Most of us are familiar with the awards boss and TV creator Andrew Zimmern thanks to his always enlightening and sometimes terrifying show Strange foodsin which he traveled the world eating cuisines that might be described as strange to the American palette—rotting shark meat in Iceland, tarantulas in Cambodia, that sort of thing.
And while the show sank its teeth into these sometimes shocking dishes, what really interested Zimmern were the people and cultures that surrounded them. His open and curious outlook led him to become a Global Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Program and, most recently, led him to team up with legendary producer David E. Kelley to create the three-part documentary Hope in the waterwhich explores innovative blue food technologies that can not only help feed the world, but also save threatened species of sea creatures and the water in which they live.
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I spoke with the four-time James Beard and Emmy winner about the series, which is currently available to stream on PBS, to find out what drives his passion to create and what small actions we can all take in our daily life. that will make a huge difference to our health and the health of our planet.
How did this project come about? What inspired you to want to achieve it?
Well, I've been aware of seafood, aware of climate and aware of canning since I was a little kid. I grew up spending summers and weekends on the water on Long Island. And my mother was a very early conservationist and wildlife activist. Her work brought her into contact with many people who made their living on the water. When I was a kid, we'd go down to the beach at 5:30 in the morning and see these giant 40-foot boats waiting in the waves, rowed by 10 fishermen heading out to set their nets. My mother told me that one day, and that day would come very soon, this way of life would disappear due to commercial fishing efforts. And she was right. The way of going to sea to earn a living, which had happened for thousands and thousands of years, was changing before our eyes.
Why was this so influential for you in your life as a professional chef?
When you go into kitchens and manage people in kitchens, you're dealing with climate issues, scarcity issues, food costs, hunger, food waste, immigration reform, health care, gender equity, and pay equity. I mean, you can't manage any aspect of a restaurant and not be aware of all of this. As I began to educate myself more about the dire health, cultural and economic effects of pollution and poor fishing practices, I realized that there was a huge opportunity in aquaculture. Jennifer Bushman, who would go on to co-found Powered by Blue, David E. Kelly and I started doing panels together at South by Southwest about it, and one day we all looked at each other and said, “Why don't we make a TV documentary about this?” We got off to a late start due to Covid, but finally after three years of filming on five different continents, my production company, Intuitive contentreleased the series that I am extremely proud of.
What was your approach to the story?
You know, I think everyone is pretty sick and tired of watching a scientist in a lab coat lecture us about the climate crisis. So I think having solution-oriented storytellers, who are actually the people who build the solutions in the water itself, is how you reach the audience. We have no hosts. We have these incredible explorers, talents like Shailene Woodley, Martha StewartJosé Andrés and Baratunde Thurston, who are sort of avatars for the audience asking questions as the stories progress.
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What unique challenges did shooting on and in the water present for you?
In the first episode, we documented a pretty intense storm that the crew went through and lost tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. And it happens sometimes. But the biggest challenge was trying to figure out which of the 300 stories we had on our boards in the office would make it to the show. What will move the needle? What is the best variety of stories? What great stories will be killed because we just don't have time for everything? This was definitely the biggest challenge. Knock on wood, we may do more episodes in future seasons.
Was there a standout story that really blew you away?
There are so many, but we have an amazing segment about two villagers on the Scottish island of Arran that I just love. They are these guys who are diving just for fun, not activists. But they saw firsthand how overfishing was killing wildlife and, in turn, would kill their community. So they fought to create the only no-go zone in the country – a closed fishing zone – and now it's back. And they gave us a ton of footage that they shot documenting the transformation, it's really incredible.
What do you hope that viewers of the series take action from?
The most difficult thing about many of these issues is that they are very difficult for people to digest. It can be overwhelming. They don't know what to do next. So here's something everyone can do: When it comes to seafood or anything you eat, you can simply ask where something is from and make sure it's sustainable. If the restaurant or market can't tell you where it's from, don't buy it. It really is that simple. I don't know how to save planet Earth, but I do know how to put healthier, more sustainable choices on my table for my family.