Welcome to the Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 4 recap! In this week’s episode, called “Greeking Havoc,” self-taught Chef Jono’s job could be on the line when his continued poor performance in the galley affects the crew’s charter tip. The deck crew questions the Bosun’s leadership skills, and Joe plays with fire by flirting with co-workers and roommates Bri and Elena simultaneously. Will he get burned? Here are some of the highlights from Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 4.
The Beach Olympics
Last week, Sandy’s friend and charter guest, Gigi Fernandez, complained to the captain about Jono’s subpar food. This week’s episode opens with Sandy calling Chef Jono to the bridge. She questions him about the over-spiced food and the eggs served cold.
He gave the excuse that breakfast was scheduled for 8:30, but the guests slept late. Sandy reminds him that eggs are always made “to order,” so he should never prepare them ahead of time. She sees his excuses as a “huge red flag.”
“At the same time, he did well last charter, [and] we’re mid-charter now,” the captain adds. “I have to give the chef the opportunity to show me he can do this. Finish this one strong, and then I’ll assess the next charter.”
The guests have asked for a picnic on the beach. The plan is to have lunch, and then play some Beach Olympic games. Iain thinks he doesn’t have to plan anything, since Sandy told him that Gigi would let him know what she wants.
Aesha suggests that he come up with a couple of ideas, just so it’s ready, but he insists Gigi will tell him. “Yes, Sandy said Gigi will know what she wants,” the chief stew says in a confessional. “But that doesn’t mean that she’s supposed to set it up for you and plan everything. I think he just heard Sandy say that and thought, ‘Sweet! Free pass!’”
Even Gael suggests they look up what the Greek Olympics would have looked like, but Iain is adamant, “[Gig] will tell us.” You’d think he’d need to know what equipment to bring to the beach.
“Okay,” Gael says, giving in. “I just didn’t want to be underprepared.”
An awkward situation on Below Deck Mediterranean
Iain drops Joe and Gael at the beach, leaving them to lug all the tables and chairs to the picnic site and set everything up, while he motors back to the boat. That’s not what Sandy told him to do. She said to make sure everything was ready before returning for the guests.
“There’s no leadership at all,” Joe interviews. “Iain could have helped.”
The guests are antsy to get to the beach and keep asking when they can go. Iain tells them five minutes, so they happily get into the small boat. When Iain radios the captain that all the guests are en route to the beach, Joe and Gael panic. They are nowhere near ready.
“Not a ‘Guests are departing soon,’ or ‘Is the beach set up?’” Gael interviews. “It’s “Guests are on their way.’ Huh?!” Not cool, Iain.
When Aesha arrives, Gael explains that things are “really not set up at all.”
“Why have you guys not set up any games or anything?” Aesha asks. Joe says they just haven’t had time. Also Iain refused to plan anything.
Privately, Joe tells Gael, “Iain f*cked up here, yeah?”
“Absolutely,” she responds.
Meanwhile, the guests are enjoying their picnic lunch. They’re saying things like “incredible,” “amazing,” and “Mmmm!” Aesha’s happy to hear it.
Joe’s in an “awkward situation.” He respects Iain as his boss, but he’s upset at the way the whole beach setup was mishandled. The guests should never have arrived before everything was set up. It’s just unprofessional. He wants to say something, but doesn’t want to “step on his [boss’s] toes.”
Gael’s upset also. “He didn’t even acknowledge that the three of us just whipped it out of our asses and made it work anyway,” she says.
Another disappointing meal
Even though he got raves at lunch, dinner is another story for Jono. He serves seafood gazpacho, which gets a lukewarm review from Gigi. When she asks him what that [unpleasant] spice is that she tastes, he tells her he’s never made gazpacho before and he had to Google “somebody’s grandma’s recipe.” Sandy interviews, “This is a superyacht. The food shouldn’t just be okay. It should be excellent. Jono is [zero] for two now.” Also, you don’t admit you had to Google a recipe when you’re cooking on a super yacht. It’s tacky.
As Aesha watches Jono plate overcooked lava cake with a scoop of melty ice cream, she silently laments, “What is this?!” The guests are only mildly enthusiastic when dessert is placed before them. I couldn’t tell if they were moaning with pleasure or disgust.
“It’s only Charter 2,” the chief stew interviews, “[But] I’ve felt myself question too many of the chef’s dishes … I think I need to maybe start saying something to him.”
In the meantime, the guests (and Captain Sandy) aren’t loving their desserts either. When Sandy asks everyone how their meal was, the best they can do is to say it was “interesting.” That’s what you say when it was horrible, but you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.
“The entire meal was subpar,” Sandy says in a confessional. “I’m gonna get through this charter, and when the guests get off, I’m gonna have a very real conversation with Johnathan … But I am definitely looking for a backup.”
Departure day
Everyone meets on the dock to say goodbye. “We had an amazing time,” Gigi says. “The day at the beach was outstanding … The food was [just] okay.” Sandy gives Jono a meaningful look.
“It was hit or miss,” Gigi continues. “So this [tip] represents a little bit of that.”
“I feel like Gigi’s comment about the food was definitely fair,” Aesha interviews. “I just hope that Jono really takes it on board, ’cause I don’t want to be embarrassed about any plate that I put down next charter.”
Sandy congratulates the deck team on how the picnic went (she doesn’t know the half of it). She tells Jono they’ll discuss the food later on the bridge. Sandy calls Aesha’s Greek party “epic” and says the guests loved it.
Finally, the tip is $25,000, $2000 per person! It’s only because Sandy is Gigi’s friend.
Later, Sandy calls Jono to the bridge. She’s not happy that he served chicken on Chef’s Choice night. Chicken is pretty pedestrian for a superyacht, and his plating is lackluster.
“Other than that,” she added, ending on a positive note, “you don’t lose your mind in the galley.” Fans of the show remember how many divas we’ve seen meltdown in the galley. Jono again mentions that he’s a “self-trained” chef and sees criticism as a growth opportunity.
“I know we’re only in Charter 2,” Sandy interviews. “The food has to be perfect from Charter 1. But in the past, I’ve given second chances … The one thing I’m not gonna wait on is finding another chef, just in case he doesn’t come through.”
As soon as he leaves, we see Sandy texting Yacht Crew Placement: “Hi, Norma. Do you have any chefs available? I need someone on standby.”
Joe keeps his options open on Below Deck Mediterranean
Deckhand Joe is simultaneously flirting with both Elena and Bri. Elena says, “I would not kick Joe out of bed.” Not only are they co-workers, but they’re cabin mates, so Joe should tread lightly.
Serving dinner, Joe and Elena obviously flirt with each other, making Bri uncomfortable. “Do [they] really have to do this in front of me?” she interviews.
In the laundry room, they joke about Joe, saying, “I thought you liked him!”
“Look,” Elena says, “no matter what happens, I’m not planning to be fighting with anybody over boys because I don’t see a future with any of them … we’re here for fun.”
But later that night, it’s Bri’s turn to flirt with Joe, rubbing Ellie the wrong way. “She knows I’m attracted to him,” she says. “Working on a boat, you never want to go for the guy your supervisor is interested in.” Supervisor?! Who promoted her to supervisor?
As things heat up on the dance floor, Ellie decides, “I’m going for Joe … We’re getting it on. Not tonight, but pretty soon.”
In the ladies’ room, Gael thinks Bri is about to explode, and says, “Talk to me.”
Bri admits that she talked to Ellie earlier today and admitted that she likes Joe. They know they’re both going for the same guy.
“We’re all stuck on a boat,” Gael says. “It’s six weeks. Sometimes you need a f*ck.”
“We’ll see what happens,” Bri says. But later, Joe jokingly asks if Bri would “suck Nathan’s d*ck.” She thinks a minute before answering, “I’d take yours.”
He’s speechless. And so are we. Until next time…
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE BELOW DECK MEDITERRANEAN SEASON 9, EPISODE 4? WILL SANDY REPLACE JONO? WHO WILL GET JOE?
