Andrew Zimmern

For you that don't know, I have a pretty interesting job. I work for an organization called FareStart. It's a job training program for primarily homeless men and women. FareStart provides them a place to stay, social services, life skills classes, and job training in a working professional kitchen. All so they can potentially get a job and get back onto their feet. Think of the old saying "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime". That's what FareStart does in a nutshell.

I'm lucky enough to get to work with the students everyday our restaurant and hopefully pass on some of my experience and knowledge to them. It's has to be the best job in the world (most days).

We had a guest come into work last week. You might have heard of him.

Andrew Zimmern has a show on the Travel Channel called Bizarre Foods. Andrew travels around the world exploring cultures and learning about the "weird and often disgusting (to us) shit" they eat. A couple of months ago, he heard about our program at the James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony where FareStart won the humanitarian award. He contacted us shortly afterward and wanted to film part of an episode at FareStart.

Andrew did a lot that day. He was giving FareStart even more exposure. He came to work with the students. He showed them how to prep and cook many things the students hadn't seen or eaten before. He signed autographs and took picture with everyone. However, he did something much more than that.
Andrew told the students of his own story. He told the students how he was once homeless in New York city. How he "is" (his own words) a drug addict and alcoholic. He inspired the students on a level that I've never seen the students inspired before. That's what he really did that day. It was amazing.

I thank him for that.

It was a good day.