Ricardo Rondón talks about The Great Chef, his regrets, loneliness and his time on channel 4: “I was the pitbull”

After almost three decades of playing an acid and confrontational character, the journalist and presenter Ricardo Rondon (Lima, 1965) showed his most vulnerable side on television. He externalized his fears and weaknesses in “The Great Chef: Famous”. A behavior that generated empathy in the viewer. “It felt good to be less alone”, he assures.

“I was going through a very difficult personal moment. I had run out of work and had a family issue. And indeed, the program allowed me to show a different side. Unlike a television set, in a cooking station your fears and weaknesses are exposed“, Explain. “I have more errors than virtues and these were seen on the screen. My absolute clumsiness with my hands was noticed in the fact of cutting myself, burning myself and everything that is already history”, specifies Rondón Núñez.

─How did you get to “The Great Chef: Celebs”?

At first I didn’t accept the proposal because I don’t cook. And not only that; As an anecdotal fact, I tell you that I don’t have a kitchen in my apartment, only a microwave oven and a kettle. I live alone. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on the street. Also, it was showing my weaknesses and not my strengths, which was what I was used to. Fortunately, the people from Latina insisted and some friends recommended me to try it, so I ended up accepting.

─Is Ricardo Rondón from programs prior to “The Great Chef”, the one who shows only his strengths, is he a character?

Television works based on characters. In “En boca de todos” there were defined characters: we had a Maju Mantilla who fulfilled a specific role, a fun, Creole Tula; and the program needed a frontal, direct and forceful point of view when it touched on current affairs. I was the pitbull in charge of responding to the attacks.

─ “The Great Chef” allowed you to be yourself?

It allowed me to take on my own challenges and overcome my fears. I needed to face myself, my own monsters and fears because I was going through screwed up, very difficult times. That’s why I feel like this program made me a better person.

─You generated empathy with the public.

An involuntary empathy that arose from showing me who I am: with weaknesses, clumsiness, fears, pain, crying and loneliness.

─Are you a lonely man?

I’m a guy who lives alone and never cared about social media, but that’s changed since people started empathizing with me. The other day when I was in a supermarket, the children began to scream. I thought Barney showed up, but it was because of me. They asked me for autographs. I felt affection, I felt that they loved me. It felt good to be less alone. It helped me a lot.

─And that loneliness is because of your son, who traveled to the United States?

I am not going to deny that having worked together for five years and going through the pandemic alone strengthened our relationship. When he decides to go to the United States for personal projects, because he has to emerge, take his own path; I felt the impact, the blow. I had held on to that bond. It was difficult to get used to loneliness again. “The Great Chef” helped me a lot in that sense. It reconciled me with my gaps, it brought me closer to my family and the public.

─ Do you consider that you are in the most beautiful stage of your career?

I am 57 years old and I have been on television for 30 years doing what I like. And regarding your question, it could be said that this is a special moment, because beyond the excesses that I personally committed on television, I felt that I could change and do something different.

─What excesses did you commit?

I have been very emphatic in my points of view. I have had open confrontations, for example, with Magaly Medina or Rodrigo González. I have responded to criticism with passion. Possibly I have also been harsh in asking my questions. And I apologize for that. What I can affirm is that I have never attacked, hurt, or sullied the honor of a woman or any driver.

─Do you have any favorites in this season of “The Great Chef”?

I love Mauricio Mesones, Laura Spoya and Mr. Peet. The latter plays his chips very well. He is a strategist.

─Is it true that you stole a kiss from Susan León?

Forgive me, Susan, but she knows I did it out of emotion. I told her that if she won the competition, she would give him a kiss. I just fulfilled the commitment. After the kiss I apologized.

─Is it true that despite having a reputation as a conqueror and a lover, you have no luck in love?

It is very true, and it must be because of my character. When you live long you only become more intolerant. One can be flirtatious, in love, but that does not mean that he will always flirt with you.

─Are you worried about the passing of the years?

As Ricardo Arjona’s song, “Lady of the four decades” says: “Put life into the years, which is better. Don’t take years off your life.” I always live one day at a time, I never project beyond. I try as much as possible to stay current, at the forefront and to have continuity in what I do. I know that at some point the retirement will come, but it is a topic that I do not want to think about because there is still a long way to go.

─Currently you host the segment “La olla del desayuno, tolón, tolón” in “Arriba mi gente”. What other projects do you have for the rest of the year?

In two weeks I will premiere the interview program “Rondón tolón, tolón” on Youtube. I will also visit children’s shelters and soup kitchens. I’ll go cook taking all the supplies. Plus I’ll be a pet chef. I will bring you food that I will prepare myself. “The Great Chef” changed my life, made me the richest of poor men.