Clowning around in the kitchen with Todd Zimmerman, the Orlando-based winner of Food Network’s ‘Worst Cooks in America’

Todd Zimmerman Credit: courtesy of Food Network

In the magical world of Orlando’s attractions, even a humble rat can become a renowned chef — but can a circus clown? Todd Zimmerman studied at the legendary Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, then toured with their circus for a decade before settling in Central Florida and establishing Odd-O-Ts’ Entertainment (oddots.com) with his wife, Timea.

Today, Zimmerman calls himself their company’s “Big Guy” and “Creative Consultant Extraordinaire,” producing and directing a variety of acts — from Gromalot Theatre Factory’s family-friendly Fringe favorites to “living statues” and boundary-pushing skits for major theme parks — but he recently took on an unexpected additional title: Season 29 champion of Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America. I interviewed Zimmerman about his diverse career.

When did your interest in clowning begin?

My mother used me as a prop on stage at about nine and a half months old, and I don’t remember but from all reports, I stole the show. And I’ve been searching out the applause since then, so that’s where the performing bug started.

To join the circus was my father’s passion, [and] throughout our lives growing up, he would take us to the Ringling show every time it came into town. When I got of college age and found out that they had a clown college, that love had a direction to channel it into a career.

Why leave the circus to settle in Orlando?

We both decided we wanted to know where the grocery stores were, so it was time to stop the full-time tour. Orlando was the decided home because we had been doing family entertainment for 10 years, and the home of family entertainment in the United States [is] Orlando. That’s what drew us into the area; the theme parks and the incredible art scene and everything else. It felt like it was the place to be.

How did you come to be cast on Worst Cooks in America?

A friend tagged me in a casting on social media looking for clowns, and I submitted my clown headshot, not knowing what it was for. It literally was one of those random castings. So I submitted the headshot, and I got a call within about an hour going, “Hey, we love this, let’s set up a meeting with the producers.”

The first meeting, I still had no idea what I was interviewing for. I think at first, they just wanted to see if you’re not a crazy person, [or] the kind of crazy person they want. The joy of this particular show, and what spurred me to continue to talk to them, was it’s a reality show, it’s a cooking show, but it’s got comedy at the heart of it. The editing portion of this show is super silly and super fun, and that’s where I felt like it was a good blend between my life as a clown and learning something new.

Were you afraid of being edited to look foolish on TV?

As a clown, if you can’t have a sense of humor about yourself, then you’re in the wrong business. … That’s where the clown’s job is: shining a light on the stupidity of society, holding a mirror up to people and saying, “Look, these are the stupid things that you do.” If we can’t laugh at ourselves, then we have no place being a clown. So that was part of my thought process, that they can edit this in any way that they want. I will be me, and if I look silly, we all need to laugh together about it.

What was your scariest moment filming the show?

They had a circus-themed episode, and when we walked in on circus day, that’s where my panic was, because I thought, “I cannot get eliminated on circus day …” If the clown goes home on circus day, I will never live it down with all of my circus friends.

How has winning Worst Cooks impacted your life?

I don’t feel like it’s changed a trajectory or had a major change. The grand prize of $25,000, I worked my butt off for it. I also watched someone else go on a game show and win $100,000 for one day of filming. We were there three and a half weeks and it was pretty intense, so I worked for that money.

I am cooking for my family now [and] there are higher expectations. The minute I got back, I proceeded to ruin an entire bag of potatoes trying to make mashed potatoes [because] they didn’t teach us that there’s a difference between coarse kosher salt and table salt.

So there’s still a humbleness, I still fail in the kitchen. But I don’t have any fear of stepping in and trying things out.

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