Ron Duprat

I can still remember cooking with my grandmother in Haiti. We cooked the fish we caught and used fresh produce from my father’s garden. My passion for cooking took root in Mare Rouge, and I developed a love for good, healthy, locally sourced foods.

Money was tight, so I learned at a young age to live and eat well on a small budget. When I was 16, I experienced a “rebirth” of sorts when my family and I survived a 27-day boat trip from Haiti to Florida. I witnessed some terrible things on that trip but found a beacon of hope in the people who fished, and provided us all with sustenance.