Zimmern was born and raised in New York City to a Jewish family. He began his formal culinary training at the age of 14. He attended the Dalton School and graduated from Vassar College. Contributing to many of New York’s finest restaurants as either executive chef or general manager, he has also lectured on restaurant management and design at The New School for Social Research.

Due to a severe drug and alcohol addiction, Zimmern was homeless for about one year. During this period, he survived by stealing purses from cafes and selling the contents. In 1992, Zimmern moved to Minnesota, where he checked into the Hazelden Treatment Center for drug and alcohol addiction treatment, where he now volunteers.. He later gained wide acclaim as the executive chef of Cafe Un Deux Trois in Minneapolis. His menus received the highest ratings from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Monthly, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, as well as national publications. Zimmern left the daily restaurant operations in 1997.

Zimmern resides in Edina, Minnesota with his wife and their son, Noah.

Zimmern is a contributing editor and award-winning monthly columnist at Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine and a senior editor at Delta Sky Magazine. As a freelance journalist, his work has appeared in numerous national and international publications. Zimmern has served as SuperTarget's meal adventure guide, sharing his passion for ethnic foods with supermarket customers around the country. He is the international spokesman for Travel Leaders and Elite Destination Homes. Andrew is also the author of The Bizarre Truth, published by Broadway Books/Random House and has several books slated for release in the coming year.

Prior to Bizarre Foods, Zimmern had an extensive radio career. His shows Chowhounds, The Andrew Zimmern Show, and Food Court with Andrew Zimmern achieved wide popularity in the Twin Cities.

Additionally, Zimmern was the food features reporter for Fox 9 News Minneapolis, and was also a featured contributor on both HGTV's Rebecca's Garden and Tip-ical Mary Ellen, where he handled on air food duties for both shows. He was the food and lifestyle features reporter during the 1997 season of the UPN network's nationally televised Everyday Living.

Zimmern has been a guest chef at many national charity events, food festivals, and galas, including Food and Wine Magazine’s Aspen Festival, The Twin Cities Food and Wine Experience, and the James Beard House in New York City. He has appeared on The Food Network's Best Of..., CNN's Money and Health and NBC's Today Show. He also starred in The Cooking Club of America's instructional video series.

Zimmern regularly speaks to professional associations around the globe on all culinary matters, from the American Federation of Chefs to the Chinese Chefs National Committee. In the fall of 2002, he was an honored guest of the People’s Republic of China, traveling, lecturing, and giving demonstrations on Chinese cuisine.

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern premiered on the Travel Channel with a pilot episode on November 1, 2006. The show has been on for five seasons and over 50 episodes, with Zimmern visiting 32 countries and 14 states. Bizarre Foods also took home two CableFax awards in 2009, one for Best Television Program: Food, another for Best Online Extras for Andrew’s web series Bizarre Foods in the Kitchen.

In 2009, Zimmern hosted a spin-off of Bizarre Foods called Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World. A pilot and nine episodes were produced in eight countries and two states.

Zimmern guest starred in a 2007 episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain in New York City; Bourdain did the same on Bizarre Foods. He also appeared in a 2009 episode of Man v. Food with Adam Richman in Minneapolis where he introduced Richman to lutefisk.

In May 2010, Zimmern won the James Beard Award for Outstanding TV Food Personality. His online series, Toyota’s Appetite for Life, won an Effie Award in 2010.