Chef Andrew Zimmern, US Rep Phillips Cook, Talk Restaurant Relief

MINNESOTA — Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern recently welcomed his friend and Congressman Dean Phillips into his kitchen for a cooking lesson and to advocate for another wave of relief funding for restaurants struggling to survive the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“Cooking with people not only brings people together, but allows us to draw parallels to a lot of other things that are going on in our lives,” Zimmern said at the start of the video. “And we’ve both been fighting very hard over the last nearly two years to help small businesses, most importantly, independent restaurants.”

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In the video, titled “How the Sausage Gets Made,” the two Minnesota VIPs discuss the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which have provided critical support to restaurants, as well as new relief efforts.

Zimmern warned the U.S. “could lose one of the biggest pieces of our economy” if independent restaurants do not receive more relief funding soon.

“As restaurant owners, we really believe we have to take care of our own people first before we can offer anything to our guests,” Zimmern said. “We are nowhere near back to where we need to be and that’s why all these municipal, state and federal programs designed to help restaurants out really need to be pushed forward on the agenda.”

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The restaurant industry needed about $120 billion in relief funding but only received about $30 billion, Zimmern said, adding “it’s time to start to address in a very real way” the significant need for help in the restaurant industry.

“The vast majority of those dollars are going to go back into our economy,” Zimmern said. “I think that’s a crucial piece of this that people have to remember. This is not a gift, this is not a handout.”

“It’s an investment,” Phillips said, interrupting Zimmern.

“It’s an investment in people,” Zimmern continued. “Anyone who’s a small business owner or even works in a small business … everyone understands it’s about investing in people.”

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Phillips co-authored a letter in December calling on leaders in the U.S. House and Senate to “expedite a targeted relief package that funds all previously eligible requests” through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and provide more assistance to small businesses in fitness, live events, and travel industries.

“These small businesses are critical to the cultural and economic vitality of our communities, and they need our help,” the letter stated. It was signed by more than 80 Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

After tasting the fruits of their labor, Phillips told Zimmern he will “go back to Washington and try my best to make sausage half that good in Congress.”