Welcome to the Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 3! In this week’s episode, called “Drifting Standards,” even though a new provisioner gives Captain Sandy hope for a better charter, Jono’s cooking fails to impress. One of the guests gets “lost at sea” alongside deckhand Nathan, which makes Sandy question the competence of her Bosun. Here are some of the highlights from Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 3.
Romance scuttled
When last we visited Below Deck Mediterranean, Gael, and Nathan were looking for a place to canoodle “without cameras.” He finds a spot in the starboard bow locker and messages her to join him. As she’s trying to tippytoe through the galley, she gets busted by a camera crew and mutters, “Oh, sh*t.”
“Do you need a mic?” one of them asks.
“I’m not gonna speak [to anyone],” she responds. “I’m just getting water real quick.” And maybe “a few wee strawberries” while you’re at it?
“Why? What am I thinking? What am I doing?” she asks herself. Then she texts Nathan, “I just got caught by the cameras.”
“Hahaha,” Nathan texts back. “There’s no cameras from the bridge deck, can go straight into the bosun’s locker.” Oh, Nathan, the cameras are EVERYWHERE.
But Gael’s lost her nerve. “Haha, nah, let’s call it a night. Talk soon!” And she heads back down the stairs to her cabin. Sorry, Nathan, no strawberries tonight.
“I’m still in a relationship,” Gael interviews. “I feel like I’m having stronger feelings than I need to have in this moment. I need to go to sleep.”
So that’s that. “F*ck! F*ck me,” Nathan grumbles in frustration.
“I don’t want to pressure her or push her into making any dumb, stupid decision,” he says in a confessional. “I hope I won’t make things awkward, but that’s a risk I will take any time!”
A new ship’s supplier makes everyone happy
The next morning, Captain Sandy is emailing the provisioner. Oh, look! She’s wearing her brand-new wedding ring. So pretty! Congrats again, Sandy! We love a Below Deck Mediterranean love story.
“Last charter was the worst provisioning experience I’ve ever had in my charter career,” she says in a confessional. “So we’re changing provisioning companies.” I would think so! Hopefully, the new provisioners will be far more professional.
Aesha is pleased that Sandy has hired a new company. “Amazing! Fingers crossed this charter’s gonna be much more reliable.”
Iain, Aesha, and Jono join Sandy for a preference sheet meeting. The primary for the new charter is two-time Olympic gold medalist tennis champion Gigi Fernández. Sandy says, “I actually had her as a charter client, and we became friends after that. I had a great charter with them, and that’s why they’re coming back.”
“The chef I had [then] did, like, seven courses at each meal,” the captain adds, looking at Jono, who doesn’t look terribly thrilled. “Her expectations are high.”
One of the guests requests no mayonnaise, no lamb, turkey, duck, or pork. “She also has a gluten allergy,” Jono points out. “She hates seafood, whereas seafood is one of the top requests [by the others].” What on earth are they going to feed this woman?
Even though it will be challenging, Sandy says, “I really want to please her. They’re used to getting whatever they want when they want it.”
Jono is worried about cooking for someone who has so many difficult restrictions. “Pressure makes us better,” Sandy encourages him.
When the provisions arrive, Aesha exclaims, “Oh my God, a U.S. provision company that actually knows how to provision!”
Jono is nearly crying with relief. “What a great company!” Aesha squeals. “They actually had things I wanted, and they come on time!”
Not-so-tasty tacos
For the guests’ first meal on the boat, Jono prepares the seafood tacos they asked for. He says the last boat he worked on, the owners were from Mexico. “I’m gonna bring the spice,” he says. “The tacos are gonna be talking. They’re gonna be saying, ‘Eat me! Eat me!’” I hope they like spicy food, cause he’s definitely not holding back on the spices.
As she takes the food out to the guests, Ellie treads carefully with Jono. “After the whole panini-gate last trip,” she says, “I am definitely biting my tongue … All I can do is just remain professional going forward and not let this affect my job at all.”
At the table, Jono may have gone overboard (see what I did there?) on the spice because Gigi comments, “The spice in the rice, there’s a very distinct taste.”
“Do you like it?”
“No,” she responds. “There’s something overbearing in it.” Could it be the cardamom? That doesn’t sound like something that belongs in tacos.
“Yeah, you’re right,” her friend agrees.
The rest of the group concurs. “Woo, that’s spicy!” says one of the group.
When Ellie asks how everything is, Gigi decides, “It’s not Rachel good [the chef on their last charter], but it’s good.”
Adrift at sea
Iain is happy with his crew. “I have a really good team,” he says. “Everyone’s improving. Things are going smoothly. No one’s an idiot.” Don’t tempt fate, Iain.
Laura wants to paddleboard. After getting permission, Nathan accompanies her.
But when they try to return, Nathan realizes they’re farther away than they should be. Rather than watching the guests in the water, Joe is distracted by the ladies who want him to “take your shirt off!”
Attempting to paddle back, Nathan interviews, “We’re actually going backwards because the current is that strong. So, yeah, we’re stuck at sea, and I’m sh*tting myself.”
“What happened to Laura and Nathan?” someone finally asks.
“They’re way too far out,” Sandy says.
Fortunately, a passing catamaran picks them up and returns them safely to the Mustique. Sandy’s not happy that they almost lost one of the guests. Iain launches the tender to retrieve them, and Sandy radios, “Come see me as soon as the guests are back on board.”
“This is embarrassing,” she tells Joe. When he admits he should have had eyes on them, Sandy calls it a “lesson learned.”
“I appreciate that Joe is accountable,” Sandy interviews. “But [as for] Iain, you need two people watching the guests at all times. It’s Iain’s job as the bosun to delegate the watch person.”
“Always have your eyes on the guests,” she tells him. “When guests are in the water on any toy, one person in the tender follows them. Always. Make them a priority.” Neither Nathan nor Laura was wearing a life jacket. They could have drowned.
Iain interviews that he didn’t know he was supposed to keep eyes on guests in the water. Has he never worked on a yacht before?
“Go apologize to Gigi,” Sandy says.
“Poop on a platter”
When Sandy sees that Jono has prepared chicken as the main course, she’s a little disappointed. “The expectation of a Mediterranean charter is five-star food,” she says in a confessional. “Gigi has traveled the world. She has dined in some of the finest restaurants. Chicken is really not something that you serve on a super yacht. Everything has to be perfect.”
Gigi isn’t thrilled with the chicken either. “It’s just too much rosemary.”
“Everyone’s quiet at the table,” Aesha notices. “Coming from someone who proclaims very loudly every time they love food, I just feel like it’s usually not great if people aren’t wowing from their seats.”
“How was the chicken?” she asks the guests. “Is it okay?”
Julie Ann offers, “Mine came out pretty decent.” Not exactly a rave review.
When Aesha returns to the kitchen and sees what’s on offer for dessert, she exclaims, “Sponge cake?! It’s the most boring out of all the cakes.” Even though I could forgive him for the cake since it’s chocolate, Jono’s added a scoop of raspberry sorbet to the plate, which kind of looks like an afterthought. Plus, it’s raspberry, which I hate. Yuck. Aesha calls it “poop on a platter” in a confessional.
“You made me serve chicken, and then I’ve gotta give them spongecake?” she wails. “Like, I’ve gotta be the face of all of this sh*t.” It’s embarrassing.
When Aesha returns to ask the guests if it’s okay, Gigi says, “No, it could be more chocolatey.” Rather than dwelling on the disappointing dinner, Aesha hastily moves them along to the next activity.
Cold eggs for breakfast?
Next morning, Jono prepares Huevos Rancheros. But by the time the guests get to the table, the eggs have been sitting for an hour and a half. That’s disgusting. This is not how to Below Deck Mediterranean, Jono.
“Okay, Aesha, my egg is completely cold,” Gigi says. “If you could just bring an egg that’s hot, everything else is completely fine. There’s just nothing worse than cold eggs.”
Later when Gigi comes to visit Sandy on the bridge, she asks, “How was your breakfast?” Gigi admits the eggs were cold.
“So I sent them back cause you can’t have cold eggs,” she adds. “These people don’t want to complain … Like, last night’s dinner, ‘Chef’s Choice’ and this is what you give us?”
Gigi adds, “When you call something ‘deconstructed,’ it just means that it didn’t work out.” Not if you’re a good chef, it doesn’t.
When Sandy asks about the chocolate cake for dessert, Gigi admits, “It was not good. And then, lunch had some spice, I couldn’t place it. It was completely overbearing. Like, I have a high standard.”
“Oh, I know,” Sandy sympathizes. “On a charter yacht, you want the food to be superb.” These guests are paying a lot of money to be on this boat. They expect five-star dining.
“I know Gigi,” Sandy says in a confessional. “She wouldn’t complain just to complain.”
“I’m sorry,” Sandy tells her friend. “Thanks for letting me know. We’re gonna fix it.”
As soon as Gigi leaves the bridge, Captain radios, “Jono, Jono, can you please come to the bridge?” Uh oh. Somebody’s in trouble.
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE BELOW DECK MEDITERRANEAN SEASON 9, EPISODE 3? DO YOU THINK SANDY WILL FIRE JONO? HOW ABOUT IAIN?