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Captain Lee Rosbach from Below Deck was recently asked to choose between crew members and for the first time, he went with the newest chef over chef Ben Robinson.

Captain Lee Rosbach, Eddie Lucas, Kate Chastain, Amy Johnson, Ben Robinson, Connie Arias, David Bradberry, Raquel "Rocky" Dakota
Captain Lee Rosbach, Eddie Lucas, Kate Chastain, Amy Johnson, Ben Robinson, Connie Arias, David Bradberry, Raquel “Rocky” Dakota | Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

Rosbach was put in the hot seat on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen so his hand was forced when it came to choosing crew members. Host Andy Cohen flashed two crew members on the screen and Rosbach had to pick the one who would remain on his team.

Some of the picks were obvious. For instance, he went with Kate Chastain over Francesca Rubi. He also chose Courtney Skippon over Elizabeth Frankini.

Rosbach also opted for Isabelle “Izzy” Wouters over James Hough. But he was also given some tough scenarios such as choosing between Kelley Johnson and Eddie Lucas. He also had to choose his chef which was between Robinson and chef Rachel Hargrove.

Chef Ben has been a longtime favorite

Rosbach only leaned toward only one other chef in the past. He marveled at chef Adrian Martin’s cooking during season 6. But otherwise, Robinson has been Rosbach’s number one choice at all times.

However, this time, when he was asked who he would keep, he quickly answered, “Rachel.” Rosbach has mainly praised Hargrove in his blog. She has a steady hand, a positive attitude, and the guests loved her food.

“Rachel, I love the way you wasted no time complaining about anything just jumped in and nailed it,” Rosbach wrote in his first blog of the season. “And you had a very tough 72 hrs. prior to getting on board so I feel that you are going to nail this season. Let’s hope I’m right, because I’m very impressed with your performance on this first charter so far.” 

He also went with Martin over chef Kevin Dobson. “Hands down,” Rosbach said.

Captain Lee had a few other surprise picks

Despite saying he’d probably never work with deckhand Rhylee Gerber again, he chose Gerber over stew Kat Held. “Wow, interesting,” Cohen exclaimed when Rosbach revealed his choice.

Rosbach always insisted that Gerber had an amazing work ethic and acknowledged she was dealt a rough hand last season. Gerber was thrilled and tweeted, “@capthlr MUCH love!” she tweeted. “@Andy i already know how you feel about me.” Cohen gushed about Gerber on his radio show, sharing that he was very attracted to her.

The decision between Johnson and Lucas left Rosbach flummoxed. “Wow, now that’s tough,” Rosbach said. “I can’t make a call on that. Their maturation level from the time I got them to the time that they came back. Eddie this year is just knocking it out of the park. So that’s a tough one.”

Contrary to Lucas and Johnson, Rosbach would get rid of both Trevor Walker and Shane Coopersmith.

Other picks included opting for Josiah Carter over Sierra Storm. He also went with Nico Scholly over Brian de Saint Pern.

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