Why Bar Rescue Is Ron Duprat's Favorite Show - Exclusive

Chef Ron Duprat is no stranger to cooking on camera. He has appeared on myriad television programs over the past few years. During an exclusive Mashed interview, Duprat detailed: "I did 'Top Chef,' I did 'Iron Chef,' I did 'Bar Rescue,' I did 'Beat Bobby Flay,'" and you get the picture. But what was the chef's favorite show he has done to date? It was not one centered on actual work with food at all, as it happens.

"I think they're all fun," Duprat said, "I guess 'Bar Rescue' was probably the most fun because I was the host. It's different to be a host than when you are a competitor so, I will say that 'Bar Rescue' probably was the best." There's another reason he loved his turn on that show, and it was all about the full-time host of the program, the one-of-a-kind Jon Taffer, of whom Duprat said: "Jon is a sweetheart!"

What's one show on which chef Duprat has yet to appear but that he still hopes is in the future? "'Dancing with the Stars,'" he said, adding: "That's my next show — hopefully I can be on 'Dancing with the Stars.'" 

And it's little wonder Duprat mentioned a show that has nothing to do with cooking, because despite his many times cooking on this or that show alongside this or that celebrity, the chef strongly prefers working in the kitchen without the cameras rolling — that much he made very clear.

Sure, chef Ron Duprat has spent plenty of time cooking on TV, but he much prefers to ply his culinary trade off-camera. "As a classically trained chef, cooking on TV is not part of my forte," Duprat said. "Everything I make takes a long time, whether I'm doing a sauce, whether it's a demi-glace or the mother sauce, and the list goes on. You cannot make that stuff in five minutes, so TV cooking is not for me. I mean, it's an opportunity of a lifetime, something I will cherish for the rest of my life, but it's very different. There's some big challenges cooking on TV."

Along with making it clear that he'd prefer to be in a regular kitchen instead of one with a TV crew, Duprat also wasn't shy with his opinions about certain chefs who do spend much of their working lives on camera. "As you know, I'm a real chef, I'm not a TV chef," Duprat explained, "So, you know, you go to [Bobby Flay's] kitchen and it's just ... I know I'm a better chef than Bobby Flay, but I didn't get to compete with him, so hopefully one day I can [try to] beat him again."

Of course, Duprat thinks great chefs learn the fundamentals and then grow from there. So, it's not surprising that Duprat appreciated his appearance on "Bar Rescue" — when cooking for a TV audience didn't come into play.

Get Ron Duprat's best recipes and blog posts on his website and keep up with what he's doing in and out of the kitchen by following him on Instagram.