Next on Andrew Zimmern's plate? Possibly politics

[February 24, 2012]  MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Andrew Zimmern already knows what he wants for the final course in a career built on a penchant for chowing unusual foods -- a helping of politics.

"I'm going to run for public office in Minnesota," Zimmern, star of Travel Channel's "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern," said during an interview Thursday at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. "What level? I don't know. But I don't want to be a celebrity governor or anything like that."

Minnesota has already had one of those -- former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, who took office in the late 1990s. And of course there's also Sen. Al Franken, a former star on "Saturday Night Live" who was sworn in as one of the state's U.S. senator in 2009.

Zimmern says that when his career in food is over, he might run for city council or some other local position. Whatever it is, he wants it to be a way for him to give back.

"I want to help people," he said. "You have to do something for other people while on this earth."

[Associated Press; By J.M. HIRSCH]

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