Season 9 of Below Deck Mediterranean premiered on June 3. Thanks to an inept provisioner, the crew struggled through the first charter of the season short of supplies, especially champagne, rosé, and red wine.
On the first night, Chief Stew Aesha Scott left Elena Dubaich in charge. But despite having had a fabulous dinner at 9:00, the guests wanted more food at midnight. They requested grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, and nachos with guacamole. Elena went to wake Chef Johnathan “Jono” Shillingford.
Some of the crew were surprised to see Captain Sandy Yawn side with the chef refusing to get up to make more food. After all, he’d already had a full day of cooking for the guests in addition to feeding the Mustique crew. He had to be in the kitchen at 7:00 am to start breakfast, so he didn’t need to be up at midnight making nachos.
Chef needs his sleep
“I have to wake up the chef,” Elena decided. “I’m sorry, Chef, they have ordered food … I will help you, we can do it together.”
“I don’t think so,” responded.
“The boats I worked on previously, I’ve never really made food for drunk people,” Elena continued. “I feel overwhelmed, I need help … I can just make them grilled cheese and tell them this is what we have.” Why not?
You could just bring them chips and salsa and say, “The kitchen is closed and the chef has gone to bed.” They should understand that he has to be up early to cook for them.
Rather than drawing a boundary with the guests, Elena promised grilled cheese and even recruited deckhand Gael Cameron to help. But still overwhelmed, she went to wake Jono a second time.
“It is not my responsibility to cook meals for the guests,” she rationalized. “Not only am I not able to provide cocktails for the guests, but I am also looking like I can’t manage guests. Jono’s selfish behavior is making me look bad.”
“Never wake the chef”
When Jono still refused to get up, Elena tried to guilt him into it. “Look, the only reason I came back is because this is going to be a problem,” she said. “I don’t want you to do this to yourself because of something silly like that.”
“I’m not doing anything. I haven’t slept enough,” he said.
In a confessional, Jono elaborated, “I hate being woken up. I hate it … Bitch, are you stupid? This won’t be a good experience for you.” Sir, are you okay?
The episode ended with Elena heading back to the kitchen to try to make grilled cheese as the guests clamored for more drinks. But the previews for the next episode clearly showed Sandy coming down in Jono’s defense.
“Never wake the chef,” Sandy announced, startling Elena.
In another clip, the Slovenian native appeared flustered. “I bust my ass and it all became about waking up the chef,” she sobbed.
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK ELENA SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE FIRM WITH THE GUESTS?
