On paper, inviting a Sous Chef to help in the galley of a superyacht is a brilliant idea. Butthat experiment seemed to be a big old dumpster fire. The timing was not onChef Tzarina Mace-RalphorSous Chef Anthony Bird’s side onBelow Deck Down UnderSeason 3. Being thrust into a high-stress situation of preparing a maggot-infested galley befitting charter number one was going to be difficult. But when both members of the team had their guards up and were unwilling to work as a team, disaster was inevitable.
Yes, Cheffy should have utilized Anthony better. Yes, Anthony should have disclosed his frustration in a productive manner. But when you openly look for a job and jump ship,Captain Jason Chamberswas left with no other decision than to fire him on the spot. There was great potential for the young Brit, buthis pride prevented him from growing.
The Galley Was Heating Up
While many fans expected Season 3 to be another reunion between Captain Jason andChief Stew Aesha Scott, to soften the blow of disappointment,Below Deck Down Underbrought back two familiar faces to join the Hunk of the Seas in the Seychelles. As seen in the previous season, Chef Tzarina was exceptional at her job. She just happened to be someone who was easily and highly stressed. Hence, the gift of a Sous Chef. For viewers, the term was something you may only have known from watching Food Network programs. They are the right-hand man or woman to the head chef. But the kitchen is different from that of a galley on a superyacht. Perhaps our expectations made us believe that Anthony was going to be there to prepare meals alongside Cheffy. Instead, like other heads of departments,Chef Tzarina was set to utilize Anthony as her inferior on top of his culinary skills.That was not what he wanted out of this experience. He knew he was better than washing dishes. He wanted to cook! That’s his expertise!
Cleaning on day one was the start of the tension. They truly never had a chance to learn about one another. Discover their strengths and weaknesses. There was no time for the small talk that would lead to a promising working relationship. With guards up,any task Chef Tzarina gave Anthony was a bridge too far.She gave him the opportunity to go out on the beach with the guests. He was excited about it, but when she was working on menus and relegated him to putting provisions away, he aggressively asked for help. We know in the past onBelow Deck, the chef tends to be alone in their world. It wasn’t the most outlandish of asks, but his tone, paired with her animosity toward him, made the situation fraught with tension. She barked orders. He didn’t want to hear them. In the end,they were not going to find a happy medium and have a healthy working relationship.In this high-pressure universe, it would have been a liability.
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Anthony Bird Could Have Been a Star
Anthony Bird could have been a breakout star.Unfortunately, he was not cut out for theBelow Decklife. So he jumped ship. Rather than talking to Chef Tzarina about his feelings, or explaining his frustrations with Captain Jason, Anthony went rogue. He found a job and was like, “Peace! I’m out in two weeks.“Captain Jason is one of the most understanding individualswho have ever appeared on any Bravo series. If he didn’t like Anthony’s disrespect, of course he was going to dismiss him immediately. Thankfully, motoryacht Katina still had a chef on board so they wouldn’t be shorthanded.
With five years of experience, Sous Chef Anthony could easily have been invited onto a charter season as the head chef. But that’s not what he was hired to do. Has the Sous Chef experiment officially been broken now? Hiring a Sous Chef for the first time in franchise history was certainly exciting. Butwas Anthony set up for failure?The series has made a spectacle of making an example of individuals we knew weren’t long for hire.Was Anthony another one of those victims of circumstance?At the end of the day, Anthony did himself in, but he might have been set up for failure.Below Deckwas not ready to have a Sous Chef. At least not without warning. In the future, they could be, just maybe with a better-suited combo of individuals.
Below Deck Down Underairs Mondays at 8:00pm on Bravo. All episodes are available to stream on Peacock.
Below Deck Down Under
