Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
| Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Food/Travel |
| Starring | Andrew Zimmern |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 59 (as of February 1, 2011) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Colleen Steward |
| Editors | Troy Heller, Erik J. Fremstad |
| Running time | 43 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Travel Channel |
| Release | November 1, 2006 – Present |
Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern is a documentary-styled travel and cuisine program hosted by Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. The first season debuted on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 9pm ET/PT.
Bizarre Foods focuses on regional cuisine from around the world which is typically perceived by Americans as being gross, unique, or, of course, bizarre. In each episode, Zimmern focuses on the cuisine of a particular country or region. He typically shows how the food is procured, where it is served, and, usually without hesitation, eats it.
Originally a one-hour documentary titled Bizarre Foods of Asia, repeated showings on the Travel Channel drew consistent, considerable audiences. In late 2006, it was decided to turn the documentary into a weekly, one-hour show with the same premise and with Andrew Zimmern as the host. In 2009, Zimmern took a break from Bizarre Foods to work on one season of the spin-off Bizarre World; episodes of Bizarre Foods will return in January 2011.
Zimmern ends every episode with his motto: "If it looks good, eat it."
Episodes
Season 1
| # | Air date | Location | Notes/Featured Bizarre Foods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot (0) | November 1, 2006 | Asia | Pilot episode in Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Frog sashimi (plus the frog's beating heart), lizard sake, fugu, turtle, Kobe beef, bird's nest soup, frog ovary soup, spirulina, bat, Belacan, durian. |
| 1 (1) | February 26, 2007 | Philippines | Balut, Okoy (shrimp pancake), ube and cheese-flavor ice cream in a bun, water crickets, soup no. 5 (bull's rectum and testicles soup), coconut grubs, Betute Tugak (stuffed frog), mangrove worms. |
| 2 (2) | March 5, 2007 | Morocco | Lamb tongue and eye, cow’s heart, stuffed pancreas, cuttlefish, khlia (preserved meat in fat), poached calf’s brain, pigeon pie. |
| 3 (3) | March 12, 2007 | Ecuador | Guinea pig, empanada, cow's stomach, lining, and heart, lemon ants, piranha, coconut grubs, chicha.
Andrew participates in a cleansing ritual. |
| 4 (4) | March 19, 2007 | Spain | Cochinillo asado, baby eels, pig ears, bull testicles, deep-fried worms, horchata, rooster comb, pine and seaweed gelees. |
| 5 (5) | March 26, 2007 | Gulf Coast | Nutria, squirrel, Turducken, boudin, opossum, chitterlings, 33 oysters, alligator, grouper throat, flathead mullet, roe. |
| 6 (6) | April 2, 2007 | United Kingdom | Haggis, pheasant, cockles and whelks, laverbread, jugged hare, jellied eels, head cheese, ox heart and bone marrow, pie and mash, pigeon. |
| 7 (7) | July 9, 2007 | Trinidad and Tobago | Iguana, conch, souse, pig's feet, cow heel soup, callaloo, "Bake n' shark" sandwich, King mackerel sashimi. |
| 8 (8) | July 16, 2007 | Mexico | Oysters, Mussels, Octopus, grasshopper (chapulines), armadillo, tacos, jumiles, ant eggs (escamoles), maguey worms, mosquito eggs, chicken feet, red snapper (huachinango), corn smut (huitlacoche), mole and duck enchilada. |
| 9 (9) | July 23, 2007 | Alaska | Beluga and Bowhead whale muktuk (fermented blubber), spruce tea, Eskimo ice cream, whitefish, fermented fish heads, seal soup, walrus, jellied moose nose, reindeer pizza, ptarmigan.
Andrew goes on a sled dog tour. |
| 10 (10) | July 30, 2007 | Taiwan | Stinky tofu, unborn chicken eggs, cockscomb, chicken uterus, fermented meat, black-bone chicken testicles, fried bees. |
| 11 (11) | August 6, 2007 | New York City | Special episode with guest Anthony Bourdain.
Tongue sandwich, geoduck, live lobster, ceviche, pupusas, worm pretzels, maggot pupae, tarantula pops, teriyaki cockroaches, jellyfish salad, sea cucumber salad, goose intestine, frog congee, salo. |
| 12 (12) | August 13, 2007 | Vietnam | Cobra parts including beating heart and dried bones, civet dropping coffee, pig's ears, silk worms, scorpions, roasted sparrows, bull penis, horseshoe crab, hybrid duck, mantis prawn, ship worms, and sea snails.
Andrew also visits a fish sauce factory. |
| November 28, 2007 | Memorable Moments | Season 1 recap with some of its highlights, including lamb's head, guinea pig, roast pigeon, worms, grubs, armadillo, and stinky tofu. Also included were outtakes and unaired scenes. | |
| February 26, 2008 | Best Bites | Season 1 recap with some of its highlights, including balut, hen's uterus, grubs, conch, ptarmigan, jellied eels, nutria, octopus, and souse. Also included were unaired scenes and a preview of season 2. |
Season 2
| # | Air date | Location | Notes/Featured Bizarre Foods |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 (1) | March 4, 2008 | Beijing, China | Cicada, seahorse, sea urchin, donkey rib and tail stew and skin, dried tree lizard, sea cucumber, camel paw, pig stomach, dao jiao, snake penis, fried deer penis, yak penis, whelk over dry ice. |
| 16 (2) | March 11, 2008 | Iceland | Hákarl, grilled puffin, slátur (a type of blood pudding) skyr, lamb hot dog, geothermal cooking: langoustine, minke whale (not shown on Iceland episode but shown during the 3/3/09 "Surf's Up" episode). |
| 17 (3) | March 18, 2008 | St. Petersburg (Russia) | Vobla, borscht, cow's tongue, kvas, herring blini, salo, pickled lamprey, brown bear meat, caviar, shashlik. |
| 18 (4) | March 25, 2008 | Minnesota | Pig's foot, lutefisk, reuben on a stick, spaghetti and meatballs on a stick, gator on a stick, teriyaki ostrich on a stick, wild boar's liver, brain, and testicles, venison, sauerkraut pie, deep fried chicken gizzard, goober burger (with peanut butter and mayonnaise), herring roe. |
| 19 (5) | April 1, 2008 | Bolivia | Lamb kidneys, tripe, bull penis soup, all-organ dish, llama brain and tongue, carpaccio, pickled pig's feet, lamb jerky, chitterlings, mocochinchi (peach juice with cinnamon), llama jerky, chuño, mangosteen, armadillo, feral pig, quinoa, Titicaca Orestias. |
| 20 (6) | April 8, 2008 | Chile | Abalone, Pacific razor clams, cow udder, braided intestines, blood sausage, lúcuma juice, donkey milk, cow's butt sandwich, barnacles, mussels, seaweed, horse, conger eel, live sea squirt, fresh bull testicle and scrotum stew, lamb's blood pudding. |
| 21 (7) | April 15, 2008 | Guangzhou, China | Grilled squid, dim sum with chicken feet, stuffed duck's feet, stir-fried milk with shrimp, turtle soup, pigeon, scorpion, suckling pig, jellyfish salad, worm and hairy crab roe omelet, wood ear, frog legs, 60 meter long noodle, stinkhorn, hairy gourd, starfish being used for decoration. |
| 22 (8) | April 29, 2008 | Delhi, India | Pomfret, lentil, brain curry, mutton liver and kidney stew, tandoori roti, goat and lamb testicles, paneer, boiled banana flower, banana plant stem, fruit sandwich, pani puri, lassi, mutton balls, gushtaba, chapati. |
Season 3
| # | Air date | Location | Notes/Featured Bizarre Foods |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 (1) | September 9, 2008 | Phuket, Thailand | Fried grasshoppers, pork liver and beef stomach & intestine soups, coconut balls, stretched squid, stuffed mackerel, wasp larvae, stir-fried stingray, mole crabs, wasabi-, chili-, and tom yum-flavored cashews and cashew apple juice at a cashew factory, red weaver ants, forest lizards, fish stomach sauce, deep-fried fish skin, horseshoe crab, sea whelk. |
| 24 (2) | September 16, 2008 | Sicily | Cow stomach soup, mystery meat soup, beef spleen sandwich, sardine meatballs, gourmet cow's mouth, Cerda Artichoke festival: fried, roasted, marinated, and frittata artichoke, and artichoke gelato on a bun, chocolate rabbit, cinnamon pudding, bottarga, tuna heart and sperm, cuttlefish eggs and pasta with ink, sea snails. |
| 25 (3) | September 23, 2008 | Goa, India | Bora berry, chouricos (spicy pig offal and fat sausage), pickled mackerel, Vindaloo, hilsa fish roe, Bombay Duck, chicken Xacuti, pomfret, prawns, chickpea sandwich, golgappa (chickpea-stuffed pastries), chili fritters, betel nuts, sorpotel, mushroom and lentil curry, potatoes and rice in sour mango sauce cow urine herb drink
Andrew visits the Sahakari Spice Farm and tries Ayurveda and yoga. |
| 26 (4) | September 30, 2008 | Samoa | Samoan apple, se'a (sea cucumber intestines), pork pies, mutton, umu-cooked eel, whole pig cooked in 'umu oven, raw tuna eyeballs and still-beating heart, giant clam, roasted tree grubs, fruit bat roasted on coconut husks. |
| 27 (5) | October 7, 2008 | Paris | Terrine, head cheese, lardo, pressed duck with duck sauce and marrow, blood sausage, squab, gourmet mustard, truffles, refined cheese, rabbit liver, bacon and eggs ice cream, lamb tongues, sea urchin, snail caviar, escargot.
Andrew visited the Rungis market, a mustard shop, Paris's best cheese shop, and a snail farm. |
| 28 (6) | October 14, 2008 | Los Angeles | Head cheese, slow-cooked piglet in goose fat, pig ears, tongue salad, and eyeballs, scorpions on toast, South American ants on string potatoes, crickets, worms, shot of wheat grass and barley, "rawsagna" with ground sunflower seeds, flax, cherry tomatoes, and dates, hemp-sunburger on flax flatbread, coconut-durian smoothie, soondae, hot dog burrito, cow's tongue sandwich from the taco truck, monkfish with caviar, sea urchin roe, Santa Barbara shrimp saashimi, octopus tirodido, menudo, corn smut, nopal salad, grasshoppers, whole catfish, deep-fried chicken testicles, Peking duck, cockscombs.
Andrew went to a vegan supper and a Hispanic family's feast. Featuring special guest chefs Wolfgang Puck, Ben Ford and Ani Phyo and Los Angeles food blogger Eddie Lin [1]. |
| 29 (7) | October 21, 2008 | Halloween (Special) | This special discussed unfamiliar foods that are considered scary and what made Westerners uneasy about them. Andrew then hosted a Halloween party with Bizarre Foods fans where he served his favorite fares. He discussed drinking blood with food historian and author Linda Civitello, which is based on culture and status. Anthropology director at the University of Minnesota William Beeman explained about fear of bugs and organ meat, saying that people are more likely to eat insects with a side. Chef Patrick Lue Chai, whose restaurant Andrew ate at in LA, cooked fried crickets with potato strings as well as other insects for the party. Appetizers at Andrew's feast were tarantula, waterbugs, grasshoppers, hissing cockroaches, and Thai stir-fried ants and crickts. The entrees were fresh cow's blood, raw goat kidney, chicken feet, and guinea pig. |
| 30 (8) | October 28, 2008 | Hawaii | Imu-cooked kalua pig, poi, a'ama crab, he'e luau (octopus w/ taro leaves), bonefish, Spam musubi, Pineapple upside-down cake with Spam, guava-glazed Spam, tempura Spam, Na'au (wild boar offal and blood), ono with lavender sauce, lamb with lavender salt and pepper, goat with Maui onion and chilipeppers, Hawaiian fusion - natto, clams, wasabi, and soy, local escargot, caviar, seaweed, goat stew with intestines and bile, opihi. |
| 31 (9) | November 11, 2008 | Ethiopia | Fermented Enset fiber pancakes and porridge, raw sauted beef, ibe cheese, unfiltered honey, berbere, goat organs in ox intestines, crepe with chicken and onion, coffee, sorghum popcorn, fresh raw beef and camel kidney.
In Addis Ababa Andrew shopped at Africa's largest market and in Harar he fed meat to wild hyenas. |
| 32 (10) | November 18, 2008 | Maine | Flounder roe soup with seaweed, sea cucumber, fiddleheads, beaver chili, bean-hole beans, wild ramps, stinging nettle soup, Indian cucumber, cattail, raw lobster, whelks, cod sperm chowder, monkfish head stew, BBQ junebugs, oysters with ramps, snails with periwinkle and beurre, moose and venisen terrine, duck tartare.
Andrew went lobster fishing with Linda Greenlaw and judged a Deathmatch Maine Bizarre Foods contest with his father, a native of Portland. |
| 33 (11) | November 25, 2008 | Happy Holidays (Special) | Braised dried oysters with black hair moss, English goose, pig's feet and lentils, snot (sweet potato starch), cow cod soup, rabbit and wheatberries, Swedish meatballs, cuttlefish eggs, pork intestine soup with red dates, tobacco-wrapped cheese, porcupine stuffed with potatoes and bacon, sweet noodle kugel, spritz cookies, sweet fish-shaped cake.
Andrew hosted a holiday pitch-in party with chefs and friends he made around the world. It was at a historic mansion in Minneapolis and the food was cooked at the Calhoun Beach Club. |
| 34 (12) | December 2, 2008 | Uganda | Lungfish, white ants lured by drumming, matoke (steamed green "bananas"), braised goat with peanut and sesame sauce, grasshopper, squirrel, millet bread, goat stomach lining and intestines, Nile perch, rotten goat meat from a Ugandan drive-through, roasted corn, mixed grill (intestine-encased organs), cane rat with tilapia from Lake Victoria and raw Nile crocodile.
Andrew takes part in a spiritual possession ceremony while in one village. |
| 35 (13) | December 9, 2008 | Japan | River eels, sea squirts, stonefish liver, Bluefin Tuna eyeballs, mayonnaise fondue and milkshake, octopus egg sac, sea cucumber egg jerky, turtle blood sake, octopus ice cream, pit viper ice cream, beef tongue ice cream, horumon, takoyaki, raw horse mane, funazushi, squid ink soup, stewed tuna eyes in mirin, giant sea snail, sea snake soup (smelling sea snake anus in the market), raw goat testicles with scrotum. |
| 36 (14) | February 10, 2009 | Sexy food | This episode was a Valentine's Day special. It was a compilation episode about the cultural connections between food and sex, featuring foods that are supposed to be aphrodisiacs or are made of sexual organs of animals. Andrew visited the Mall of America where he gave out samples of bull testicles to see people's reactions and if they would eat it when told it would help their sex life. Author and food historian Linda Civitello talked about the history of eating reproductive organs. At the Midtown Global Market Andrew interviewed people about foods that were aphrodisiacs, including chocolate and oysters. He handed out chocolate-covered meal worms and crickets that tricked people into thinking they were pretzels. At the end Andrew and some others ate sushi off a naked woman, a practice called nyotai mori. |
| 37 (15) | March 3, 2009 | Surf It Up | Compilation episode |
Season 4
| # | Air date | Location | Notes/Featured Bizarre Foods |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 (1) | April 14, 2009 | Tanzania | Andrew samples the traditional Tanzanian breakfast called supu, soup made with goat lungs, heart and liver, as well as cow stomach, intestines and tongue. Andrew also travels to the famous Mount Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro Crater. Visiting a local tribe, Andrew tries such delectables as fresh cow's blood and the coagulated form of it. The blood is obtained by shooting an arrow at close distance into the jugular vein, however, the wound heals quickly and the cow is not harmed. |
| 39 (2) | April 21, 2009 | Seoul, South Korea | Andrew feasts on the country's most authentic soups, barbecues and fermented foods. Andrew's Asian adventure goes beyond eating when he makes his first batch of fresh kimchi. He eats raw octopus (Sannakji), (Chueotang)Samgyupsal, Tteokbokki, Soondae, Haejangguk |
| 40 (3) | April 28, 2009 | The Outback | Andrew heads into the Australian Outback where he eats wallaby with Aborigines, samples crocodile cooked on the barbie and makes a meal out of poisonous cane toads. |
| 41 (4) | May 5, 2009 | Appalachia | Andrew heads to the Appalachian Mountains to get a taste of the region’s culture and its food. The mountain range runs north to south touching more than a dozen states, and many of the people in the area still maintain the traditions and foods that were a part of life for their ancestors. |
| 42 (5) | May 12, 2009 | Eastern Australia | Andrew goes snorkeling, spear fishing and visits a farm where they pamper their cattle. He makes a stop at the Sydney Fish Market where he samples bizarre food he's never tasted before, including Moreton Bay bug, Balmain bug, flathead fish and spanner crabs. |
| 43 (6) | May 19, 2009 | Singapore | Andrew heads to Singapore to experience the diversity of food and culture. The melting pot is seen everywhere, including the Hawker Stalls where Andrew samples tasty treats. |
| 44 (7) | May 26, 2009 | Texas | Andrew Zimmern samples some of the most outrageous food creations at the Texas State Fair, including nitrogen frozen dessert, chocolate bacon and fried alligator. Andrew also gets a behind-the-scenes tour of the kitchens at NASA to taste space food. A fried Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Banana sandwich, Fried Coke, Javalina, barbacoa, sweetbreads, cabrito |
| 45 (8) | June 2, 2009 | Nicaragua | Andrew visits Nicaragua, "the land of lakes and volcanoes," tasting everything from juicy cheese worms to bull balls soup and raw bull balls ceviche. He visits a bush doctor in the Atlantic port town of Bluefields, eats a family rondon stew, and treks up into the Matagalpa highlands for some “black gold” where he learns how to do “the slurp” with master coffee cupper Julio Obregón. |
| 46 (9) | June 9, 2009 | Puerto Rico | Andrew travels to Puerto Rico where the flavors of the food tell the history of the island, from the deep-fried treats brought in by Africans to the roasted pork made popular by the Spanish. Andrew tries a variety of traditional foods, including a stew made with different parts of a pig. |
| 47 (10) | June 16, 2009 | Survival Special | Andrew is dropped in the jungles of Mexico, where he learns how to live off the land. It’s a journey where his stomach, mind and body are tested. Andrew takes extreme to a new level, surviving with only a handful of helpful tools or objects and eating only foods he can forage in the woods. |
Season 5
| # | Air date | Location | Notes/Featured Bizarre Foods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 48 (1) | April 26, 2010 | Thailand (Isan region) | Andrew goes to a roadside Farmers' market near Udon Thani. He mentions a personal rule that he must try something twice. He then visits a couple of farming families/villages, the annual winter fair in the city of Udon Thani, and lastly a silk village.
Detailed list of bizarre items and Andrew’s Description and/or Reactions of them
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| 49 (2) | May 3, 2010 | Cambodia | Andrew goes to a Skuon, Phnom Penh, Sisophon, Battambang, and the Tonlé Sap region (Chong Khneas floating village), visiting markets, street vendors, cities, bat caves, and Angkor
Detailed list of bizarre items and Andrew’s Description and/or Reactions of them
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| 50 (3) | May 10, 2010 | Mongolia | Andrew visits a meat market and the central market in Ulaanbaatar, a nomadic family living in Gers in the steppe on the edge of the Gobi Desert, rides a horse with help from an amateur child racer, takes an archery lesson, a throat singing lesson, and meets some contortionists.
Detailed list of bizarre items and Andrew’s Description and/or Reactions of them
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| 51 (4) | May 17, 2010 | Arizona | Andrew goes to Monument Valley and visits a Navajo family, the Phoenix/Tucson corridor, South Tucson, learns to build a deadfall trap in the desert of Northern Arizona, goes on a machine gun adventure in Scottsdale, visits the Arizona State Fair, and Sedona.
Detailed list of bizarre items and Andrew’s Description and/or Reactions of them
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| 52 (5) | A Kid's Guide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 53 (6) | Tokyo | Andrew goes to the biggest fish market in Tokyo, visits a Tokyo Tuna restaurant, Horamon restaurant, Visits Alcatraz ER: theme restaurant, Visits the home of Dr. Nakamats, watches sumo wrestlers in a stable | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 54 (7) | Bangkok | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 55 (8) | Baja, Mexico | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 56 (9) | Buenos Aires |
Season 6
| # | Air date | Location | Notes/Featured Bizarre Foods |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57 (1) | January 18, 2011 | Syria | Andrew visits the Umayyad Mosque in the Old City of Damascus, the ancient Roman city of Palmyra, a Bedouin tent in the desert, Aleppo, then goes back to the New City of Damascus. In Damascus he eats fresh camel after slaughter, shawarma, and Syrian ice cream and cheese. In Aleppo he tries ful, pistachio candy, Arabic bread, and camel hump sausage. He also eats roast goat with a Bedouin family. |
| 58 (2) | January 25, 2011 | Pennsylvania | Andrew makes some kielbasa and tries cheesesteak and fugu in Philadelphia. In White Haven he has scrapple at the Redneck Ranch and eats snapping turtle soup in Drums. |
| 59 (3) | February 1, 2011 | Venice | Andrew tries out glassblowing on Murano and fishing in the Venetian Lagoon. Here he eats calves' liver, snails, cuttlefish in ink, beef carpaccio, salt cod, fresh crayfish, and donkey salami. |
| 60 (4) | February 8, 2011 | Madagascar | |
| 61 (5) | February 15, 2011 | Chicago | Andrew visits the Vienna Beef factory, visits a hot dog restaurant, tries molecular gastronomy at Alinea with Grant Achatz and candied delicacies at Graham Elliot's restaurant. Rick Bayless inroduces Andrew to his Mexican food and local street food. After a meat-butchering demonstration, he tries pork jowl and kidney. In Albany Park he takes a world tour of cuisine, including Korean fermented cabbage tacos and Iraqi pacha. |
| 62 (6) | February 23, 2011 | Namibia | |
| 63 (7) | March 1, 2011 | San Francisco | |
| 64 (8) | March 8, 2011 | Greece |
Media
A DVD set (2 discs) called Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern: Collection 1 was released on January 8, 2008. It includes the following episodes:
- Morocco
- Spain
- Philippines
- Ecuador
- New York City
- United Kingdom
- America's Gulf Coast
- Mexico
A second DVD set (2 discs) called Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern: Collection 2 is was released on October 7, 2008. It includes the following episodes:
- Best Bites
- Iceland
- St. Petersburg
- Minnesota
- Guangzhou, China
- Beijing, China
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Delhi, India
