Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Captain Sandy Yawn is already in the market for a new chef after Johnathan Shillingford messed up several times.
During the Monday, June 24, episode, Captain Sandy spoke with Johnathan about the negative feedback she received from the current guests.
“The primary came to me this morning and said the spices are too strong and the eggs are too cold. I’m not sure why that is,” Sandy asked Johnathan, who responded, “I was expecting the breakfast for 8:30 a.m. so I had it ready at that time. Obviously it was delayed because it was a slower morning. I tried to heat them up.”
Sandy was shocked that Johnathan had the food ready before the guests placed their orders. “But eggs are to order, right? We want to make sure their eggs are to order,” she emphasized while Johnathan noted that he would “check in with interior.”
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In a confessional, Sandy expressed her concerns about working with Johnathan moving forward.
“For a chef to say to me that he cooked the eggs when breakfast was supposed to start instead of cooking to order is a huge red flag,” she noted. “But at the same time, he did well last charter. We are mid-charter now, I have to give the chef the opportunity to show me that he can do this. Finish this one strong and then I will reassess the next charter.”
The lunch later that day ultimately went well. However, for dinner, Johnathan once again was nervous about making the guests — and Sandy — happy.
“There’s a lot going on with this dinner because not only is Captain Sandy joining them but it is their last meal on the boat. There’s a lot to prove,” he explained. “Being a self taught chef, if someone asks me to make something that I never made before then I will make it. But if I make a mistake and the captain picks up on it then your job is at risk. It is getting hot.”
Johnathan got off to a rocky start when he admitted that the first course was a dish he never made before. Sandy, who was at the table, wasn’t thrilled with how Johnathan approached the situation.
“When a client asks what is your recipe, maybe in the future don’t say it is some grandmother’s recipe. Just say it is a secret recipe,” she told the cameras. “You don’t want them to know you Googled it and it is someone else’s.”
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Chief stew Aesha Scott was also becoming disappointed with the dishes she was serving to the guests. After the first night had a basic sponge cake, Aesha followed that up on the second night with another cake — this time a burnt version — with melted ice cream on the side.
“It’s only charter two but I have myself questioning too many of the chefs dishes so I think I need to start maybe saying something to him,” Aesha said on her own confessional.
Sandy was just as displeased after eating the dinner, saying, “The entire meal was subpar. I am going to get through this charter and when the guests get off, I am going to have a very real conversation with Johnathan. But I am definitely looking for a backup.”
The episode ended with the guests calling Johnathan’s food “just OK” before leaving the boat. Aesha wasn’t surprised after trying not to weigh in on Johnathan’s initial menu choices.
“I feel like the comment about the food was definitely fair. It has been really hit or miss so far and I feel like he’s got some average plating,” she explained. “I don’t want to be embarrassed by any plate I put down next charter.”
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The captain sat down with Johnathan to have another conversation about the food.
“I did have the food and it was salty. I’m curious when you had the chef’s choice, why did you choose chicken when you could show what you can do?” she pointed out before Johnathan defended himself, saying, “I was trying to see what I could serve that could satisfy all their preferences.”
Sandy didn’t accept the excuse while bringing up Johnathan’s plating and desserts as well. She did praise the chef for the way he didn’t “lose” his mind in the galley like others might have in the past.
“I appreciate that feedback. I pride myself on professionalism and part of that is being open to criticism. That is part of the job,” Johnathan responded. “I started self taught and I think it is important that the people liked my food and if they didn’t I want to know why to improve.”
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Although the duo ended the talk on good terms, Sandy immediately requested a “standby” chef when Johnathan left.
“I know we are only at charter two but the food has to be perfect from charter one. In the past, I have given second chances,” she concluded. “The one thing I am not going to wait on is finding another chef just in case he doesn’t come through.”
Below Deck Mediterranean season 9 airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
