‘Below Deck Down Under’: Captain Jason Reveals Why He Had to ‘Rise Above It’ With Chef Ryan
Captain Jason Chambers recently shared why he held back when it came to chef Ryan McKeown on Below Deck Down Under.
Chambers tried to keep McKeown’s attitude in check by warning him when he escalated the negativity in the galley. And while Chambers and McKeown had an explosive parting of ways (McKeown mooned the crew on his way down the dock), Chambers explained why he didn’t push McKeown any further.
Captain Jason shares why he didn’t come down hard on Chef Ryan on ‘Below Deck Down Under’
Chambers reflected on one of the toughest parts of the season, which involved dealing with McKeown. “We’ve got nine charters. They’re paying customers,” Chambers said on the Side Piece with Melissa Pfeister podcast. “We’re trying to deliver the highest level of service. The show has to go on. And I’ve got my chef and he’s back chatting to me. But I’m shutting my mouth and taking big breaths. [It] was the hardest thing I had to do.”
“Rise above it because I know everyone would love to see me come down hard. [But] I would not have gotten any movement with him. I would not have gotten anywhere with coming down hard on him,” Chambers added.
When did Captain Jason know he needed to replace Chef Ryan on ‘Below Deck’?
Chambers said it wasn’t all bad with McKeown. “I think you saw from the first moment when he joined, he came in with guns out. And to be quite honest, Ryan and I got on pretty well. We had good chats,” he said. “There was a lot I wanted to get out of him. I could see some potential there. And that’s where I wanted to go.”
“And then as soon as he made those remarks to me in the crew mess … all done. I just had to find the right time,” Chambers recalled. At one point, McKeown made it clear that what Chambers wanted from him wasn’t his priority and basically waved him off.
Chambers knew at that point, McKeown’s days were numbered on the boat. “So I just had to manage it until the right time,” he said. But Chambers shared why he couldn’t simply fire McKeown. “I think the American audience understands that I couldn’t even get out of Australia for two years. So I couldn’t see my daughter, people couldn’t get in and the crew on board are screened background,” he said. “So we can’t just pick someone up on the street or someone from recruiting yachting agent. It’s got to go through a background process that takes time as well. So if one falls out, two falls out, yeah it spells disaster to try to find someone else. “
Jason Chambers wishes things could have ended differently with his first chef
Chef Nate Post took over for McKeown. But Chambers wished McKeown would have worked out. McKeown seemed to turn a corner at one point, where he was getting along with chief stew Aesha Scott and preparing meals to Chambers’ standards.
“It would have been nice from two charters ago to see change and come through that would have made for a nicer moment,” Chambers said. “I actually thought that was going to happen. And an epiphany happens where he just pulls out this amazing six-star meal and all the guests are great and he goes out and he’s hugging Aesha and having a great time and that would have been a fantastic moment. But no, he mooned us on his way out.”
Episodes of Below Deck Down Under Season 1 currently air on Bravo every Tuesday. Plus Below Deck Down Under Season 1 is currently streaming on Peacock.
