Zimmern: Travel Channel Show "Needed to Be Fed, Not Starved"

Andrew Zimmern loved the chance to talk on his WFMP radio show about subjects other than food, but in the end, his burgeoning success at the Travel Channel forced him to give it up, he said in an interview Thursday.
When the radio show launched on 107.1 FM four months ago, he said, “the Travel Channel thing [“Bizarre Foods”]was still fresh, I didn’t know whether the show would do well or even have a second season.”
However, Travel Channel now wants him to expand the “Bizarre Foods” concept and also “get me involved in new projects,” which he said he couldn’t discuss at present.
“Because of the success of [“Bizarre Foods”], it needed to be fed, not starved and it put me in a Catch 22 in terms of giving up what I really loved [being on the radio],” Zimmern said. “It’s not something I’m necessarily happy about. I held on to everything as long as I could.”
Zimmern, who says he’s now out of town “about two-fifths of the year” with his cable show, plans to continue on at 107 as a contributor “or a recurring guest” and will also continue his affiliation with Minneapolis/St.Paul magazine.
His weekend show, “Food Court,” will run until the end of October.