Andrew Scott Zimmern (born July 4, 1961) is an American culinary expert, chef, television personality, radio personality, director, producer, entrepreneur, food critic, journalist, teacher, and author. Considered one of the most influential celebrity chefs in the world, Zimmern is known for being the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of the Travel Channel television series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Foods America, Andrew Zimmern\'s Bizarre World, Dining with Death, The Zimmern List, Andrew Zimmern\'s Driven by Food, and Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations, as well as the Food Network series The Big Food Truck Tip. For his work on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, he was presented the James Beard Foundation Award four times; in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2017. Zimmern also hosts a cooking webseries on YouTube titled Andrew Zimmern Cooks.\n', '

Zimmern was born and raised in New York City, in 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.\n', '

Owing 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 Café 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, and Mpls. St.Paul Magazine, as well as national publications.[citation needed] Zimmern left daily restaurant operations in 1997.\n', '

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