food Network but feared getting lost among its star chefs.

Which common nut does Andrew Zimmern say he cannot stand because it tastes soapy to him?

Walnuts were the one food Zimmern named as a dislike in 2012, after six seasons of eating things like bat paste and durian on camera.

Andrew Zimmern, the host of Bizarre Foods, shares his summer birthday with which American holiday?

Fourth of July fireworks double as his birthday candles: Zimmern was born on July 4, 1961, the son of an advertising executive.

In which city was Andrew Zimmern born and raised before addiction treatment took him to Minnesota?

New York was home: he grew up on the Upper East Side and later ran kitchens in the city's fine dining restaurants.

Which Scandinavian fish dish did Andrew Zimmern introduce to Adam Richman on Man v. Food?

Lutefisk is dried whitefish cured in lye, which leaves it gelatinous. Zimmern put it in front of Richman in 2009.

Which fellow TV host joined Andrew Zimmern for a Bizarre Foods special of tarantula pops and cockroaches?

Anthony Bourdain swapped visits with Zimmern in 2007: each man guest-starred on the other's show.

In which country did Andrew Zimmern eat hákarl, a fermented shark, and puffin on Bizarre Foods?

Iceland served him hákarl, which Zimmern said smelled horrific yet tasted far better than it smelled.

In which US state did Andrew Zimmern try jellied moose nose and whale muktuk on Bizarre Foods?

Alaska's menu also ran to walrus, seal soup and reindeer pizza, and Zimmern took a sled dog tour between meals.

Andrew Zimmern made Family Dinner for Magnolia Network, a venture with which home-renovation couple?

Chip and Joanna Gaines, of Fixer Upper fame, relaunched the old DIY Network under the Magnolia name in 2022.

Andrew Zimmern's Minnesota episode of Bizarre Foods served alligator, ostrich and spaghetti in which style?

On a stick is the fairground way: the same episode offered a reuben sandwich and meatballs skewered to match.

Which culinary honor, named for a cook whose open houses he attended as a boy, has Andrew Zimmern won?

James Beard Award number one came in 2010, for Outstanding TV Food Personality, and three more followed by 2017.

From which liberal arts college did Andrew Zimmern graduate in 1984 with a degree in history and art history?

Vassar followed the Dalton School, the private school Zimmern attended as a boy.

Which addiction treatment center did Andrew Zimmern enter in 1992, a place where he went on to volunteer?

Hazelden began in 1949 as a Minnesota farmhouse retreat. Zimmern arrived there after close friends staged an intervention.

While homeless for about a year around 1990, how did future TV host Andrew Zimmern say he survived?

Stealing purses from cafes and selling the contents carried him through a year he puts down to severe drug and alcohol addiction.

Lucky Cricket, the restaurant Andrew Zimmern opened in suburban Minnesota in 2018, served which cuisine?

Chinese cooking was the draw at Lucky Cricket, which opened to rough reviews, closed for a remodel in 2019 and reopened before shutting for good.

Which meat starred in the most popular dishes of AZ Canteen, the food truck Andrew Zimmern launched in 2012?

Goat was the truck's signature, and Zimmern went on to develop a goat sausage with the meat purveyor Pat LaFrieda.

The Zimmern List, Andrew Zimmern's city-by-city guide to his favorite places to eat, won which award?

Daytime Emmy success came in 2020, when the series won its category and Zimmern was also nominated as its host.

Which news channel aired What's Eating America, Andrew Zimmern's series on politics seen through food?

MSNBC ran the series, which came from Intuitive Content, the production company Zimmern founded in 2014.

Andrew Zimmern has served as a Global Goodwill Ambassador for The Nature Conservancy and which United Nations agency?

World Food Programme work sits beside his role as the International Rescue Committee's Voice for Nutrition.

In a 2016 series, which locals guided Andrew Zimmern to the hidden places to eat in each city?

Local drivers, from a rickshaw driver in Hyderabad to a Nashville cabbie, were his guides in Driven by Food because they are the first people a traveler talks to.

The documentary that became Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods explored unusual dishes from which continent?

Asia came first: the pilot took Zimmern to Japan, Thailand and Malaysia for frog sashimi, fruit bat and durian.

Andrew Zimmern ate balut and soup Number Five in the first regular Bizarre Foods episode, set in which country?

The Philippines episode also sent Zimmern to Puerto Princesa's underground river park, where he ate mangrove worms.

Which animal, kept as a household pet in many countries, did Andrew Zimmern eat in Quito on Bizarre Foods?

Guinea pig headed the Ecuador episode, which also had Zimmern eating lemon ants and piranha on the Napo River.

Which snake's still-beating heart did Andrew Zimmern eat in Vietnam during the first season of Bizarre Foods?

Cobra arrived in parts, dried bones included, in an episode that also poured coffee made from civet droppings.

On which Mediterranean island did Andrew Zimmern try casu marzu, a notorious rotten cheese, on Bizarre Foods?

Sardinia also put sea urchins on his plate, in an episode about what the island's residents like to eat.

Which wild animals did Andrew Zimmern feed meat to in Harar during the Ethiopia episode of Bizarre Foods?

Hyenas shared the bill with a visit to Africa's largest market in Addis Ababa and a taste of camel kidney.

On Bizarre Foods in Texas, Andrew Zimmern toured the kitchens of which organization to taste its food?

NASA let him sample space food behind the scenes, a change from the chocolate bacon and fried alligator of the Texas State Fair.

Which poisonous amphibians did Andrew Zimmern make a meal of in the Australian Outback on Bizarre Foods?

Cane toads joined wallaby and barbecued crocodile on the menu for that trip.

In Seoul for Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern made his first fresh batch of which fermented Korean staple?

Kimchi-making was a break from eating: the same trip had him tackle san-nakji, a dish of raw octopus.

Which US state gave Andrew Zimmern Spam musubi, tempura Spam and a bowl of poi on Bizarre Foods?

Hawaii's Spam tour did not stop there: the episode also featured a pineapple upside-down cake made with it.

For a Valentine's Day special, Andrew Zimmern handed out bull testicle samples at which giant shopping center?

Mall of America shoppers were told the samples would help their love lives, and Zimmern watched to see who dared eat one.

Which broadcaster aired Hope in the Water, Andrew Zimmern's documentary series about fishers and aqua farmers?

PBS aired the series, which Zimmern made in collaboration with the television writer David E. Kelley.

Andrew Zimmern judged every episode of which classic cooking contest when Netflix revived it in 2022?

Iron Chef returned as Quest for an Iron Legend, with Zimmern and Nilou Motamed as the regular judges beside a rotating guest.

Which retail chain hired Andrew Zimmern as a meal adventure guide for its supermarket shoppers?

Target put him to work for its SuperTarget stores, sharing his passion for ethnic foods with customers around the country.

Which genre did Andrew Zimmern try in 2019 with a book that won a Gold IPPY award?

Children's fiction was new ground for Zimmern: AZ and the Lost City of Ophir opened a series of graded readers and took its prize in the juvenile category.

On his Food Network series about mobile kitchens, what did Andrew Zimmern award one operator in each city?

A $10,000 tip and a seal of approval went to one of the three food truck operators featured in each city.

Which carmaker sponsored Appetite for Life, the Andrew Zimmern web series that won an Effie Award in 2010?

Toyota sent Zimmern on road trips through America's food culture across four seasons of webisodes.

At Muhammad Ali's 70th birthday party, which rapper asked Andrew Zimmern for a photo for his kids?

LL Cool J found Zimmern standing alongside Bill Clinton and George Clooney at the party.

KZ Provisioning, the company Andrew Zimmern created with chef Gavin Kaysen, cooks for which kind of client?

Pro sports teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves, Lynx and Wild rely on the company for performance-driven meals.

In Madagascar for Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern bought which humped animal as a gift for a ritual ceremony?

Zebu are humped cattle, and Zimmern bought this one together with his wife on the trip.