Los Angeles, CA–In  January of 2012, I had the good fortune to dine with Andrew Zimmern, host of The Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods. Zimmern was in Southern California to film an episode of his show and do a benefit for The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. He not only hosted the event, but also helped to cook and prepare a meal of bizarre dishes.

Zimmern’s take on California cuisine included sea urchin linguine with geoduck clam, three types of tongue, lamb testicles and a chocolate dessert with a surprise ingredient–pig’s blood. I had no problem devouring the meal, with the exception of the testicles, which were a bit chewy. (It’s hard to find good balls these days.)

The 150 diners were seated in time slots. I chose the latest time in hopes of scoring more face time with Zimmern . After completing his kitchen duties, Zimmern was able to join the remaining diners for conversation, pictures and autographs. As host of Bizarre Foods, he has traveled the world the past several years sampling everything from fruit bats to tuna sperm. According to Zimmern, he has never gotten sick from what he has eaten. “I always ask the locals about what’s good or eat the street food where I see a lot of people eating at,” he explained. He also advises that while traveling to visit a local market. “These places are like museum. You can learn so much about a culture and history of a people by the foods they eat.”

Some of Zimmern’s  favorite food destinations include: Singapore, Penang, Malaysia, Ecuador and East Africa. He insists that his show is not about shocking audiences by eating strange things. “It’s about having the courage to travel and be willing to experience new things,” he insisted.