Andrew Zimmern is a four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer, teacher and philanthropist universally regarded as one of the most versatile and knowledgeable personalities in the food world. As the creator, executive producer and host of the Bizarre Foods franchise on Travel Channel, Andrew has explored cultures in more than 170 countries.

Motivated by his experiences overcoming a traumatic family event and battling addiction over the years, Andrew has built a multifaceted empire that shines the spotlight on impactful ways to think about, create and live with food. He is the founder of two multimedia production companies, Food Works and Intuitive Content, the latter of which has been recognized as one of Realscreen’s Top 100 production companies in the world and a Global Top 10 in the lifestyle category. He's a staple on Food Network and has appeared as a mentor, judge and host on countless shows, including Bizarre Foods America, Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations, All-Star Academy, Big Food Truck Tip, 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing and more. His next gig? Hosting Food Network's new BBQ competition show: Pitmasters. Catch the premiere on Monday, July 13 at 9|8c on Food Network and the next day on HBO Max and discovery+.

History and Background

Andrew was born on the Fourth of July in New York City. He grew up on the Upper East Side as the only child of Caren and Robert Zimmern, and, although his parents divorced when he was young, the Zimmerns lived comfortably throughout Andrew’s early childhood. His father built a 50-year career working for an international advertising agency and was responsible for co-creating some of the most iconic ads throughout the 1960s and '70s. His success ensured Andrew wanted for nothing, afforded him trips around the world from a young age and paid for his private school tuition. Between his globetrotting and studies, much of the quality time Andrew spent with his parents revolved around cooking. He discovered his love for cooking at just five years old while spending time in the kitchen with his grandmother. He gardened with his mother and went clamming, crabbing and foraging with his father.

The most pivotal moment of Andrew’s life came when he returned home from summer camp at 13 years old. His father informed him that his mother, Caren, had suffered a traumatic brain injury due to being administered the wrong anesthesia. And although she survived, Caren was in a coma for several months, and when she woke, she was forever changed from her injury. In a podcast interview with Adam Mendler for Thirty Minute Mentors, Andrew shares, “She was the victim of some medical malpractice and was in a coma for several months. And then in a mental institution for years while they tried to bring her back to a functioning way of life, which they were able to. But she was a changed person after she emerged from that coma, completely different than the mother that I knew for the first 13 years of my life.”

After the accident, Andrew’s father returned to his West Village home, leaving Andrew to work through his emotions alone in his mother’s home with the company of a nanny and housekeeper. Andrew has said that the isolation and trauma that came from this event are the catalysts that led to his struggles with addiction and alcoholism. “When I was 14, my father told me there was no more allowance; you had to get a job,” he shares. “So, I started working in restaurants at night. I wanted to be getting high during the day, flirting with girls, swimming in the ocean and doing summer stuff. And then at night, I wanted to cook, and I had a talent for it.”

He spent his remaining school years at The Dalton School, a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, drinking and experimenting with various substances. “So, by the time I was off to college, I was exhibiting that hyper-responsibility and irresponsibility of any good addict,” Andrew shares on Thirty Minute Mentors. “I got into a good school, I was class president and I got good grades. I was a clever chap. On the other hand, by the time I graduated high school, I was a regular cocaine user, pill-user, pot-smoker and drinker.”

Andrew graduated alongside his peers and was accepted into Vassar College, an elite liberal arts institution nestled in Poughkeepsie, New York. There, he studied history and art history, but his collegiate years were not without their hardships. “I got thrown out of school three times and allowed back in three times. My addiction to alcoholism exploded. I was lucky to graduate college; I was lucky to live through college. And at the same time, whenever I was told to take some time off, I ‘got my s--t together’ and went off to Europe and cooked.” Turns out, the third time's the charm. Andrew graduated from Vassar with his Bachelor of Arts in 1984 before returning to New York to hone his culinary skills.

He worked in elite kitchens alongside culinary greats Anne Rosenzweig, Joachim Splichal, Leslie Revsin and Thomas Keller. Andrew helped debut and run a dozen successful restaurants and founded what would eventually become BRGuest Group with Stephen Hanson. Unfortunately, this was also the time that Andrew’s battle with addiction led him to rock bottom and resulted in a year of homelessness. “I wound up just being a street person, a user of people and a taker of things,” he shares on Thirty Minute Mentors. “Unemployable, fired from every job that I had earned and unfriended by the people who loved me the most. When I finally became homeless, my family and closest friends thought I was dead. Most were shocked when I resurfaced a couple of days before my intervention that wound up catapulting me into the second part of my life in January 1992.”

Those closest to him brought Andrew to the Hazelden-Betty Ford Foundation in Minnesota for his recovery journey. Andrew made the most of his new home and began working in kitchens again — this time, starting at the bottom. He took a dishwashing position at Café Un Deux Trois and, after just six months, he was named executive chef. Andrew held that position for seven years before moving on to the next phase of his career: television.

His work at Un Deux Trois turned heads in local media and, eventually, Andrew became a regular in-house chef on HGTV shows like Rebecca's Garden and TIPical Mary Ellen. All this airtime revealed Andrew’s passion for storytelling, and he began working as a features reporter for a local television program and serving as a restaurant columnist and critic for Mpls. St. Paul Magazine. His gift for gab landed him a job as a talk radio host during this time, too.

Finally, in 2003, Andrew filmed the pilot for what became his big break into mainstream television: Bizarre Foods. The groundbreaking (and, at times, stomach-turning) show features Andrew exploring regions around the world and sharing dishes made from unexpected, unique and, at times, taboo ingredients. The program debuted three years after filming the pilot and was met with wild success, which led to Andrew serving as host and executive producer for offshoots including Bizarre Worlds, Bizarre Foods America and Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations.

Nowadays, Andrew is a familiar face across Food Network. He’s appeared on countless fan-favorite shows in various roles, including mentor, judge and host.

Family Life

Andrew left New York City in 1992 and planted his roots in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the proud father to an adult son, Noah, and a doting dog dad to three Lagotto Romagnolo pups: Luca, Clemmie and Moe.

Andrew's Food Network Shows

Andrew is a Food Network mainstay. The dynamic producer, chef and writer has appeared as a judge, host and mentor on iconic Travel Channel and Food Network shows, including Bizarre Foods America, Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations, All-Star Academy, Big Food Truck Tip, 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing and more. His next big project? Hosting Food Network’s brand-new BBQ competition show, Pitmasters, premiering Monday, July 13 at 9|8c on Food Network and the next day on HBO Max and discovery+.

Bizarre Foods America

Andrew travels across the Americas, unveiling expected ingredients, tasting local dishes and sharing stories of the region. Noteworthy delicacies Andrew’s enjoyed include moose fat and muskrat in Alaska, fried guinea pig and frog shakes in Lima and giant jungle rodents in Colombia.

All-Star Academy

Andrew served as a mentor on Food Network’s All-Star Academy. He, along with his Food Network peers Bobby Flay, Alex Guarnaschelli, Robert Irvine, Curtis Stone and Michael Symon, were paired up with home cooks from across America. They offered guidance and encouragement to their home cook mentees as they competed in culinary challenges. The prize? Bragging rights for the mentors and a $50,000 grand prize for the last home cook standing.

Big Food Truck Tip

Andrew knows a thing or two about eating food on the road. Who better to host Big Food Truck Tip? The culinary powerhouse takes his knowledge and passion to the streets of the United States in search of food truck entrepreneurs chasing their dreams. He gives the chefs a platform to share their food and awards a $10,000 tip and Food Network seal of approval to the most deserving truck.

24 in 24: Last Chef Standing

If you watched 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing Seasons 2 and 3, you probably remember seeing Andrew pop in and join hosts Esther Choi and Michael Symon as a special guest judge. In the latest season, Andrew was tasked with judging Shift 7: Precision and making the final decision on which chef moved on to the final shift of the competition.

Pitmasters

Andrew is the host of Food Network’s new smokin’ hot BBQ cooking competition Pitmasters. The series follows teams of the world’s premier pitmasters as they compete in a weeklong battle of live-fire cooking. Andrew is joined by a panel of three judges who have made a name for themselves in the fire game: Jess Pryles, Moe Cason and Ernest Servantes. Pitmasters premieres Monday, July 13 at 9|8c on Food Network and the next day on HBO Max and discovery+.

Food Network Obsessed

Andrew sat down with Jaymee Sire on the Food Network Obsessed podcast in July 2026. Throughout the hour-and-some-change interview, Andrew revealed that, despite having just celebrated his 65th birthday, he has no plans on slowing down anytime soon. “Do I want to start slowly but surely peeling back in certain areas of my life and spend more time doing the things that I really truly want to be doing? Absolutely,” he shared. “That is the kind of slowing down that I want to do. But as far as the work piece, I would like to be working fewer hours but doing more things.

“And the reason that I stated that way is that I'm not 25. I have eight books I want to write. There's five TV shows I want to make. There's a restaurant concept that if I die and haven't launched it yet, I will regret it for wherever I go for eternity, right? And so you get to that point where you're like, 'OK, I want to be doing more of the things that make me happy, but I also have to do certain things because I have the opportunity to do them.'”

Andrew's Books

Between spending time with his family and pups, catching international flights and advocating for charitable causes, Andrew found the time to put pen to paper — and the world’s better for it. The multitalented chef and producer published his first book, The Bizarre Truth, in 2009 and has gone on to release four more titles.

Readers are given a deeper look into the taboo culinary scene with The Bizarre Truth, Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World of Food and Andrew Zimmern's Field Guide to Exceptionally Weird, Wild & Wonderful Foods.

Andrew released the first installment of his children’s fiction series, AZ and the Lost City of Ophir, in 2019, and his latest work, The Blue Food Cookbook, hit shelves in 2025. Andrew co-authored The Blue Food Cookbook with leading sustainable seafood expert Barton Seaver. Together, the team presents the best ways to buy, prepare and cook from waterways and oceans with sustainability in mind. The innovative cookbook features 145 seafood recipes to inspire your next weeknight or special occasion meal.

Fun Facts

• He was born on the Fourth of July, making him a nurturing, intuitive and creative Cancer.
• As a child, Andrew spent time in James Beard’s West Village home for the legendary Sunday and Christmas open houses. And now? Andrew has not one, not two, but four James Beard Foundation Awards under his apron belt.
• He never attended culinary school. Instead, Andrew earned a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College, where he studied history and art history.
• He’ll eat just about anything. And we really mean anything. Andrew has traveled the globe and dined on delicacies including guinea pigs, dung beetles, maggot cheese, ox heart, giant fruit bats, tarantulas and — of course — rats! (These dishes sound more like a list of Halloween decorations than a menu, wouldn’t you agree?)
• You can make your food taste (almost!) as good as his with the help of his Badia spices collection.

Andrew's Philanthropic Work

Giving back is a cornerstone of Andrew’s life. He is a sitting board member, ambassador and founder of several nonprofit organizations and serves as an active voice for many others. On his website, Andrew highlights 20 philanthropies that he supports and contributes to: United Nations World Food Program, The Nature Conservancy, Services for the UnderServed, Giving Kitchen, AltaSea, Eat Real, Autism Speaks, World Central Kitchen, International Rescue Committee, Beans is How, Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, Fed by Blue, The Great Northern, Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture, EXPLR Media, GenYouth, Procure Impact, City Harvest, Milken Institute, James Beard Foundation, Environmental Working Group, The Retreat, No Kid Hungry and Babson College.

Andrew's Recipes