Andrew Scott Zimmern was born on July 4, 1961 in New York City, NY. He is a chef,
food critic, restaurateur, media personality, entrepreneur, and author. He has written
(and co-written) at least five books and collaborated on numerous articles and films.
The Bizarre Truth: How I walked Out the Door Mouth First . . . and Came Back
Shaking My Head was published in 2009. The book was a distillation of his journeys
with the Travel Channel on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern which started
in 2006. The book describes Zimmern's philosophy that the best way to know a
country is to sample the cuisine of the local population. The idea is that what sounds
bizarre or gross to one culture is a tasty treat in another - and we don't know what
we're missing. The Amazon review indicates that the book is "written in the smart,
often hilarious voice he uses to narrate his TV shows. Zimmern uses his adventures
in 'culinary anthropology' to illustrate such themes as: why visiting local markets
can reveal more about destinations than museums; the importance of going to 'the
last stop on the subway' - the most remote area of a place where its essence is most
often revealed; the need to seek out and catalog 'the last bottle of coca-cola in the
desert,' i.e. disappearing foods and cultures; the profound differences between
dining and eating; and the pleasures of snout to tail, local, fresh and organic food."