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Captain Jason Chambers Shares His Honest Thoughts on Chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph’s Cooking
The Below Deck Down Under captain explained why the chef’s meal preparation wasn’t up to “superyacht standards” on their first charter.
The charter season has only just begun for the Below Deck Down Under crew, but they’ve already faced some stormy seas, so to speak.
After Captain Jason Chambers had to scold the season’s first charter guests for going night swimming, he had to deal with a bit of a situation the next night with a member of his crew: chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph.
Introducing herself during the premiere episode, Tzarina revealed that preparing food was the “only thing” she was good at after going to culinary school. In Episode 2, however, she also shared her insecurities about missing the mark with her meals.
“I’m always striving to be perfect, and if I’m not I… destroy myself,” she stated during a confessional while preparing an elaborate dinner for the guests.
Tzarina went on to explain an incident from her childhood that left a significant scar. "In high school, there was a substitute teacher that came in and I was spending a little extra time on a painting,” she said. “He said to the main teacher, ‘This one must be a perfectionist,’ and she just went, ‘Pff, god, not Tzarina.’ I felt instantly discarded. I don’t want to feel like that ever again.”
Unfortunately for Tzarina, Jason had some tough critiques lined up for her after he tasted some of her dishes while dining with the charter guests.
Captain Jason’s Reaction to Chef Tzarina’s Food
To start off the meal, Tzarina made a stuffed baked potato with caviar, which the guests seemed to enjoy. Jason noted it was “good for the palate” but had no further thoughts — just yet.
Tzarina then presented the main course: panfried duck with fennel and sweet potato dauphinoise (a French dish similar to potatoes au gratin).
While Jason noted the duck was “a little tough” at the dinner table, Tzarina was seemingly already prepared for such a critique, as she revealed in the kitchen before the dish went out that she had “overcooked” it.
The hardest critique, however, came after Tzarina served her “hard mousse” chocolate cake with ice cream and raspberries. While the guests noted how “delicious” it was, Jason couldn’t hold in his true feelings about its drawbacks.
“It seems a bit… messy,” Jason commented during a confessional, sharing his overall review of the meal.
“This dinner’s a little bit of a mishmash,” he stated. “The food is not up to superyacht standards in any way. It tastes all right, but there’s no presentation about it.”
Captain Jason and Tzarina talk after the meal
Though Jason had his reservations about the cooking, a conversation after the meal restored his confidence in Tzarina when she took accountability for her mistakes.
“As I was plating [the duck] I was like, ‘It shouldn’t be that color. When it rests it should be still a bright, beautiful dark pink-red,” Tzarina stated, also sharing that the dessert “obviously” had “a sloppy presentation.”
“It’s very refreshing that you knew every point I was gonna say,” Jason shared, adding in a confessional that he was happy “no blaming” came from Tzarina regarding the feedback.
“She’s owning it. She understands what went out, and hopefully next time will be better,” he said. “A self-aware chef definitely has got the potential to grow.”
