Tonight, Spike TV's Bar Rescue will feature Dallas chef Tiffany Derry, who's no stranger to the camera. She was a contestant on Top Chef, after which time she opened Private Social in Uptown before leaving to pursue other, more glamorous projects.
Derry will make a few appearances with Jon Taffer on Bar Rescue, which is a show that helps struggling bar owners and involves every aspect of running a bar, from owner etiquette (you should never do shots at your own bar) to the menu.
He often brings in chefs to do the dirty work in the kitchen. Tonight we'll get to watch Derry work her magic on a hot-mess of a bar that is packed with drunk drama. (On the trailer, when Taffer walks in, the GM is drunk.)
We've chatted with Taffer here before. Despite being a hard-ass on his shows, he seems like a nice guy. Derry agrees: "Jon is amazing and I love learning from him. He's a concept guy. He walks into the building for the first time and he starts to fire off questions to a fifty-something crew."
Derry takes the work on the show serious, she says. "I have learned some important lessons on what to look for and, most importantly, that putting a bandaid on a failing business isn't helping them.
"Taffer also taught me how to dig deeper and get what you need out of owners and workers," Derry says. "Just assume the first few times they are lying to you. They are usually dishonest with themselves, so you can't expect them to tell you everything."
Derry had the right attitude for the show as well, and gave Taffer a run for his money: "John told me I shut him up at one point because I was so on point."
If you're thinking about opening a bar or trying to figure out how to make your current one work, Derry has a bit of advice: "A bar doesn't fail because of a few mistakes, it's usually thousands. Wanting to open a restaurant because they want to entertain friends is a bad idea. Wanting a bar because you love to drink is also a bad idea. Keeping perspective that it's a business is number one. Pay attention to bottom line!"
Bar Rescue: Up In Smoke will air on Spike TV this Sunday at 8 p.m.
