There’s more to Andrew Zimmern than his penchant for feasting on fermented sheep’s head or bamboo rats. Yes, Zimmern has become famous for his “Bizarre Foods” Travel Channel program, which started airing in 2007. But his career has gone on to encompass a variety of pursuits, culinary and otherwise. He has been behind such series as “What’s Eating America” on MSNBC, “Family Dinner” on the Magnolia Network and “Andrew Zimmern’s Wild Game Kitchen” on the Outdoor Channel, and he’s a judge on “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend” on Netflix
NFLX,
+2.72%.
He is also the author of several books, including “Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World of Food: Brains, Bugs and Blood Sausage.” And he heads up his own media production company, Intuitive Content.
Oh, and if that’s not enough, he even has his own line of spices in partnership with the Badia Spices company. A New York City native and experienced chef who now calls Minneapolis home, Zimmern, 61 years old, hasn’t always had it so easy. In his younger days, he was an alcoholic and drug addict and was homeless for a period. He’s been sober for 30 years, but he still speaks candidly about the struggles he faced and the need for rethinking addiction treatment in America. MarketWatch recently caught up with Zimmern to talk about his life and career and some of the financial lessons he’s learned along the way. Here are edited and condensed excerpts from our conversation. MarketWatch: You’ve done a remarkable job of continuing to reinvent yourself and keep yourself out there after the big success of “Bizarre Foods.” How have you been able to maintain the momentum and figure out what projects to pursue as life goes on. Zimmern: Oh gosh. I think it’s more o …