‘Below Deck Med’: Captain Sandy Would Love to See More Yacht Chefs Apply for the Show

Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean recently shared that she wished more yacht chefs would apply to be on the show.

She’s had a chef problem for the past two seasons and tweeted, “Wish more yacht chefs would send casting their CVs and audition.” Yawn began last season with a chef who delivered nachos that rivaled chef Hindrigo “Kiko” Lorran’s “Vegas” style nacho presentation. She fired the first chef and allowed third stew Anastasia Surmava to step in before ending the season with chef Ben Robinson.

This season she’s dealing with a chef who has the creativity and passion but lacks organization and timing. While Lorran is certainly the sunniest chef the series has ever featured, he is clearly struggling on the superyacht. Yawn gave him several chances to improve his game, but he ultimately leaves the boat.

Captain Sandy describes a real superyacht chef

The series has placed a signficant emphasis on the correlation between the food and the tip. Last season, the crew were concerned that if the food lacked, their tip would be light. So Yawn has a huge responsilbity to ensure that the chef knocks it out of the park for every single meal.

When Robinson stepped in, Yawn described what made him the right person for the job. “I’ll open a fridge and go, ‘There’s nothing in there and then [talented chefs like Ben] create this three-course meal out of my ‘nothing in there,'” she told Bravo’s The Feast. “That’s the magic of the chef [versus a third stew promoted to chef]. What he did with — do we have yellow curry, do we have green? And he created that lunch that’s phenomenal. It blows my mind.”

“He doesn’t think about feelings,” she continued. “When you have someone that’s that passionate about food, they don’t give a sh*t. If something comes back [from guests’ to the galley] and there’s food on that plate, he’s like why didn’t they eat that? He’s the real deal.”

Yawn also said that even though she had confidence in Surmava last season, there is a distinct difference between a true yacht chef and a chef in training. “Now, this is the difference between a chef, and taking a third stew and making her a chef,” she said. “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.”

She wanted to see Chef Kiko succeed

Despite the criticism she received, Yawn insists she wanted to see Lorran succeed this season. “I want to see Kiko succeed. Fun fact: I helped do dishes at night so he could rest,” she revealed on Twitter during the episode. Adding, “This size yacht doesn’t have a sous. Chef is cooking for the same amount of guests as other BD chefs. Fun fact: production takes the master for filming, so the Chef is actually cooking for less guests than the yacht accommodates.”

Some viewers wondered why no one was helping Lorran in the kitchen. But Yawn pushed back on the assumption, sharing that help was readily available. “They can ask for help. The interior often has help from the deck crew when serving and clearing and doing dishes,” she tweeted.

She added, “Of course I want him to bring it! He has done it before so hoping we see that again!”