Local culinary star Brian Duffy, who lives in Ardmore, has been running restaurant kitchens in the Philadelphia area for years, but his participation in the Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl” is his first foray into a reality television competition, writes Michael Klein for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The fourth season of the popular show just began this week, and Duffy is one of the 12 pitmaster contestants pitted against each other.

Duffy has served as chef at many local dining hotspots like Downey’s, McCormick & Schmick, Manayunk Brewery, and Flying Fish Crafthouse. He is now a restaurant consultant.

All 10 episodes of the show were filmed in California with chefs Bobby Flay, Anne Burrell, and Sunny Anderson as the coaches. The finale will air September 4.

Duffy said the hardest part of filming “BBQ Brawl” was the teamwork.

“Everybody is still competing against each other, even though we had some allies as we were working together, figuring out whose strengths were what, whose weaknesses were what.”

Read more about Chef Brian Duffy in The Philadelphia Inquirer.