Chef Ben Shocks Fans and Would Return to ‘Below Deck’ – ‘I’m Coming Around,’ He Teased
Hell just froze over after Below Deck OG chief stew Kate Chastain insisted there was no way chef Ben Robinson would ever return to the series.
After rescuing Captain Sandy Yawn and crew on Below Deck Mediterranean Season 4, Robinson was pretty firm in his decision to never endure another brutal season again. But during a recent Instagram Live about an upcoming Virgin cruise experience, Robinson admitted he just might consider another Below Deck season – and not just as the relief chef.
Chef Ben would really consider returning to ‘Below Deck’
Robinson said he’s now a “cruise” guy and almost prefers it over yachting after hosting a VIP culinary cruise experience aboard Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady. So when a fan asked if he’d return to Below Deck – even after he insisted in the past he’d never return, his reply was downright shocking.
“For a while back there, I thought never again,” Robinson said. “And then, you know, I don’t mind rescuing a season. I would do that. But I’m coming around. I think it took a lot out of me just doing these consecutive seasons.”
“I actually did three seasons within a 365-day period, which basically meant that I think 220 days of mine were actually literally filmed 24 hours a day,” he recalled. “So I was like the bloody Truman Show. And that beat the hell out of me.”
Why didn’t Chef Ben want to return to ‘Below Deck’ in the past?
Robinson was the first Below Deck chef and appeared in the first two seasons of the show. He came in mid-season on Below Deck Season 3 after chef Leon Walker was fired. He then went on to complete Below Deck Season 4, while at the same time Robinson helped to launch Below Deck Med Season 1. His final season was as the relief chef on Below Deck Med Season 4.
So when fans asked (begged) him to return he was still a little exhausted from filming. “But now I’m kind of coming round, but I might consider it,” he teased. “We’ll see where we go with that. But yeah, I’m in better shape than ever and I think I could probably endure a season. But for a few years back there I was like, ‘Ahh! I’ll stay away!’ But we’ll see.”
During his final season of Below Deck Med, Robinson endured sciatica, a highly painful back injury that radiates down the legs. “I had this bloody sciatica, and I was really struggling to walk when I got on the boat, honestly. It was tough,” Robinson told Bravo’s The Daily Dish. “Without Ibuprofen, I almost had to quit. So I was eating about 4,000 milligrams of Ibuprofen a day just to get through it.”
‘Below Deck’ fans can have a real-life experience now
While fans wait to see if Robinson makes a return to Below Deck, they can get in on a thrilling cruise experience he has cooked up for them this February. This will be Robinson’s second culinary cruise. Robinson hosted his first Virgin Voyage cruise in March and said it was a very intimate, fun experience for everyone. Several people who went on the first excursion with Robinson attended Instagram Live and said he hung out with them throughout the cruise and had lots of laughs, great food, and cocktails.
Now he’s ready to hit the high seas aboard the Scarlet Lady and emphasized that the coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccination restrictions in March were lifted for the upcoming excursion, plus he said the boat’s protocols help to keep all passengers healthy. He is also giving cruisers a special gift from his new gourmet hot sauce collection.
Chef Ben’s 5-day “Culinary Cruise Experience” aboard the Scarlet Lady is February 17 – 22, 2023.
