In this episode of Repertoire with Chef Sammy Monsour, I travel to Saint Louis Park, Minnesota—just outside Minneapolis—to sit down with Andrew Zimmern, the Emmy and four-time James Beard Award–winning chef, writer, television host, and global advocate whose work has redefined how we talk about food.

Andrew’s career spans continents and decades: creator and host of Bizarre Foods, What’s Eating America, and Family Dinner; founding member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition and the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture (which I’m proud to have co-founded alongside him); and one of the most influential voices using food to foster cultural understanding and social change.

We dive into:

• His new cookbook, The Blue Food Cookbook, coauthored with Barton Seaver, and how aquaculture can help feed a growing planet.
• The complexities of U.S. seafood policy—from the MARA Act to the future of the blue economy.
• Why chefs are uniquely positioned to lead conversations about climate, labor, and equity.
• Lessons from decades of global travel, from artisanal fishing villages in Africa to Indigenous food systems in Alaska.
• The evolution of food media—from PBS and the early days of Bizarre Foods to the digital storytelling era.
• His personal Mount Rushmore of culinary icons—Bourdain, Emeril, and Martin Yan among them.
• And a few unforgettable adventures from the road: maggot cheese in Sardinia, giant scallops in Samoa, and the rare foods that tell stories of place and time.

Andrew and I explore food as both joy and justice—a bridge between people, cultures, and the planet itself.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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