Going 10 Rounds with Celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern

You recently paired with Kvarøy Arctic to create a Super Bowl salmon hot dog and salmon burger kit with a range of toppings. What will you be eating during the game? “I will be down in Tampa Bay for the game, so I am hoping for a killer fried fish sandwich and a root beer.”

Do you think you can convince folks to eat salmon instead pizza and wings during football games? “I hope so. I think people are stuck in a bit of a rut. You want the standards, but it’s high time to add some new items to the game-day buffet. Healthy, nutritious, sustainable foods are our responsibility to eat more of, and these recipes for Kvarøy salmon hot dogs and salmon burgers are nothing short of a game changer. They are delicious and your family will love them.”

Is it ever okay to put ketchup on a hot dog? “Yes! But you have to be 12 or under.”

Having grown up in Manhattan, do you think New York is still the hot dog capital of the U.S.? “It isn’t, sadly, for me. I found out over the last few decades [that] Chicago has eclipsed NYC for per capita hot dog shops and yearly consumption. I love Feltman’s Hot dogs and all the other NYC-born-and-bred classic hot dog brands. I love grabbing a Sabrett on the street, wolfing down a Gray’s Papaya back in the day—and ordering a kosher dog at Katz’s is still a thing for me. But demographically, Chicago is the biggest tube steak town in America.”

Kvarøy Arctic

What’s the ultimate Super Bowl snack? “I like making BBQ when I am at home. Staying up the night before, tending the fire, serving a whole BBQ brisket, ribs and a pile of stone crabs is the fancy ultimate. That being said, build a fire in the fireplace and roast hot dogs on sticks and serve them with all the fixings and I am a very happy guy.”

Guacamole or onion dip? “Do I have to choose? I am so avocado-ed to death, since I eat them for breakfast a lot. So I will go onion dip.”

Pretzels or chips? “Both. Don’t make me choose. Overall, I eat way more pretzels and different types of pretzels over the course of a year than I do chips.”

Now that you’re a proud Midwesterner, can you make a case for tater tots being part of the Super Bowl menu? “Every year! I make my tater tot hot dish and put that out on the buffet. My Bang Bang Tater Tots are spicy, salty, sour and sweet, and are one of my favorite recipes to make for game day.”

Is dessert part of your standard Super Bowl menu? “Has to be. Ice cream, lots of it in the freezer, preferably malted milk cups or other stadium-style treat. Or Jeni’s Ice Cream, which is my new obsession.”

Kvarøy Arctic

What special dish would you make if the Minnesota Vikings won the Super Bowl? “I would serve manna from heaven, because if that happened it would be the ultimate blessing! Well, let’s say I couldn’t wrangle that, I would serve a huge Scandinavian spread, lots of gravlax, Kvarøy salmon dogs and salmon burgers, grilled herring and mackerel, a huge roasted pair of caribou (reindeer) legs in the carving station served on soft rye buns with lingonberry sauce…We have to go full Viking for that party.”

Interview has been condensed and edited.