Heritage Hog Renaissance As the founder of the pork-centric culinary competition Cochon 555, Brady Lowe is on a mission to remind us what true pork tastes like. In each of the 10 cities on the annual tour, Cochon 555 showcases five chefs, five heritage breed pigs and five winemakers to promote breed diversity and whole animal… Read More →
A Guide to Choosing the Right Knives My Go Fork Yourself co-host Molly Mogren is currently in the market for some new knives. And since I am a knife freak, she asked me which three knives are must-haves in every kitchen. In typical fashion, I couldn’t keep it to just three… but I tried my… Read More →
Lend a Helping Hand On the Minnesota episode of Bizarre Foods, I stop by a small smokehouse near Lake Superior in Knife River, Minn. Russ Kendall’s Smokehouse serves up some of the best smoked whitefish I’ve ever had. Whenever I visit the North Shore, I stop at Kendall’s on the way. Open since the 1920s, the smokehouse… Read More →
Up Your Burger Game The hamburger is a cultural constant in this country, the most iconic of American foods that defines us in many ways. It’s proletariat, it’s a kids meal, it’s high-end luxury food. And it’s one of my favorite things to eat. Now that summer is in full swing, it’s time to perfect… Read More →
NFL Perks & Challenging the 70/30 Rule By Andrew Zimmern Local scribes and pundits have gone all “WHAT?!?!?!?” on their social streams expressing outrage that the NFL requested a massive perk list before awarding the 2018 Super Bowl to Minneapolis. All for free. That’s like crying fire after you passed around the gasoline and matches, for… Read More →
Eat Clean. Live Loud. Melissa Joulwan is a badass. A retired Texas Rollergirl, Mel J has a serious thing for friendly competition, the band Social Disortion and cooking up a storm. In 2008, she launched her blog, Clothes Make the Girl, which kinda started out as a lifestyle/style site and eventually became one of the… Read More →
The Alton Browncast: Andrew Zimmern My Chat with Alton On my last visit to L.A., I stopped to visit my friend, Alton Brown. We sat down in his trailer outside of the Cutthroat Kitchen studio to record back-to-back podcasts. First, Alton interviewed me for The Alton Browncast. We talk storytelling, giving back, and addiction & recovery. Take… Read More →
Genius Culinary Innovation David Kinch, chef/proprietor of Manresa in Los Gatos, California, creates some of the most exciting food in America. After working in Europe, Japan and New York, the James Beard award-winning chef moved to the West Coast and opened his flagship restaurant in 2002. Four years later, Kinch famously entered into a partnership… Read More →
Knife Care 101 Every chef says the same thing, “If I had to pick one tool I couldn’t live without, it’d have to be my knife.” Guess what, it’s a cliché… but it’s true. When it comes to gadgetry, I am all about the latest and greatest new phone, tablet, watch and camera. But in… Read More →
Rust Belt Revival After years spent working in some of the best restaurants in New York City, chef Jonathon Sawyer is back in his hometown, raising his family and Cleveland’s food profile. He’s become an incredible son of Ohio, who has changed this town’s culinary landscape with his restaurants Noodlecat, Sawyer’s Street Frites, SeeSaw Pretzel… Read More →
#JBFA Every year a new crop of Bizarre Foods alums win Journalism and Media awards. This year Tim Byres led the charge for his book Smoke. Buy it. It’s a great one. Amy Thielen is loved by all, she cleaned up this year and her son Hank and husband Aaron were by her side all weekend.… Read More →
Congratulations JBF Award Winners! I had a fantastic weekend at the James Beard Foundation Awards in NYC, the nation’s most prestigious awards ceremony honoring professionals in the food and beverage biz. Winners of the Foundation’s annual Book, Broadcast, and Journalism Awards were presented on May 2, at Gotham Hall in New York City, during a… Read More →
Like Father, Like Son Marc Forgione, the Michelin-starred mohawked chef who won Food Network’s Next Iron Chef in 2010, began his culinary career working for his father, beloved chef Larry Forgione. After cooking in kitchens in France, he joined Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Prime empire as corporate sous chef, before opening his eponymous NYC restaurant in… Read More →
Another Austin Food & Wine has come and gone, and I for one can’t wait for 2015. One of the most fun, intimate festivals in the country. Without further ado, some of the best moments (and one sort of ugly one) from this year’s party: 1. Paul Qui has confirmed for me that the Next Big Food Trend… Read More →
Nose-to-Tail Icon Chef Jamie Bissonnette gained notoriety for his soulful food, innovative style and pork proficiency at his Boston restaurants, Coppa and Toro. Last fall, Bissonnette brought his incredible tapas menu to Manhattan when he opened a second Toro with business partner and fellow empire builder Ken Oringer. As we predicted, New Yorkers are just as infatuated as Bostonians with… Read More →
I Love Austin. And I’m looking forward to heading down there later this April for the Austin Food and Wine Festival (You can get tickets here). Here’s an interview I did with my friend Paula Disbrowe at TRIBEZA Magazine about one of my favorite food towns, complete with an Andrew Zimmern style guide.
Stylish, Affordable & Performs Beautifully Shun Cutlery has named James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, food writer, and teacher Andrew Zimmern as a digital partner for their fine Japanese cutlery. Zimmern will assist in promoting the Shun brand through his social media network and personal industry contacts. He will also be helping teach knife skills… Read More →
AZ’s Second Chances Scholarship Beginning April 1, the James Beard Foundation will begin accepting applications for its 2014 scholarship program, with more than $450,000 in scholarships and grants available. Established in 1991, the James Beard Foundation Scholarship Program assists aspiring and established culinary professionals who plan to further their education. Last year, I partnered with… Read More →
Charley Family Traditions In tonight’s premiere episode of the sixth season of Bizarre Foods America, I head to Alaska’s Copper River Valley to visit the Charley family, a group of Native Americans who live the traditional life of the Ahtna Tribe. In this far flung outpost of the great Alaskan wilderness, people survive by maintaining… Read More →
Support Harlem After a tragedy like the East Harlem explosion, it is hard to see the beauty. But the beauty comes from a community coming together to support each other through hard times. Marcus Samuelsson and Red Rooster Harlem are hosting a fundraiser the evening of April 2 to aid the families and individuals affected… Read More →
Hacking Fine Dining Chefs/co-owners of Travail and the Rookery, Mike Brown, Bob Gerken and James Winberg are a trio to be reckoned with. In the past year, they closed the original Travail opening Pig Ate My Pizza in its place, created a dim sum pop-up in North Minneapolis, launched an epic Kickstarter campaign and reopened Travail… Read More →
Congrats to the Nominees! Yesterday, the James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for the 2014 JBF awards. Congratulations to all of the nominees, what a talented pool of culinary greatness. If you didn’t catch the nominee announcement, the full list is below. The winners for the Book, Broadcast and Journalism Awards will be announced at… Read More →
John McKenna’s Top Picks Ireland’s leading food critic and one of the country’s most authoritative voices in food journalism, John McKenna has been writing about the burgeoning Irish food scene for 25 years. Before your next trip to Ireland, be sure to check out McKennas’ Guides, a series of guide books by John and his longtime… Read More →
Giving Back Earlier this week, I visited St. Paul’s Payne Avenue Salvation Army to serve roasted chicken and mashed potatoes with head chef Jeff Ansorge and chat with the kids in the after-school program. The Salvation Army provides everything from basic needs and housing to rehabilitation and counseling to those in need. I was humbled… Read More →
Exploring FoodieTV FoodieTV, the latest iOS app from Glam Media (creators of foodie.com and Foodie Recipes), offers a curated collection of short-form videos with engaging food and travel content, from guided walks through Beijing’s best street food and step-by-step recipes to spotlights on chefs and independent cheesemakers. We chat with Marc Escobosa, VP of product management… Read More →
Where to Eat & Drink in the Big Easy By Donald Link New Orleans has countless classic bars and restaurants. One of my favorite things about this city is how these old classics work with some of the newer classics and interesting aspects of the scene that make New Orleans such a fascinating place to… Read More →
Another South Beach Wine & Food Fest has come and gone. And yes, it was hot, humid and awesome. HUGE thanks to Lee Schrager & his team for putting on what I like to think of as spring break for the culinary world…. except in this case, what happened on spring break is not staying… Read More →
Vote Now! Food is an integral part of our individual lives and communal culture in America. I’m always fascinated to see what the public considers desirable and worthy of applause via this unparalleled online food awards program. The Munchies provides a unique opportunity to spark a national conversation about fantastic food and empowers the public to voice who is most deserving.… Read More →
For the Love of Ramen Ivan Orkin’s path to culinary greatness is somewhat like folklore. A Jewish guy from Long Island falls in love with Japanese culture and cuisine, marries a Japanese woman and moves to Tokyo. In 2007, he opens a ramen shop as a gaijin (foreigner) in a city where residents are passionately… Read More →
Just Breathe Sour Lung Soup is a German dish, most popular in Bavaria. In German, the dish is called saure Lüngerl, which translates to “sour (or acidic) lungs.” Oddly enough, the dish isn’t technically a soup at all. Finely sliced veal offal—such as lung, heart, and sweetbreads—is placed in a bowl and smothered in a… Read More →
