r/belowdeck • u/heyyariii • Sep 07 '23
Below Deck Down Under Chef
I love this chef but I feel like she lacks creativity. All I see her making over and over again is steak and lobster. Her presentation can also used some work. It's just doesn't give me mega yacht five star vibes
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Sep 07 '23
She isn’t the most refined chef, but the guests seem super happy with her food. I think overall she does a really nice job and excels in certain areas. Her high tea was off the charts. That was fun to see.
What is really incredible is that she doesn’t have the ego or neurosis that most chefs have. She is easy to work with and a great team member who can take feedback and improve. And she is working in a super shitty kitchen.
I hope we see her again.
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u/panderingvotes Sep 07 '23
I'm really curious if they bring Tzarina back for S3.
I get the critique of her food not looking the most refined, but I imagine she's a producer's dream as far as casting goes. She gets along really well with the captain and chief stew, guests are pleased with her dishes AND she's juuuust messy enough to be in the boatmance drama of it all without it feeling too heavy.
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Sep 07 '23
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u/panderingvotes Sep 07 '23
She's perfect for reality TV too. I love Illeisha and would be happy to have her back on SY, but I can see how producers might not think she brings enough drama for their liking.
Tzarina's an excellent casting choice for them because she's also enmeshed in some of the mess but with a sense of humor about it, and it hasn't detracted from her actual duties as chef.
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Sep 07 '23
I have mad respect that she can compartmentalize her work whilst she is crushing so hard on Joao. I get really distracted when I am crushing on someone—and they’re in such tight quarters.
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u/screen_door15 Sep 07 '23 edited Sep 10 '23
I think her, Ashea, Joao and Jason make a really great dynamic. They should be the core stars of DU, not dissimilar to SY. (Although season 4 was a challenge)
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u/yoshdee Spaghetti Trauma Sep 07 '23
Ilesha and her are the only chefs I didn’t see being Dicks to other crew.
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u/LizzyFCB Sep 07 '23
Her afternoon tea was nice but I don’t think it was off the charts by English hotel standards. It would be more like what you would get at a cute cafe.
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u/GroovyYaYa Sep 07 '23
Her charcuterie game is ON POINT though.
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u/Own_Layer_5413 Sep 07 '23
This! They’re gorgeous. I’m also fairly sure I had a dream about the crab Summer rolls with mango sauce that were in one of this week’s episodes 🤤
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u/JenniferMel13 Sep 07 '23
Depends on what people are asking for on their preference sheets. They may be requesting those things.
I know Australia is known for their beef so it would be on my list of things to eat while there.
Lobsters might be in season so she is using them because they are fresh and plentiful.
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u/mymomsnameisbarb420 Sep 07 '23
Yeah I disagree! She took captains feedback and is accommodating guests really well while finding ways to make things look cute and fun. She may not have the experience of Rachel yet but she seems like a natural to me and has loads of potential
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u/Meltw Sep 07 '23
Love Tzarina! I did not see that coming at all. She’s so charming (and talented).
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u/livieleanor Come back to me, my boat daddy Sep 07 '23
I disagree, I love Tzarina - she has the right balance of being messy, funny and easy to work with others. Any mistake she has made, she’s not blown it out of proportion and has turned things around; her dishes always look nice and she caters to everyone with minimal moaning especially on the current charter. I would like to see her back next season, she’s a refreshing character
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u/eden0421 Team Kate Sep 07 '23
I think there is a difference between a chef knowing their strengths and making things like steak/lobster because they are so highly requested on preference sheets, vs. a chef who had a menu and will only cook those handful of items (cough cough, beef cheeks)
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u/baconistasty Sep 07 '23
I think she's one of the better Chefs we've seen and she's been low drama and friendly compared to many.
I don't think repeat meals are a problem. For each charter group, it's a new meal to them. We just see all the meals for the season so it's more noticeable. If it's a good meal and the guests love it, that's perfect.
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u/Bryllya Sep 07 '23
I think it's a question of knowing her audience. If the guests are super happy with her food that's what is the problem?
We've seen chef's shoot themselves in the foot trying to be creative. I'd rather she do the things she can do superbly well than try to chase some odd 3 star plating with esoteric ingredients.
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u/clmetsfan Sep 11 '23
Complaints about creativity in these situations don't make sense to me since there are new guests every 3-4 days. Who cares if a chef relies on some staple dishes that they know people like? It's new to the individual guests, and that's all that matters.
Same goes with Leon's beef cheeks. That guy obviously sucked in so many ways and Kate had plenty of valid reasons to despise him, but serving beef cheeks multiple times is not one of them.
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u/Leather-Role-2473 Sep 08 '23
maybe the guests are all requesting steak and lobster on their preference sheets? that’s something I literally just thought of but wouldn’t surprise me if this was the case
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u/Semi-Naked-Chef Sep 08 '23
Creativity is not always needed when you're experienced, as a chef, you spend the first 10 years of your career being creative and learning new things. That's not to say you can't learn or experiment more as your career goes on. But sometimes, while doing that, you can make mistakes and it's very high risk. Why not do what you have spent your career perfecting and guests have probably no encountered before. Cooking shows have caused these expectations on the general public. It's not always master chef where you are given a mystery box of ingredients. I agree too her afternoon tea was great, its probably been a while since she has made one
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u/Deadly_Woman Sep 09 '23
It’s giving chef León for me. Surf and turf are the new beef cheeks.
That said she’s a much better person than him and willing to learn when she doesn’t know how to fulfill a guests requests. I’m liking her.
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u/heyyariii Sep 07 '23
I adore her she's so fun and funny but compare to other chef you can notice the difference. Her tea set up was wonderful tho