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Captain Sandy Yawn Explains What a Real Yacht Chef Does When Something Goes Wrong
If you can't take the heat on Below Deck Mediterranean...
There was lots of heat in the kitchen on this season of Below Deck Mediterranean — and we don't just mean that in the metaphorical way. In case you missed it, the crew had a fright when a frying pan in the galley started smoking. And, as you can see in the clip above, not everyone knew exactly how to handle the snafu.
And that's not the only thing that's gone wrong in the galley while it's been manned by a rotating crew of chefs this season. First, the galley was helmed by a chef with many challenges, Mila Kolomeitseva. Then former third stew Anastasia Surmava took over, and got frustrated when the burners weren't working properly, which disrupted meal service.
For the record, this is how a real pro would handle a kitchen disruptions — which are necessarily going to happen — according to Captain Sandy Yawn.
"When things are moving and salt air is involved, things break. Salt air is not a boat's friend," Sandy told The Feast. "And that boat's old... When that boat was built they had that stovetop that's for a house — not for heavy cooking. I think over the years the yachts have changed and they're adding really good stoves and ovens," she explained, but the Sirocco isn't outfitted in such a way.
She explained that true professional chefs Like Ben Robinson are often used to cooking with gas, but "that doesn't exist on a yacht. They don't have gas. So they have to modify. And that you can see the difference between a seasoned charter chef versus me promoting someone to be a chef that can cook."
Sandy said, "Now, this is the difference between a chef, and taking a third stew and making her a chef. What we try to do is get [issues] fixed immediately. And if they can't, a seasoned yacht chef has alternatives. This isn't the first time this happens on the boat."
In short, a seasoned chef finds fast, ego-free workarounds — many of which may be honed through years of previous experience — instead of getting bogged down in personal frustrations.
