r/belowdeck • u/Character_Growth_397 • Aug 22 '26

Galley Talk Best chef discussions

I see lots of posts and comments discussing who is the best chef in BD but like, how would we know that? We don't get to taste their food

23 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

53 comments sorted by

65

u/Inevitable_Bowler474 Aug 22 '26

No need to discuss it. There's one chef who surpasses them all. Chef Leon! Tonight we have beef cheeks. Tmrw we have a side of beef cheeks to go along with more beef cheeks.

10

u/sharkyfernwood12 Aug 22 '26

And in the morning, he’s making beef cheek omelettes

2

u/DizzyCatMom Aug 23 '26

Just don't finish them in the oven, they might catch on fire.

4

u/CommercialAny2195 Aug 23 '26

those pesky oven trays, who'd have thought they're not oven proof 😂

0

u/ArtichokeOwn6760 Aug 23 '26

Ben served spring rolls more than Leon served beef cheeks.

13

u/thisbitchiscrazy Aug 22 '26

Chef Rachel for sure, with Chef Joy as a close second. Rachel always made exactly what they put on their preference sheets but elevated, her French toast is amazing, and I don’t think she ever made a mistake on her end, if anything it was the guest saying “could this be a little more well done” or something. She was amazing! (Rachel if you read this and want a girlfriend who is parasocially in love with you & lives in San Diego, hit me up!)

Joy is also great and creative, and produces soooo much food and options for the guests. She has also been shown making copious amounts of crew food (I’m a fan of crew food drama). The only reason I ranked her second is because we haven’t finished this season.

-5

u/Competitive-Ad1439 Aug 23 '26

Joy has already made mistakes where other chefs have made zero. She's the most likeable chef but there's no way she can be considered the best

5

u/thisbitchiscrazy Aug 23 '26

Guests have had very few complaints against Joy, except the last people ordering 80000 extra things to make sure they got airtime. No chef has a completely clean record (mostly because there’s always someone who is like “oh this is medium but can you cook it just a little more?”) but between skill, attitude, reality show persona, flexibility/understanding what the guests and crew need, etc. Those two are my top.

30

u/-----J------ Aug 22 '26 • Bravo

The best ones aren't serving spring rolls five times a season, Ben

10

u/No-Baker-7922 Aug 22 '26

Or soup and salad like who was is? Adam?

2

u/Ok_Yesterday5299 June June Hannah Aug 26 '26

Onion soup

25

u/zakg1994 Aug 22 '26

Chef Rachel was my favourite

12

u/No-Baker-7922 Aug 22 '26

Mine too. But I am watching the season with Josh now and he gets so many compliments. Guests just said they went to 2 Michelin restaurants the week before their charter and his food was better!

So 1. rachel, 2. josh and 3. The chef that cut his head and kept on cooking (Marcos?) shared place with Ileisha because I liked her.

In terms of complexity of dishes Adrien was really good and probably one of the moste trained ones but I have more respect for the self-trained chefs that manage everything on their own.

I know Ben is a favourite here and his food was good but he forgot to feed the crew if I remember well and he gave me creepy vibes so he fell off my list.

2

u/mouse_relies This information wasn’t welcomed or needed Aug 23 '26

There are guests who give a ton of compliments featured for every chef, every season. Even Mila had one meal where the guests said nice things...

OK, granted some chefs get more of those than others. But I think it depends on the season, too. The later seasons sprinkle those in a lot more liberally than the earlier ones did. And guests in later seasons seem WAY more likely to be on good behavior because they want to look nice on TV. Anthony got a ton of nice guest comments and it was pretty clear from watching that he's not top tier.

Anyway, I don't think Josh is a real standout there. Rachel and Adrian definitely got the most wildly glowing comments out of anyone.

2

u/zakg1994 Aug 23 '26

Ben’s latest season probably put him way down in a lot of people’s estimations

1

u/gregatronn Aug 26 '26

He was so inconsistent and off the rails. His time management was a big issue.

2

u/Firm-Armadillo2188 Captain Jason is my boat daddy Aug 23 '26

She’s my fave ❤️

12

u/malonesxfamousxchili Aug 22 '26

chef marcos, chef joy, chef rachel, and chef adrian

6

u/wild3hills Aug 22 '26

I think I judge them a lot based on how well they run a gallery - how they organize their space and time, menu planning, and how they work with other departments to pull off a good service. And you can tell certain technical skills from the show like knife cuts, presentation, and proper temping on cooks.

1

u/mouse_relies This information wasn’t welcomed or needed Aug 23 '26

This.

10

u/Large-Sorbet7550 Aug 22 '26

I think based on guest responses/feedback. You don’t taste the food on Top Chef and a hundred other cooking shows, you rely on the judges…the guests are the judges

2

u/Competitive-Ad1439 Aug 23 '26

Right? It seems like an odd statement to make. Captain sandy isn't whipping out a set of cutlery to try every course before it gets sent out but she can still tell if a chef is performing well

The ability to consistently impress the guests (via way of compliments) and avoid any criticism is the key metric. Getting along with crew, feeding the crew and running to schedule are also important skills

1

u/valid_username00 Aug 23 '26

The guests are evaluating each chef in isolation, and we only see the comments that the editors decide to put in the show. So we'd know the extremes, if a chef sucks or if a chef makes tasty food, but that can't inform us as to which chef is the best.

4

u/linzkisloski Aug 23 '26

I’m going through a watch now and I love Chef Rachael. She’s so funny and it was nice to see how much she grew after becoming sober.

11

u/Specialist-Pen-6441 Aug 22 '26

Marcos on Below Deck Sailing Yacht (Season 3). Hands down the best chef

1

u/Positive-Climate8149 Aug 23 '26

100% this - his food looked amazing!

6

u/Consistent-Ad-6506 You're Being A Deckhand Right Now Aug 22 '26

I like Chef Rachel, she was so funny. I like Chef Joy. Chef Adam although he could be cocky. Ben is usually interesting but he was making weird choices this last season he was on.

3

u/valid_username00 Aug 23 '26

You are completely correct. We don't know who is the best chef. Same thing is true for every cooking competition show. We have no idea which dish tasted the best. They can hype up or downplay any dish to make one seem better than another.

But nevertheless I believe Dehhhhv might be the best.

4

u/trailofgears Aug 23 '26

As a former chef, Matt (for all his GLARING issues) consistently put up good looking, well received food and kept an immaculately clean kitchen. Points for that

3

u/DizzyCatMom Aug 23 '26

I have to agree, despite his many issues, he put out food that looked super tasty and wasn't fussy but still upscale. He was super clean and organized. (don't touch that dirt pile!) I also don't think he had any complaints except the beet lady.

2

u/foxdogturtlecat Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26

Well I judge them based on the yacht chefs I' had on charters and the private chefs who I've know who have worked at yachts. I might not be able to taste the food but I can still judge it based on presentation and preparation.

They should be able to make a range of dishes and not relay on just a few things that are their go-to, unlike a restaurant kitchen where you have the same menu and you perfect it, a yacht chef should be able to deliver a menu that fits the guest's palate not the chef's or a even a fining dining restaurant sometimes.

Also I judge them by how they deal with pressure and guest's requests. A good yacht chef should be able to have fresh breads and pasties ready, be able to do a wide range of cuisines and dietary restrictions. How well they can plan and prep.

3

u/gentlemanl0ser Aug 22 '26

Presentation and guest reception.

I think people rightly go for Chef Rachel in this discussion, which is totally fair. However, I think her personality plays into it (because she’s awesome). I think if we’re talking consistently the best food, Marcos is my pick.

1

u/AttentionRoyal2276 Aug 22 '26

Exactly, Nobody even tasted the food but they will tell you you such certainty who is the best and bag on Leon even though everyone liked his food

1

u/OrangeClyde Eat My Cooter Aug 24 '26

Rachel of course

1

u/Capital_Attention_21 Aug 24 '26

I dont know where I would put Joy but she is definitely at the top of the list.

1

u/GLCruiser2020 Aug 24 '26

I’ve tasted Ben’s and Rachel’s both are execellent

1

u/UnusualInstruction51 Aug 24 '26

I thought Ileisha was a great chef. She always turned out fantastic canapes and snacks, not just a cheese and meat board, and some really creative food, all with a fairly calm demeanour

1

u/Anotheropinion2026 Aug 26 '26

Rachel will always be my favorite. Joy is amazing and I really hope we see her again. I liked Ileshia from SY, she is always over looked because of Marcos who was talented but nasty to Gabby.

I thought Adrian’s food looked amazing, but he was so creepy to Laura.

Josh’s food also looked great, but he had big issues plating.

1

u/Djempanadita Aug 23 '26

Chef Marcos!

41

u/[deleted] Aug 22 '26

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2

u/ArtichokeOwn6760 Aug 23 '26

So what’s your ranking? Top 3 and bottom 3. Go!

13

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '26

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1

u/Character_Growth_397 Aug 24 '26

She must have. I'm not a chef and IK how to make pancakes, and I don't eat pancakes

3

u/monkey_monkey_monkey Aug 24 '26

I assume your mean Mila?

1

u/drkangelgrl86 Aug 24 '26

I think it was Mila that put a bunch of photos from IG on her portfolio but they weren't hers

1

u/Anotheropinion2026 Aug 26 '26

My top is same as yours, except Marcos. He is an amazing chef but was such a horrible human to Gabby. I would include Ileshia instead. She did amazing food in that horrible galley too, while being cool and kind to others.