OFM_Interview_Andrew_Zimmern_0219_v2_DEPT 1 / 23 / 19 3 : 32 PM Page 1 NTERVIEW Culina ryExplorer I There are few other epicureans who are as well - traveled as Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern . By Brittany Ann Morrisey ast year , Andrew Zimmern did some - thing that many prominent people with L blue - checkmark Twitter accounts do : He got himself in some hot water with a flippant remark . The offending tweet in particular was about Orlando . Replying to a food critic’s plea for restaurant recommendations in the City Beautiful , Zimmern , a four - time James Beard Award - winning TV personality , wrote , “ You’re kinda screwed . ” Ouch . His words didn’t go unnoticed by passionate Orlandoans who promptly responded that Central Florida’s culinary scene is booming with plenty of good eats . For his part , Zimmern offered up a mea culpa and promised to take another look at our city . And he made good on that vow , visiting Florida a few months later to shoot an episode of The Zimmern List . The show , now on its second season , takes viewers on food culture tours through cities in the United States . The Orlando - cen - tric episode premieres 10 a.m . on Feb . 2 on the Travel Channel . Zimmern first made a name for himself eating bugs and animal intestines for his TV show Bizarre Foods , which went on to become a suc - cessful long - running series for the Travel Channel . To date , it’s aired 23 seasons . But he is also head of his own production company , a chef with a newly opened restaurant in Minnesota and the author of a number of titles including a new children’s book , AZ and the Lost City of Ophir . Zimmern , busy zipping around the globe for his TV shows , told us about how he copes with being on the road so much , his new children’s You travel a lot for your TV shows . How do you cope with being out on book and what he discovered on his recent trip to Orlando . the road so much ? It’s very hard , and managing a successful series is harder than a lackluster one . Can you tell me a little bit about what you discovered while you were The show’s success , like they all do , came at a price — like my time and having here in Orlando shooting for The Zimmern List ? to put work ahead of a lot of other choices . The key to navigating that is aware - I found a really robust food scene that seems to be evolving rapidly and doing so ness and a desire to put other mechanisms with in place to help ameliorate the diffi - high - quality food and an eye for local / fresh / best product . I was really impressed . A far culties . I traveled with family at times , did a lot of emotional sobriety workshops , cry from the last time I dug into this city almost eight years ago . My opinion of the stayed action - oriented on my spiritual growth , and [ made ] other adjustments . It Orlando food scene is that it’s quite impressive and driven by some great culinarians . really became more of a self - care issue than anything else . Bizarre Foods has been on the air for about 12 years now . How was Last year , you opened a Chinese restaurant called Lucky Cricket in the idea for the series conceived ? Minnesota where you live . What compelled you to get back into the The show began with me trying to escalate the size of my platform for storytelling , restaurant game ? and evolved from a series of ideas I had about how to do a show about demon - A love for serving the public and a selfish desire to cook more food . I love the nciu strating patience and tolerance in a world that was increasingly defining itself by restaurant business and wanted to get back into something community based . I Da n its differences rather than by its commonalities . I needed a hook , an entertaining love Chinese food and culture and thought this would be a fun project . I am dria idea that would allow me access to the delighted with the results so far . It’s really exciting . best food stories , the ones other people weren’t A by telling . I found those stories on the fringes of the cultures from a western / American ph You’ve spoken publicly about your past as a drug user and an perspective and used the bizarre foods meme to launch the show . Over the first sev - ogra alcoholic . eral years we were able to move away from bugs and offal and explore culture What advice would you give to anyone out there who is hot through food in a broader sense . currently struggling with addiction ? P 10 ORLANDO FAMILY february 2019 ORLANDOFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM