‘Below Deck’ Oysters: Were Rocky’s Grenadine Oysters Trying to Be Chef Ilesha’s Oysters with Mignonette Sauce?
Chef Ilesha Dell designed a lavish meal on the Below Deck Sailing Yacht finale complete with oysters topped with mignonette sauce.
The guests devoured the meal, raving about every single dish, including the oysters. Dell’s oysters almost resembled Rocky Dakota’s Below Deck Season 3 oyster creation. Dakoka designed an oyster appetizer topped with a drizzle of grenadine. The guests politely didn’t eat most of the oysters – in fact, the primary vomited.
So what is the difference between mignonette sauce versus grenadine on oysters? And should chefs never put grenadine on fresh oysters?
‘Below Deck’ oysters grenadine vs. oysters with mignonette sauce
Contrary to the reactions of horror on Below Deck Season 3, it isn’t totally bizarre to drizzle grenadine over fresh oysters. Some chefs consider grenadine to be a creative compliment to the briny delicacy. The sweetness from the grenadine is meant to offset the savory appeal of the oyster to create a harmonious balance.
Mignonette sauce over oysters is a more traditional approach. Mignonette sauce somewhat resembles grenandine in the reddish color, but the hue is derived from red wine vinegar, combined with finely minced pink shallots. The red wine vinegar and shallots are whisked with black pepper. Then the mixture is drizzled over the oysters.
Obviously the grenadine oysters versus the mignonette sauce oysters provide a completely different culinary result.
The ‘Below Deck’ oysters with grenadine moment went viral
Dakota’s “one night only” as chef went viral during Below Deck Season 3. The chef had suddenly been fired and Dakota, who was a third stew with a culinary background, stepped in for the night. The crew seemed very doubtful that the oysters would be a hit (they weren’t). So former chief stew Kate Chastain did some “field work” after the season wrapped.
She went to a local seafood restaurant, ordered fresh oysters and asked for a bottle of grenadine. “B/c I just need to know. Sidenote: the server bringing it out said ‘I think this is a very bad idea,’ she tweeted along with a photo.
Chastain bravely did a taste test and looked pretty grossed out. “I wanted to give Rocky the benefit of the doubt but….’it’s like a chemical reaction of badness’ just no,” she captioned a video.
Chef Ben Robinson quickly stepped in to finish Below Deck Season 3. But Chastain joked, “Ben was definitely an improvement after Leon but let’s not get crazy.”
Chef Ilesha’s oysters with mignonette sauce were a hit
Dell outdid herself for the final dinner on Below Deck Sailing Yacht. The guests requested an “Anything But Clothes” party and she more than delivered on the food. The meal kicked off with oysters. Cameras zoomed in on the preparation and Dell topping each fresh oyster with mignonette sauce.
“Here we have some cultivated oysters and some wild oysters,” Dell told the guests. “With a pink peppercorn mignonette. The guests’ reaction to the dish was pure delight and they truly seemed to enjoy the oysters. The also marveled at the oyster shell size.
The oysters were followed with a homemade rainbow papadelli with burnt butter sauce.
