Below Deck Mediterranean seems plagued by chef mishaps. Never have they ever had stable situation in the galley, except perhaps for Adam Glick. Ben Robinson worked the premiere season but did the franchise a huge disservice by returning to land-life. There was steak-licker and Putin hardliner Mila Kolomeitseva. Kiko Lorran did a fine job, but one mishap left him traumatized and also fired by Captain Sandy Yawn. Tom Checketts cooked very well, but prefaced each meal with a tantrum.
Love her or hate her, but Captain Sandy has earned the right to an amazing chef. She helped cook the first dinner for gosh sakes. In fact, the whole crew had to get involved after Chef Mathew Shea went to hospital due to a knee injury. One that could have been prevented, by the way, if he hadn’t ordered a LITERAL TRUCK LOAD of provisions for the first charter. That’s over-compensation for your own anxiety Mathew.
Us Weekly reached out to Chief Stew Katie Flood to get her reaction. A chief stew will be the first line of defense between unhappy guests and the rest of the boat. Yes, the chef is solely responsible for the meal, but Katie will be the first to hear about unsatisfactory food. And despite the help from a neighboring yacht’s sous-chef, the dinner presented was unsatisfactory.
“Obviously I wasn’t happy. I was annoyed. I was pissed off,” Katie explained, “I was worried because at the time it was like survival mode. Like, we have guests on board, they want dinner. We need to just get through this. And then it was like, once we got through dinner, it’s like, ok, now what? Like, are we getting a chef? Is he going to be a chef tomorrow? Someone else coming? Like, what the f–k is actually going on right now?”
Mathew, overcome with anxiety and knee pain, told Sandy, “I don’t feel like I can do this properly. It’s not going to be the same. The fact that I didn’t sleep and trying to figure out the kitchen on the first day with that handicap … I am freaking out. I don’t know what to do. I can’t do this. My livelihood is standing on my foot. I don’t want it to get worse. I don’t know what the f–k it is, but it doesn’t feel right.”
RELATED: Captain Sandy Yawn Says Mathew Shea Is The Laziest And Has The Biggest Problem With Authority On Below Deck
Once Mathew was taken to the hospital, the crew waited for updates. Katie recalled the progression of the day. “The end of the day came around and then I was like, ‘Now what? Like what’s going on?’ Because we hadn’t really heard much. It was not fun,” Katie said.
The resulting dinner was basic, bland, and dry. It was so unappetizing, the guests even turned away steaks. Katie acknowledged the difficult situation. She said, “obviously it’s not something I want to serve to guests, but like I said, we were in complete survival mode. My mentality at that point was like, at least [they are] getting something to eat as opposed to nothing, because that was going to be the other option. I think their reaction to the dinner is totally warranted. If I was on a super yacht and that’s what I got given … Yeah. I’d be pissed too.”
Though Mathew had a rocky start, Katie hints that his output improved as the season progressed. Not only that, but she had favorable words for him. “He’s the kind of guy that grows on you,” she said, “like he is so weird and quirky in his own way, but the thing I love about Mathew, like he is who he is, and he will not change for anybody.”
RELATED: Hannah Ferrier’s Replacement Katie Flood Hopes Fans Will Think She’s A “Refreshing” Presence On Below Deck Mediterranean
TELL US- WHAT IS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF MATHEW? SHOULD HE HAVE TRIED TO MAKE DINNER? HOW DO YOU THINK THE BELOW DECK SEASON WILL PROGRESS IN THE GALLEY?
[Photo Credit: Laurent Bassett/Bravo]
