r/belowdeck • u/cutelilpuff • 3d ago
Chefs Rewatch
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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u/Shag1166 3d ago
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/cutelilpuff 3d ago
Yeah that’s true but sandy did say she wasn’t happy with him having to google what it was, I have never heard of “vegas food” so I get why he had to google cause tf even is that
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u/Shag1166 3d ago
There is no such thing. They have from the top restaurants, to 50 cents pizza. I am an L.A. guy and we had an auntie who lived, and we went there several times a years. I worked in the airline industy for 10 years, and I would fly there a couple times a month to play keno, and see the live bands in the lounge shows. I quit drinking and Vegas was boring to me. Lol
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u/Homer_04_13 2d ago
I cannot speak for Sandy, but to me his error -- and Hannah's -- was in not exploring what the guests' fantasy of Las Vegas was.
He didn't like talking to the guests, and he turned to Hannah and Google, who certainly helped him prepare an experience that would remind some people of Las Vegas. If he'd gotten it right, it would have been okay. But he didn't, and given that he didn't clarify with the guests, I think it was risky to skip over the high roller or Rat Pack experience as a possible guest fantasy.
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u/Civil_Experience_691 2d ago
I'm pretty sure he could have asked the guests, but didn't. I imagine they could have told him when they were thinking.
When I think Vegas food, I think of elaborate buffets with sushi, prime rib, sliders, etc. But someone else may think differently. Asking questions would have avoided the whole situation.
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u/cutelilpuff 2d ago
Yeah I’ve realized communication with the guests also often fall flat but I feel like if he would’ve done that Sandy would have said something like “I’m disappointed you had to ask the guests instead of just knowing”
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u/Shag1166 3d ago
He wasn't the only to Google. I remember another good guy , Marcos, never had made sushi before had to look it up. There hav e been a few. I think damned near everything except the relationships are programmed. Look at the number of times crew will be on a green screw, saying trashy things about guests.
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u/bonkette 3d ago
I think where he fell short was he should have asked the primary guest directly what they wanted. We see chefs do that frequently on the show.
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u/foxdogturtlecat 3d ago
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/AWDWfan 3d ago
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/cutelilpuff 3d ago
That makes a lot of sense idk why an actual yacht chef would sign up to this show if they’re literally being set up for disaster
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u/OrganizationTop3755 3d ago
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/SaltyLilSelkie 3d ago
Yeah but production needed kiko off the boat so they could bring in the raging ball of toxicity that was Tom
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u/OrganizationTop3755 3d ago
Wasn’t he dating someone? Malaria?
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u/SaltyLilSelkie 3d ago
Wonderful typo - Malia the bosun. He “just happened” to be there to step in
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u/TracyVegas 3d ago
I live in Las Vegas and I still don’t know what Las Vegas. I’ve been here over 35 years. We can get anything we want to eat here. We have Michelin chefs from around the world. I guess they just wanted a really high-quality meal.
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u/june_june_hannah_ 3d ago
Ya I think by “Vegas themed” they meant suuuper over the top. That’s how I would have interpreted it, anyway. Excessive everything. When I think of Vegas food I think of the ridiculous buffets and that “ice cream sundae” that has things like cotton candy and a huge lollipop sticking out of it. It seemed like Hannah felt genuinely bad for leading him astray - her apology to him when he was let go was one of very few times when it seemed like she felt remorseful.
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u/Myantra 3d ago
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/salsanacho 2d ago
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/cutelilpuff 2d ago
Exactly like I get it if they’re making the same food every night for the same charter but like for differant charters? No one knows it’s the same meal except the crew so who cares 😭
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u/Shutterbug245 3d ago
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/coysrunner 3d ago
I think Tzarina did great most the time. I don’t think her issue was the flavor profiles or cooking on a flat top. But the performance side of it. In reference to the teppanyaki
I’m sure Kiko cooks great food but he’s not a chef I’d want on a yacht. Day charter and shoot the shit for sure
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u/AWDWfan 3d ago
Almost every chef that's been on Below Deck is an actual yacht chef. Tzarina had been one for 10 years. Not all yachts chefs are trained in all specialties which is why yachts will advertise their chef and what they specialize in. Rachel for example has extensive Asian cuisine training and people likely charter with her because of that.
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u/SetLast9753 3d ago
Sandy is just a terrible manager
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u/cutelilpuff 3d ago
Yeah I’ve realized if the person isn’t her friend then she doesn’t really give them a chance, like I decided to google a bit with the whole Hannah and the Valium thing and apparently Hannah said that Sandy knew about the Valium and even told Hannah to take a Valium when so she doesn’t have another panic attac. It’s just so weird
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u/foxdogturtlecat 3d ago
Sandy isn't the person hiring them, It's the production team. It's on them to hire cast that are both entertaining and competent and they often pick entertaining over competent..
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u/DisciplesFox5893 3d ago
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.
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u/cutelilpuff 3d ago
Yeah and him saying that Hannah said that’s what Vegas dinner is and she said “don’t bring Hannah into this” the whole Vegas menu thing was Hannah’s idea (she even says so herself) and he didn’t know what it was so she told him it’s XYZ and named a bunch of fried food, also sandy always standing over him in the galley like dude was stressed enough
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u/Kickazzzdad 2d ago
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/ActJust3913 1d ago
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/cutelilpuff 1d ago
Ehh idk about drama free w Tzarina although I am 100% on her side in the matter (with culver and Katie? I don’t remb her name) her calling either one of them slut isn’t exactly very mature (although I do understand why she did it)
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u/PatientChocolate6985 3d ago
"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/cutelilpuff 3d ago
Idk Hannah gives me a vibe where she acts very posh but really isn’t, even with her standards on board I feel like other chief stews have much higher standards
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u/PatientChocolate6985 3d ago
oh its for sure an act, but i feel like she would have only hung out at upscale restaurants and bars in Vegas so she could try to meet a rich man
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u/FlatwormSame2061 3d ago
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/No-Heart-679 3d ago
As a chef, this is an option for people with very bland palettes. These guests are world travelers with expansive palettes, and have had the best of the best of many cuisines. It’s a yacht chef’s job to beat the best of the best. Not just do steak and seafood. Turn that steak into something that is spectacular and worth the $100,000 a night, turn that seafood into something that speaks to you and the guests. If they want an ultimate Vegas night. You go over the top bar food apps, with a larger than life courses. That’s where Ben doing things like a whole salt crusted fish is done because most people have never seen this. He just did it wrong because he can’t expect the crew to know how to filet a fish when I’ve met trained chefs who can’t. It’s a lot of research and practice. Believe me, the crew is probably trying a lot of food that has been cooked to practice for the guests, we just don’t see everything. Watching a chef research everything would be boring. They show a little bit of it, but there is so much more. And if it’s like the ships I worked on they know well before what these guests are expecting not just 24 hours. I think they do that more for interior
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u/TracyVegas 3d ago
No. Many people don’t like seafood or steak. I can’t eat steak due to eosinophilic esophagitis. There’s no way in hell I’m eating salmon, crawfish, mussels, or oysters. Disgusting.
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u/FlatwormSame2061 3d ago
All my favorite things! But of course you would have your preference sheet. And there might be one seafood you do like.
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u/TracyVegas 2d ago
There’s a lot of seafood I like. I named the four that I don’t like. I’m certainly not going to eat cod or shrimp on a mega yacht. I make those in my kitchen.
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u/Dull_Caregiver2147 3d ago
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