How do you think Vikings fans would like uncurdled tofu soup? Fried caiman tail? A frog smoothie?
We’ll probably never find out, but a man who will soon sample those items on television has a hand in planning the food offerings at the football team’s temporary and future homes.
Chef and Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern tells the Business Journal he’s working with Aramark, the company that won the contract to provide concessions at the Vikings new stadium. They’re also handling the food at TCF Bank Stadium, where the Vikings will play for two seasons during construction of their new Minneapolis home.
The Business Journal says Zimmern will bring to the Vikings the concept he uses with AZ Canteen, his food truck venture.
Zimmern, Aramark, and the Vikings all say details won’t be released until a formal announcement is ready. But in letting the frog out of the bag Zimmern described his role as extensive.
“I am curating a special food court for them and will have a hand servicing the suites as well,” Zimmern told the Journal. “This new stadium will have incredible culinary heft, designed from ground up to provide a food experience that will best anything existing anywhere in North America.”
The Vikings issued a brief statement confirming Zimmern’s involvement and promising more information later.
Zimmern, who lives in the Twin Cities, is perhaps best known for introducing viewers to unconventional delicacies on his Travel Channel television show. On Monday Bizarre Foods kicks off its sixth season, which will take Zimmern to destinations including Alaska, the Florida Keys, and Cartagena, Colombia.
Along the way he’ll reportedly sample the aforementioned soup, tail, and smoothie as well as a little rattlesnake paella and some barbecued iguana legs.
We’re guessing Vikings fans will see a somewhat less adventurous menu but one never knows.
Whatever Zimmern cooks up may be served at pigskin palaces around the country. The Business Journal says Philadelphia-based Aramark has operations at 13 other NFL venues and at a number of college stadiums, baseball parks, and arenas. Zimmern tells the Journal he’s working with Aramark on “a whole slew of concepts.”
