It’s only the season’s second charter, and certain crew members aboard motor yacht Mustique are already on thin ice. But do they even realize it? Season 9 of Below Deck Mediterranean is setting sail in the stunning locale of Greece. With five-star views, the charter guests expect five-star service, whether it’s in terms of excursions or cuisine. These extravagant getaways have high expectations, especially at such a high cost! But there is someone on the ship and reality series who’s not quite living up to expectations. And it’s the one-man galley machine, Chef Jono Shillingford. Easily one of the coolest personalities to grace the screens, he’s not quite nailing his job. Is it time to give him the sack or will Captain Sandy Yawn let another disappointed charter guest cause her to make a change?
Now in its triumphant ninth season, Below Deck Mediterranean is back to showcase the highs and lows of the yachtie lifestyle. Led by long-time star Captain Sandy Yawn, this season has welcomed back the jovial spirit and always incredible Aesha Scott. Following her time working in the Med, Aesha is back with Captain Sandy, this time as the Chief Stew. With an almost entirely new crew, Captain Sandy and the staff of Mustique have endured some self-inflicted blunders. And it’s only two charters in!
Chef Jono Shillingford Shows That Great People Don’t Always Make Great Yacht Chefs
When it comes to multi-season arcs for chefs on Below Deck, it’s not as frequent as one might think. There have been long-tenured individuals like Chef Ben Robinson and Chef Rachel Hargrove, but for the most part, many chefs in the Below Deck Cinematic Universe spend a season on board and move onto their next project. This season, Below Deck Mediterranean has a fresh face on its crew. Chef Johnathan “Jono” Shillingford is a wonderful and charismatic character. He’s shared that he has a boyfriend, making him the first queer chef in the franchise. When he first met his superior, he informed her that he was a culinary architect. By telling Captain Sandy that his training is in architecture, he builds his food. Not like children playing with theirs, he constructs breathtaking images through culinary arts. On paper, it’s an amazing and enticing skill everyone can’t wait to see. But it’s not necessarily practical on board a megayacht of this caliber. Yet his confidence in the kitchen has proven that this art will be useful. Eventually. When the time is right. But with his track record thus far, he might not have the opportunity to showcase his skills.
During the first charter of the season, Chef Jono didn’t receive all the necessary provisions he requested. He didn’t get the quality of seafood required for the dishes he had planned. He managed to make the meals work. But the first set of charter guests were mostly concerned about their late-night snacks. Perhaps the provision kerfuffle made him to forget the requests from the 20-something Brits because he did not prepare any late-night snacks, causing stew Elena Dubaich to wake him up for assistance. Well, as viewers know, that did not go well, and he refused. Of course, Captain Sandy stated that you never wake up the chef. Meanwhile, the likes of Captain Lee Rosbach and Chief Stew Aesha Scott have stated that they agreed with Elie’s decision. Following the divided opinions, Captain Sandy, Chef Jono, and Aesha all agreed that next time, he would prepare paninis for the late night stew to offer as a late night munchy. The only thing is, when will they ever have guests like the Brits who clearly state late night snacks on their preference sheet? Certainly not the next set of guests!
For the second charter of the season, a celebrity and her friends boarded Mustique. Grand Slam champion and tennis legend Gigi Fernandez and her friends were set to test the crew. This is not the first time Gigi and her friends have appeared on a Bravo yacht series. She first appeared during Season 10 of Below Deck when Captain Sandy temporarily replaced Captain Lee when he was experiencing nerve problems. As Captain Sandy blatantly stated, she met her as a guest and they then became friends. Captain Sandy loves her famous friends! Knowing her friend’s expectations were going to be high, she wanted her experience to be perfect. So much so that she participated in the service experience with the stews. Well, everything was going swimmingly, except for that one guest who drifted a bit too far on the paddle board. So, when the dinner service arrived, the stews did their part, but Chef Jono? Not so much.
He served them chicken…in Greece. Color the guests unimpressed! Gigi and her friends expected fine dining, but they got chicken. Cut to breakfast. When Gigi got her inedible cold eggs, she ran to her friend to discuss her displeasure. And knowing Captain Sandy will always throw her crew under the bus over her famous friends, she’s likely to let Captain Jono have it. When Gigi and her friends compared and name-dropped that their meal was not like Chef Rachel’s, viewers knew trouble was brewing.
Being a Yacht Chef Is Not Always Easy
Maybe Chef Jono needs to be given the benefit of the doubt. Each new job is a learning curve. But with high expectations comes qualified individuals who can adjust on a whim and meet the needs of the guests paying for their services. But Chef Jono has had two charters against him already. Panini-gate is completely on him. Chicken is completely on him. The eggs? Well, maybe he’s not entirely at fault. He was told that the guests wanted an 8:30am breakfast. He prepared for such. But they didn’t arrive until an hour later. So he served them what he already prepared. But Chef Jono, who can eat cold eggs? This was a situation where a backup plan was necessary. Perhaps when the stews alerted him that the guests were seated for breakfast, he could cook up the eggs. They’re not the hardest dish to prepare. There was an easy solution to salvage the situation. While the first group of charter guests did praise Chef Jono for his food, this group is more likely to hinder the tip at the end because of their displeasure with the food.
Below Deck has had some incredible chefs throughout the various series. And others, well, they were a disaster. Nothing will ever beat the homophobic pathological liar Mila Kolomeitseva of Below Deck Med Season 4. Chef Kiko Lorran on Below Deck Med Season 5 and Chef Anthony Iracane of Below Deck Season 11 were both sweet and amazing people, but their culinary skills did not match the high-speed world of yachting. So they were both let go. Chef Jono seems like one of the most spectacular humans to hang out with and have a drink with, but his display thus far on Below Deck Med is causing viewers to question his ability in this specific industry. Knowing that Captain Sandy was willing to rightly switch to a new provisioner for the rest of the charter season, she might be trigger-happy to let Chef Jono go in favor of someone who could live up to her standard. And you can’t necessarily blame her should she go in that direction. But she does owe it to him to alert him about his struggles and give him the opportunity to fix it. If he fails again, at least everyone is on the same page!
Chef Jono is easily someone you want to cheer on, even if you don’t always agree with his stance on certain situations. But when thousands and thousands of dollars are being spent on a once-in-a-lifetime experience, charter guests have the right to complain if their food is not up to snuff. No captain ever wants to fire their staff, but viewers are quite familiar that Captain Sandy is more than willing to make a change if it means the charter season will be improved. Good luck Chef Jono! We’re hoping you can change courses quickly!