One of my earliest childhood memories is sitting at my grandmother’s breakfast table in a small town in southern India when my mother served me a plate of what looked like eggs mixed with lots of onions and chilies – she said they were “Indian style.”  Only after I had finished the whole plate did she confess that there were goat brains mixed with eggs!   So, when I first saw Andrew Zimmern’s show Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel, I was hooked.  After a lifetime of a mother who pushed my culinary edge, I had finally found a kindred spirit.

I had the opportunity to sit down on set with Zimmern last week to talk about the upcoming season of his show at the Common Good City Farm here in Washington, DC where he was filming for a future episode of ‘Bizarre Foods America,’ which will air later this year.

Despite its title, Zimmern asserts that his show “is not let’s go to a foreign country where they speak different languages and eat something weird, [it] is, let’s look at other cultures and explore them through food using it as a divining rod.”  At its heart, Zimmern is asking- what does what we eat say about who we are?

In this sixth season of the show, Zimmern explores the diversity, excess, and quirks of America’s food culture.  “There are so many great stories here,” Zimmern muses, “think about a large state like New York, California, Texas, Michigan and the number of stories, ethnic groups, possibilities…that’s what makes up American culture.”

The first show of this season, and the 100^th episode of Bizarre Foods will premiere on Monday, July 9^th at 8pm ET/PT featuring the food of Las Vegas.   Sin City, unsurprisingly, embodies the extremes of how Americans experience food – from the Bellagio buffet that feeds 16,000 pastries and 2,500 lbs of fish to over 4,000 people daily to extravagant indulgences including a hamburger priced at $5,000.

What struck me most as I spoke to Andrew Zimmern (aside from his unflinching ability to describe eating a cow placenta in Seattle with the same normalcy as ordering a side salad) is his deep sense of purpose.  His mission is to open the hearts and minds of his audience to new ways of thinking around how we live and eat.

He often chooses locations that represent positive movements in communities.  For example, the Common Good City Farm teaches LeDroit Park residents, over a third of which are low-income, to grow healthy foods in an urban environment.  While in DC, he will also spend time with the Ethiopian and El Salvadorian communities, as well as explore how the federal government eats.

“Chef’s aren’t politicians, but they are leaders.  And, chefs with TV shows, especially popular ones, are given a gift of a platform.  And, those who do not use it for good are creating a disservice for society…if I’m not talking about [important] issues and not showing things like this community garden [in DC], it’s all meaningless.”

“We’ve made more strides to change the foundation of our food system in the last five years than in the last 50 years, however…three things we need to change are 1) to decentralize the food system…to produce more food locally, 2) “truth in labeling” on food products, menus and educate people about what they are eating, and 3) unfortunately, eating well in America is a class issue and we need to re-orient where we spend money on the state and federal level.”

Like his adventurous palate that takes us around the world to experience food in a way most of us wouldn’t dare, Zimmern’s statements above highlight a chef with a purpose that helps us reflect on the impact our appetites have on the society we are creating in this country.   All the best, Andrew – don’t ever stop challenging us to look at ourselves, and the world, differently.

– Guest Writer Yasmine (YSS)

Editors Note: Yasmine’s DCFüd articles are avilable here.

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Check out my friend Ami’s Costa Rica Tours and don’t forget to use the code “TOUCAN” to save money. He has some group tours that you can join, including an upcoming August tour.

-JAY