The Below Deck Mediterranean crew has had a fair share of struggles on the yacht. Whether it’s harsh weather conditions or delays in provisions, the cast members have used their management and team-building skills to resolve those issues.
However, during season 9, episode 3 of the hit Bravo show, Captain Sandy Yawn’s friend and chief guest, Gigi Fernandez, wasn’t satisfied with her food service. When chef Johnathan “Jono” Shillingford served her cold eggs and bland food, Gigi was disappointed, and openly expressed her dislike for the meal preparations.
Later in the episode, Chef Jono explained what went wrong; according to him, he had no experience in cooking for someone who had such “high-end taste.” Jono had never worked in a restaurant before, meanwhile as a gold medalist in the Olympics, Gigi had traveled the world and been to the best fine dining places, so her expectations were high.
Aesha Scott was not in favor of serving a “deconstructed sponge cake” to the chief guest
Recently, Aesha Scott made an appearance on the June 18 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. She shared how stressed the entire crew was, even after Captain Sandy had already informed everyone of Gigi’s likes and dislikes.
Scott recalled the chaos of the situation after Johnathan served the breakfast early. The 17-time grand slam doubles champion wasn’t too pleased to see cold eggs on her plate, so she returned it to the kitchen. She told Andy:
“I was shocked to see that. Like, what is the thought process? Please explain this to me. Because even if breakfast is at 8:30, you need to wait for the guests to wake up before you make eggs, surely.”
Jono prepared seared tender chicken breasts in a coconut lemon sauce for lunch. Captain Sandy wasn’t too thrilled for the chef to cook a simple dish like chicken, which wasn’t up to the super yacht’s caliber. Meanwhile, Shillingford was trying to play safe and cook something he was good at.
Apart from the primary guest, other visitors also thought the sauce was too strongly flavored. Most of them left the table without finishing their food. Chief steward Aesha Scott knew it was a bad idea to serve chicken, but was later shocked to see Jono make another mistake by presenting a “deconstructed sponge cake” as a dessert.
The chief steward thought sponge cakes were “boring,” and looked like “poop on a platter.” Gigi complained about the cake and the meals to Captain Sandy, saying that she had a high standard and the other guests were too nice to criticize the menu. Aesha knew the food reviews wouldn’t be that good, which she could sense from Gigi’s silence. Scott stated:
“Sponge cake?! The most boring out of all the cakes! He made me serve chicken and then I’ve gotta get them sponge cake? I’m gonna be the face of all this sh-t.”
Hopefully, Chef Jonathan will be more careful next time, as Captain Sandy is already upset with him. The next episode will showcase Sandy trying to do some damage control with the guests.
Stream the upcoming Below Deck Mediterranean season 9, episode 4 exclusive on Bravo TV on Monday, June 24, 2024, and the next day on Peacock.