Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern is headed to Atlanta this week.
The four-time James Beard award-winning chef, host of Travel Channel's 'Bizarre Foods,' and Food Network star will appear Dec. 5 at The Works in the Upper Westside as part of fundraising efforts for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.
The event will see Zimmern in conversation with Atlanta chef Todd Ginsberg, discussing how Jewish influences, overcoming adversity and philanthropy have guided Zimmern’s career.
“I fell in love with my grandmother’s kitchen,” said Zimmern, who was born and raised in New York in a Jewish family. “The center of her apron looked like a brown frisbee of chicken fat and roasted meat juices. She smelled like Sunday supper all the time. That got me hooked. The happiness at her table is something I longed to recreate.”
Ticketholders to the event can also expect Zimmern to speak about the challenges he’s faced throughout his life, including his parents’ divorce, their deaths, and a battle with alcohol and drug addition that led to a year of living homeless on the streets of New York.
“I should have been dead a long time ago. I’m not,” said Zimmern, now 28 years sober. “I think I have a lot to offer people in how to approach not only surviving the slings and arrows that life throws at us, but how to thrive under those circumstances. You have a choice.”
Zimmern noted that his personal experiences in overcoming adversity are one reason why he has become heavily involved in humanitarian efforts, including with Taste of the NFL, Project Explorer, International Rescue Committee, Electrify Africa and World Central Kitchen.
His interview with Ginsberg will take place at The Works, an 80-acre overhaul of several warehouses in a former industrial strip in northwest Atlanta. Among plans for the mixed-use space is a 16,000 square-foot boutique food market called Chattahoochee Food Works.
Earlier this year, Zimmern was tapped by real estate developer Selig Enterprises to help curate the lineup of vendors. Zimmern is serving as culinary advisor to Robert Montwaid, creator of New York's Gansevoort Market. The pair previously collaborated on The Dayton's Food Hall and Market in downtown Minneapolis.
Chattahoochee Food Works is slated to open in early 2020 but vendors have yet to be announced.
Zimmern stated that he is “interested in seeking out people who have otherwise been excluded or need the opportunity. I don’t want the chain taco place. I want the young, spirited entrepreneur who is first-generation or recent arrival to this country who is looking for a place to succeed,” he said. “I’m excited to present a diverse group of culinarians to that project. I think food halls can be business incubators.”
In addition to Chattahoochee Food Works, The Works will also be home to locations of Scofflaw Brewing Co. and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q.
A representative for Selig declined to comment on updates to the food hall vendor list.
EVENT DETAILS
6:30 p.m. Dec. 5. $54. The Works. 1235 Chattahoochee Ave. NW, Atlanta. Purchase tickets online in advance. Walk-ins not permitted.
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