The One Dish Ron Duprat Never Gets Tired Of Preparing - Exclusive

We all have dishes we love preparing, and in most cases, they are those quick, easy, and comforting foods that we don't have to think twice about as we cook. Examples range from pasta with sauce, mashed potatoes, a grilled steak, and so on. For professional chefs, their favorite dishes are often a bit more involved, and such is the case for chef Ron Duprat.

During an exclusive interview with Mashed, Duprat — who's an alum of shows like "Iron Chef," "Bar Rescue," and "Beat Bobby Flay," and has even served as a culinary ambassador on behalf of the U.S. State Department (per his website) — had an immediate answer when asked about his favorite dish to cook.

"It's coq au vin, which is one of the French and Afro-Caribbean dish," Duprat said. "I think this is my go-to dish." But on reflection, he could not help but add a few others. "Whether it's coq au vin, or lobster bisque, or clam chowder, or Chilean sea bass, [well] that's some of the dishes. I don't have one dish in particular, because it's dependent on the guests. ... I think seafood and coq au vin, [these] are probably my go-to dishes."

And asked if there was a dish the chef would just as soon never prepare again, he initially prevaricated, then shared: "You tried to get me in trouble with that, but I will answer that question. ... Okay: en papillote. This is one of the dishes I think is so overrated. That's probably one dish I will never make again."

We all have a soft spot for the types of foods we grew up eating, but for chef Ron Duprat, the foods of his native Haiti and the greater Caribbean region are what he considers exceptional cuisine. 

"People think Haitian food today is rice and beans," Duprat says, "but Caribbean food alone, [it's] probably the best food in the whole world [because] we're mixing — we're mixing the Caribbean with African food, we make the Afro Caribbean. This is some of the best food in the world, but I don't think people understand. They can go to Italy to eat spaghetti and meatball, they can go to France to eat French food, they can do the same thing to go to the Caribbean. ... I think Haitian, Caribbean, Afro Caribbean food is underappreciated because people don't know much about it. There's so much more to talk about it. [I wish] I can go in detail to tell the whole world, but you can buy a plane ticket to have some of the best food in Haiti."

And what dishes does the chef think best represent his native country's cooking? Again he could not help but mention many. "Oh, there's so much. There's griot, which is fried pork, double-fried pork. There's the Diri Djon Djon. I made it on 'The View,' I made it with Whoopi Goldberg! ... And there's the fried plantain, and there's legume — our legume is the best in the whole world because it's all vegetables."

Chef Ron Duprat's website features some of his best recipes, and if you're looking to follow along with his day-to-day, be sure to follow Duprat on Instagram.