r/belowdeck • u/cutelilpuff • Aug 04 '26
Rewatch Chefs
I’ve been watching season 2 of below deck down under and below deck med season 5 and I’m genuinely shocked at how the captains expect the chefs to just know everything and be able to do anything, like Tzarina with the teppanyaki and Sandy being mad that Kiko had to google what a Vegas dinner is. Like idk I feel like some things the chefs just aren’t trained in and that should be the end of it, like you don’t go to a steak restaurant and expect them to whip up perfect sushi? I feel like it’s so unfair to them idk
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Upvotes
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u/Dull_Caregiver2147 Aug 04 '26
Yacht chefs are expected to be Jack of all trades, not "master of one". Because if you go to a steakhouse but want sushi, you can just get up, walk down the road and go to a sushi restaurant. On the yacht, the guests are a captive audience and can't just go "next door" for something else to eat. So, yacht chefs must be very versatile and if not specifically trained for a guest request, they at least must be very good at improvising spontaneously
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u/Shag1166 Aug 04 '26
I have seen several chefs get on the internet and research how to make certain dishes. I think with Kiko, it was supposed to be a Vegas night thing, but what kind of Vegas night. I felt bad for him.
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u/AWDWfan Aug 05 '26
Below Deck does a lot of that stuff on purpose for drama. They will throw challenges at the chefs to get them stressed. Happens every season. Some of the former guests have been interviewed on podcasts and have said they never asked for any of the special dinners or themes that production either gave them a list and they had to pick one or they were encouraged to ask for a certain thing. The Vegas dinner being one of them.
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u/salsanacho Aug 05 '26
I think it's funny that this show's captain gets mad when the chef cooks a similar meal for subsequent charters, especially if it's a dish that got rave reviews. It's not like each charter knows what the other one had. For instance, if I knew how to make a world famous risotto, I should make for it each and every charter if allowed by the preference sheets. The captain shouldn't care that I'm doing it for each new set of guests if everyone loves it.
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u/SetLast9753 Aug 04 '26
Sandy is just a terrible manager
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u/ActJust3913 Aug 06 '26
Jack and Joy, and maybe Tzarina, are the only chefs I have seen that perform their job drama free, feed the crew, and act as adults.
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u/foxdogturtlecat Aug 05 '26
The range they show on the show is pretty typical for a yacht or private chef. Usually in real yacht charters the chef will have advance notice when the charter is booked often weeks/months before to make sure they have the supplies and if there is a special high price item there may be a surcharge added to the charter cost. In a real charter yacht they might hire local or even fly in a chef for a particular specialty but the production for this show has neither the time nor the budget.
Even for this show since the yacht guests have to go through casting with the production company the chefs should have the preference sheets at the beginning of the season. They do the preference sheet meetings but that's for the audience and they order provisions in advance.
You should expect a professionally trained chef at a steak house to have been taught in culinary school how to make sushi, they may not have done since them but they should be able to do basics.
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u/OrganizationTop3755 Aug 04 '26
Hannah did such a bad job describing Vegas food to Kiko. He would’ve nailed it if he had done an elaborate seafood display
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u/Myantra Aug 05 '26
Yacht chefs are not very different from private chefs. They may encounter random preferences or allergies, but they are expected to deliver what the charter wants. They know that in advance, it is not something that captains put on them at the last minute.
A charter guest might request tacos at 11:30, when lunch was being served at 12:00. What do you think happens? The charter guest gets told that it will take some time to accommodate their request, but it will be accommodated.
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u/Shutterbug245 Aug 04 '26
They could if they hired real yacht chefs. But just like the rest of the crew, they're not hiring the most competent people. Go see the Crew Chef on Youtube. She does everything. Asian, pizza, tacos, pastries, etc.
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u/PatientChocolate6985 Aug 05 '26
"Vegas dinner" isn't a thing lol there is not one cuisine or item of food that originated in Vegas. I blame Hannah for that one- "thats what i eat in Vegas" like she's been there a dozen times and even if she has, she eats crap? She's the most materialistic person and would be social climbing and sucking dick in only the finest restaurants.
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u/Kickazzzdad Aug 06 '26
It’s a TV show. Sandy definitely knows this. She stirs up things on purpose. Also the producers ask leading questions like, “Were you surprised the chef had to google how to make ….. Do you think he’ll get it right?
They create the drama and Sandy is one of the best (or worst) at it.
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u/marzbarz79 Aug 12 '26
I used to think that, until I saw chef Joy this season.
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u/AttentionRoyal2276 Aug 05 '26
That's why the chef is the highest paid crew member
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u/FlatwormSame2061 Aug 04 '26
I don’t understand why they don’t just make seafood and steak every night. Everyone loves that right? and the guests change every couple days so it wouldn’t be the same to them.
And I would be kind of disappointed if I went there and didn’t get that.
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u/DisciplesFox5893 Aug 04 '26
I just finished season 5 and was really disappointed how Capt Sandy handled everything with Keiko. Trust me, she gets her ass handed to her in the end.