Andrew Zimmern to be first program speaker of new Rotary year, July 10

Award-winning chef, food writer and TV personality Andrew Zimmern will be the program speaker at the Thursday, July 10, Rotary Club of Edina meeting. This will be the first meeting of the new Rotary year. 

Zimmern is widely regarded as one of the most versatile and knowledgeable personalities in the food world. As the creator, host and co-executive producer of Travel Channel’s hit series, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World, and Bizarre Foods America, he travels the globe, exploring food in its own terroir. From world-class restaurants to street carts and jungle markets, it’s all about discovering and sharing the authentic experience.  Zimmern interprets the way we live our lives through food so that we can make better choices for the future.

Zimmern is a six-time nominee and a three-time James Beard Award winner for “Best Television Personality/Host” and “Best Television Program On Location.” His MSN.com web-series, Toyota’s Appetite for Life, received an Effie in 2010. His Bizarre Foods shows have won numerous awards. His podcast, Go Fork Yourself with Andrew Zimmern and Molly Mogren, won the Stitcher Award for Best Food/Cooking Podcast in 2012 and AndrewZimmern.com has been nominated for the last two years for best food website by The Webby Awards.

Zimmern’s food truck, Andrew Zimmern’s Canteen, debuted in the summer of 2012. The carefully curated menu showcases inspired versions of food he’s discovered on the road, from Nicaraguan dulce de leche shaved ice to the Cabrito sausage grinders made with an exclusive all-natural goat blend from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors. Andrew Zimmern’s Canteen is now at Minneapolis’ Target Field, offering a smoked meat sandwich and crispy belly bacon alongside cucumber mint lemonade. In the coming year, Andrew Zimmern’s Canteen is expanding to multiple trucks and brick-and-mortar locations. In 2013, Zimmern and LaFrieda launched a proprietary line of cured and cooked meats.

Zimmern is a contributing editor at Food & Wine magazine, an award-winning monthly columnist at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and a senior editor at Delta Sky magazine. As a freelance journalist, his work has appeared in numerous national and international publications. Andrew is the author of The Bizarre Truth and Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World of Food published by Broadway Books/Random House.  Feiwel & Friends published Andrew Zimmern’s Field Guide to Exceptionally Weird, Wild & Wonderful Foods in October 2012.

Zimmern has served as a corporate and product spokesperson for Target, Cascal, Pepto Bismol, Toyota, General Mills, Proctor & Gamble, Health Partners and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Zimmern has also partnered with General Mills to host “The Munchies: People’s Choice Food Awards,” a national food awards ceremony that lives online and celebrates the most deserving people in the culinary world. Zimmern is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Babson College’s Lewis Institute. He serves on the board of directors for Services for the Underserved in New York City, The Taste of the NFL, Foodie Tout, and The National Youth Recovery Foundation. He was part of the group that made the successful bid for Minneapolis winning Super Bowl LII and he is currently working on bringing the World’s Fair to the Twin Cities. He resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife Rishia, son Noah and several un-eaten pets.

Join us Thursday, July 10, at the Edina Country Club for our first meeting of the new Rotary year! Meeting starts at 12:15 p.m.