S11.E16: Salt in Chef's Wounds

[aqusdealer]

 

"A picky primary tests Chef Nick's patience; the couples on board make plans to see if their boatmances survive the real world."

 

Airs 5/20/24

[aghst]

So the penultimate episode of the season ends on the cliffhanger, Kerry vs. Ben and Kyle?

Why do I think this will be resolved into another nothing burger?  Could it be because BD always edit things this way, some dire cliffhanger which doesn't turn into some meltdown as hinted?

I can kind of get Ben's attitude.  So maybe that this "insubordination" will hurt any future prospects in the industry.  Kerry made him bosun for the first time but is being a bosun on a TV show about yachting the same thing as being a bosun on real yachting business?

Is it something he could put down on his CV?  He doesn't seem to be worried about it.  Worst case, he gets fired, doesn't get invited back to do more BD shows.  He's already done two seasons anyways.

Barbie is also slacking it since the season is going to an end and her work ethic goes out the window since Kyle is distracting her?

Or is daddy's little princess with the "bougie" tastes not the grind and grit person that she claims to be?

Paris' open contempt for Nick is something.  All because of a couple of rude comments?  For instance, Xandi has more of a legitimate grievance against Barbie, covering up for her.

[Chatty Cake]

The bunk inspection seemed like drummed up last minute drama. Ben and Kyles messy unmade beds were the last ones inspected. I’m sure they could have made their beds and shoved their crap somewhere. It also seemed to me like someone told Captain Kerry to behave like an asshole, the way Sandy Yawn does, out of nowhere for no real reason.  The other thing that struck me was that Ben gets called out for a messy bunk but kissing his lead deckhand on the job is no big deal? 
 

[Baltimore Betty]

4 hours ago, Chatty Cake said:

The bunk inspection seemed like drummed up last minute drama. Ben and Kyles messy unmade beds were the last ones inspected. I’m sure they could have made their beds and shoved their crap somewhere. It also seemed to me like someone told Captain Kerry to behave like an asshole, the way Sandy Yawn does, out of nowhere for no real reason.  The other thing that struck me was that Ben gets called out for a messy bunk but kissing his lead deckhand on the job is no big deal? 
 

He stuck his head in each cabin and would assign a rating number randomly, based on what exactly and the clean cabins looked the same level of cleaniness, he didn't open a closet or look in the bathrooms...what kind of inspection was that? Sandy never even did cabin inspections and she is the most petty captain.

Kyle sitting there slack jawed, wearing a helmet...it made me laugh. In all fairness he and Ben were working all day on deck and didn't have time to clean their cabin.

The guest who didn't want salt anywhere near her food confused me, why wouldn't she put that on her preference sheet, seems like that is a big thing for food preference.

Other than the salt talks this was a boring episode.

 

[snarts]

I seem to recall cabin inspections (and multiple fire drills) from Captain Lee in S1. 

It did scream producer intervention but regardless, if the captain requested it, you do it. If Ben has any desire for a legitimate career in yachting, it was a stupid move. 

Looked to me that Barbie was on her phone and accidentally fell asleep. She's not the first or last to oversleep.  They work 16+ hour days and then drink themselves silly on their few days off. 

Why does it feel like Fraser and his mean girl posse must always have a target? Barbie, then Anthony, then Nick, now back to Barbie. They're obnoxious. I don't see what's so fantastic about Xandi other than she kisses Fraser's ass. She hates the charter, avoids service, and hangs out in cabins & laundry room. That's 3rd stew material on any other season.

[iMonrey]

It does seem like the editors are hard pressed to stitch together a narrative towards the end here. We're back to "bad Barbie" with shots of her gabbing on the phone or napping juxtaposed with footage of the other two girls working. Or telling Xandi she needs a five minute break to put on her false eyelashes. Or mishearing the guests saying the food is salty, and telling Fraser they are complaining there's no salt. And then Fraser relays this info to Nick and they assume the guests like salty food. 

And since when do Captains do crew quarter inspections? Despite Fraser saying they happen I do not recall ever seeing it before. I honestly don't know what difference it makes what their cabins look like. Guests will never see them and if they want to live in a pigsty that's their business as long as they do their jobs.

[Mr. Miner]

I would still like to see skeevy creep Ben fired.

[psychoticstate]

So what was Ben's point about saying that Nick was 40 and still yachting?  So?  How old is Captain Kerry?  At least Nick has stuck with it and made a nice little career for himself.  

Why didn't Fraser confirm with the guests that they wanted their food salted more before passing on the message to Nick?  It's like a bad game of Telephone.   And while Nick's plates may not be the most elaborate or decorative, I personally wouldn't care about that so much as the taste.  If the guests are happy, then Fraser and Paris should just zip it. 

And Sunny and Paris hoovering up the extra creme brulees?  Big no no.  Not just a no no in front of the guests but they should know never to touch it until all the guests are done.  Fraser should have stopped them immediately.  

I also thought it was out of line for Paris to go to the charter guest to confirm that the guest told her she could eat the dessert and then say that she was being scolded for eating it.  She was being rightly scolded in my book.  And it sounded to me like the guest was telling the primary that Paris should be able to have the dessert.  I wouldn't have assumed anything and wouldn't have touched it until the guests were en route back to the ship.  

And speaking of, since I didn't comment on this last week, Paris was completely out of line with Nick - and probably continues to be.  She's third stew, he's the chef.  I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate him telling her how to do her job.  Take a seat.  

Regardless of whether or not cabin inspections are a thing, it was a direct order from the captain.  Ben didn't have to agree with Kerry's decision but he should have respected it.  Case in point:  Ben was pretty pissed off that Dylan didn't care for Ben's decision to name Sunny as lead deckhand and didn't appreciate that Dylan didn't appreciate the decision.  Kind of the same thing.  

I think Ben could be a decent to good bosun if he'd drop the attitude and focus more on working than getting his d**k wet.  Did laugh over the editing monkeys making sure to show us shots of Ben playing around with Sunny interspersed with Ben's comments about how hard he was working.  

I really don't want to hear anymore about Sunny and Ben (or really, Sunny) trying to make a go of their boatmance.  Enough already.  Ben has shown her who he really is.  He's hooking up.  That's it.  Sunny is a glutton for punishment with low self esteem.  Ben is going to continue hitting it until the end of the season and that will be that.  

As much as I like Barbie and Kyle together, he's going to ruin it.  She's asked him to chill with the taking his clothes off thing and it looks like he's not listening.  That would be enough for me too.  I dated someone like that once in my early 20s.  It got old real fast.  With the other differences that Barbie is concerned about, this is probably going to be a deal breaker for her.

Looks like from the preview for next episode that Xandi comes after Barbie again.  WTF, girl?  I think someone else posted this either upthread or in a previous one but I don't understand why Fraser thinks Xandi is so great.  She seems to spend all her time cleaning cabins and doing laundry - usually not a second stew's turf.  If she dislikes being around guests that much, she's not destined to be a chief stew - so Fraser should have made Barbie second.

Have to mention - Barbie's tablescapes really are gorgeous.   

 

1 hour ago, Mr. Miner said:

I would still like to see skeevy creep Ben fired.

Would be hilarious, especially after Ben said about Kerry and his cabin inspections:  "What's he going to do?  Fire us?"  Yep! 

[Baltimore Betty]

3 hours ago, snarts said:

Why does it feel like Fraser and his mean girl posse must always have a target? Barbie, then Anthony, then Nick, now back to Barbie.

Narcissists always need an enemy/target and what better way to get in good with Fraser than having a common enemy?

[psychoticstate]

55 minutes ago, Baltimore Betty said:

Narcissists always need an enemy/target and what better way to get in good with Fraser than having a common enemy?

Truth.  

I mean, what's Fraser going to compliment Xandi on?  How well she scrubs a toilet or throws clothes into the dryer?   I'm not being critical of those tasks but that's all we really see her do.  Is that enough to earn the second stew stripes?  Not IMO.

Fraser has really annoyed me this season (and I say this as someone who liked him previously).  I do think he's genuinely concerned about the guests having a good experience and he is spot on with keeping his cabin/quarters orderly -- but his mean girl posse is eye rolling and he crossed the propriety line with the charter guest that he kissed.  

If there is a reunion, I definitely want to get Kerry's take on all of that, plus Ben and Sunny hooking up and then Ben promoting Sunny and the shenanigans that were going on in the galley.  

[65mickey]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

And since when do Captains do crew quarter inspections? Despite Fraser saying they happen I do not recall ever seeing it before. I honestly don't know what difference it makes what their cabins look like. Guests will never see them and if they want to live in a pigsty that's their business as long as they do their jobs.

I don't remember any either. I do remember chef Leon complaining about Kate being messy and never cleaning the cabin before she switched cabins. But I never remember a captain doing a cabin check. And this was on the last charter of the season. Or course their cabins were bound to be messy.

[iMonrey]

2 hours ago, psychoticstate said:

I don't understand why Fraser thinks Xandi is so great.  She seems to spend all her time cleaning cabins and doing laundry - usually not a second stew's turf. 

Yes, but the fact that she does it without complaint speaks volumes to her character. She doesn't consider herself above those things. And she's not asking anyone beneath her to do anything she isn't willing to do herself. That's just good leadership. 

Her issue with Barbie's work ethic seems legit to me. I concede that editing plays a big role in this but between Barbie and Xandi I trust Xandi's judgment more. She hasn't been a big drama queen the way Barbie has.

[aghst]

BTW, Ben talked like there could be a future with Sunny.  That's after saying he really doesn't see anything beyond hooking up with Sunny.

They must be feeding them these cliches, because Kyle said the same thing again this episode.

Sunny said Ben is her type, sporty, athletic, kind of take charge (forget the phrase she used but the same idea) and hairy.

Highly doubtful they stayed together for long after the season ended.

[snarts]

30 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Yes, but the fact that she does it without complaint speaks volumes to her character. She doesn't consider herself above those things. And she's not asking anyone beneath her to do anything she isn't willing to do herself. That's just good leadership. 

She's complained every time Fraser dared to put her on service, including the beach picnic where she got sunburnt, She doesn't want to so anything but housekeeping, which hardy justifies her second stripe.

[SemiCharmedLife]

6 hours ago, aghst said:

BTW, Ben talked like there could be a future with Sunny.  That's after saying he really doesn't see anything beyond hooking up with Sunny.

They must be feeding them these cliches, because Kyle said the same thing again this episode.

Sunny said Ben is her type, sporty, athletic, kind of take charge (forget the phrase she used but the same idea) and hairy.

Highly doubtful they stayed together for long after the season ended.

Gee, after Camille shut him down again, Ben suddenly sees a future with Sunny.  What a coincidence!  It's really too bad the viewers are not going to see Sunny stand up to Ben and put him in his place, after the way he has treated her this season.  Oh, well, at least we get to see Captain Kerry chew him out.  I wonder if he will speak his mind about it being last charter and all the other negative stuff he was saying about Captain Kerry in his talking heads. Methinks not.

[SemiCharmedLife]

Saw this article and had to share. Ben asserts he won’t work with Captain Kerry again. I think he’s got it twisted- Captain Kerry won’t have him!!!

https://screenrant.com/below-deck-ben-willoughby-refuses-work-captain-kerry-again/

[iMonrey]

41 minutes ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

Saw this article and had to share. Ben asserts he won’t work with Captain Kerry again. I think he’s got it twisted- Captain Kerry won’t have him!!!

Yeah, this sounds suspiciously like Ben was disinvited back for another season and is trying to spin it as his own decision.

[Mr. Miner]

It will be a pleasure watching creepy Ben sail off into obscurity.

[nokat]

On 5/21/2024 at 2:09 AM, aghst said:

Paris' open contempt for Nick is something.  All because of a couple of rude comments?

Did something happen off screen for that level of contempt? Her telling Nick how to do his job was over the top ridiculous.  Seriously, the plate art drizzle is kind of over now, Paris. Let's see you feed the crew plus impress the guests, you over bleached twatcicle.  I swear, her and Fraser are trying to make Nick fail with their interference.

The guests saying they love the food is not enough for them.

[Mr. Miner]

I kind of feel sorry for Sunny, with her broken man picker and all.

[SemiCharmedLife]

7 hours ago, Mr. Miner said:

I kind of feel sorry for Sunny, with her broken man picker and all.

I certainly did prior to the gazillionth time she took Ben back after he blatantly disrespected her.  I still like her, though, but she has made her own bed...

Speaking of making beds, Ben and Ronnie on the "Watch What Crappens" podcast summed up that Ben was being like a teenage kid who refused to make his bed/clean his room.  Then he had to badmouth the captain.  All this because he didn't want to do anything on the last charter!

[Chalby]

On 5/21/2024 at 11:46 AM, psychoticstate said:

So what was Ben's point about saying that Nick was 40 and still yachting?  So?  How old is Captain Kerry?  At least Nick has stuck with it and made a nice little career for himself.  

Why didn't Fraser confirm with the guests that they wanted their food salted more before passing on the message to Nick?  It's like a bad game of Telephone.   And while Nick's plates may not be the most elaborate or decorative, I personally wouldn't care about that so much as the taste.  If the guests are happy, then Fraser and Paris should just zip it. 
 

This comment made me sit up and pay attention because of the insinuation that being a fully trained Chef at 40 is beneath all the crew. WTF? I recognize that yachting is a young person's game because of the energy required, but a good chef is a good chef and worth their weight in gold. The chef is the one that determines the final tip amount. They are treating Nick like he's a befuddled 65 year-old and should have retired. This cast probably wants to see anyone over 30 shot...

Edited May 24 by Chalby

[Shrek]

18 hours ago, nokat said:

you over bleached twatcicle. 

I know LOL is overused so let's just say I spat out a little of my morning cuppa reading that so thank you for the laugh. Now I need to remember to use it in a sentence.

[RoseAllDay]

On 5/21/2024 at 11:24 AM, snarts said:

I seem to recall cabin inspections (and multiple fire drills) from Captain Lee in S1. 

It did scream producer intervention but regardless, if the captain requested it, you do it. If Ben has any desire for a legitimate career in yachting, it was a stupid move. 

Looked to me that Barbie was on her phone and accidentally fell asleep. She's not the first or last to oversleep.  They work 16+ hour days and then drink themselves silly on their few days off. 

Why does it feel like Fraser and his mean girl posse must always have a target? Barbie, then Anthony, then Nick, now back to Barbie. They're obnoxious. I don't see what's so fantastic about Xandi other than she kisses Fraser's ass. She hates the charter, avoids service, and hangs out in cabins & laundry room. That's 3rd stew material on any other season.

That was the first cabin inspection I can recall, but I think it’s a good idea. It’s a wonder Sandy Yawn doesn’t do them. Lee’s “fire drill” was just basically to harass the crew when they thought they had a day to goof off when the charter canceled. He knew good and well that they couldn’t manage it. 😄I still laugh when I see CJ doing the kick with the hose while in fire gear in the kitchen. The second drill was a little better, but nothing would satisfy Lee.