Hey, Andrew, can we get a gig like yours? Maybe not, but we can at least we can cook like him! (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for NYCWFF, Amazon)
For nearly two decades, Andrew Zimmern has had the coolest job on TV. Do you know anyone else who has traveled the globe tasting everything from smørrebrød in Denmark to deep-fried tarantulas in Cambodia to coal-roasted desert porcupine in Botswana all in the name of work? His show Bizarre Foods and its spinoffs, which aired from 2006 to 2021, not only made him a household name but one of the most adventurous eaters in the world.
These days, the Minneapolis chef and author sticks a little closer to home. His three most recent series, Family Dinner, Wild Game Kitchen and Field to Fire all take place in the United States — though he still likes to eat and cook the unexpected (just check out his recipe for wild hog vindaloo).
Unsurprisingly, Andrew stocks his kitchen with more than just the basics. Many of his must-haves were inspired by his travels, and he even created a line of handmade wooden cooking utensils based on tools he collected on the road.
How else does the star outfit his own kitchen? Read on for Andrew's most-prized finds — and discover what he's shopping for now.
Though he certainly has a ton of favorites (like many chefs, Andrew loves his Shun chef's knife and a fish spatula), his top pick is this handy zester. "Has any tool been as transformative for the home cook as the Microplane?" he asks. "Grating cheese, zesting citrus, curling or grating chocolate, liquidizing garlic, grating nutmeg ... a set of these graters is used every day in my house. They define the phrase 'go-to.'"
Sunny may be a professional chef, but she loves a good dinner hack just like the rest of us. "My most-used pantry item has to be pouches of flavored beans or rice of all kinds that you can microwave, and in 60 to 90 seconds be on your way to an easy side dish," she says.
"I discovered these shortcuts during 2020 when I moved most of my shopping online. Before, when I grocery shopped in person, nine times out of 10 I would get exactly what I needed and it would take effort to slowly scan each aisle for new products. But going online and typing in a keyword gives you so many options and can open your eyes to things you walked right by in the store."
She'll eat these microwaveable pouches of beans as is, or she'll mix in other ingredients like sausage or roasted vegetables. It doesn't get easier!
"Dressings, pesto, pie crust, the possibilities are endless!" says Babs. She loves how this model comes with attachments for shredding and slicing, "which makes everything quicker. It might just be on par with a stand mixer in terms of versatility!"
"I measure everything! Eyeballing is great for cooking, but when it comes to baking, that is strictly a science," Babs says. "All of my dry ingredients get weighed, and it makes a huge difference in the quality of the dish." (Again, she didn't pick a specific brand, but this Greater Goods scale gets an impressive 3,500 five-star reviews.)
"A stand mixer is an appliance that's too heavy to put away, but luckily it looks great on your counter," says Babs. She loves this one for its many attachments. "It's useful for so much more than just dessert. Shredding chicken, kneading dough, you name it! It's a workhorse and I don't know what I would do without it."
Okay, technically this behemoth of a grill lives outside his house, not in the kitchen, but it's one of Andrew's most-prized possessions. Made in Argentina from iron and wood, it's designed for open-fire cooking.
"It’s my baby!!" he says. "A very loving friend gifted it to me for my 30th sobriety anniversary and 60th birthday since they were in the same year. And it changed my outdoor cooking life for the better."
What's Andrew currently shopping for? An espresso machine. "I have one at work that I love and the old one I had at home just died," he says. "I love the selection at Seattle Coffee Gear and am looking at a DeLonghi, but I really love the Lelit Mara X model."
