Below Deck Mediterraneanseason 9 was a struggle for Chef Johnathan Shillingford, and his difficulties on the Mustique make it clear thathe shouldn’t return forBelow Deck Medseason 10. Chef Johnathan, who went by Jono during his time aboard Mustique, was excited to join the superyacht as the chef for the season. He hoped that he’d be able to impress Captain Sandy Yawn throughoutBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 9, opening new doors and creating opportunities for him in the future. While Chef Jono knew he had his work cut out for him, but he didn’t expect to struggle.
Although Jono is a capable chef, he understood that cooking for the type of guests who book charters withBelow Deckaboard Mustique was different than his previous jobs.Working as the chef of a luxury superyacht would be taxing, especially for someone who wasn’t professionally trained in the traditional sense. As a more home-taught chef, Jono had trained for his position, but he hadn’t attended culinary academies like otherBelow Deckchefs have in the past. Captain Sandy seemed a bit wary of the chef but chose to give him a chance.
While Jono was excited to prove himself aboard Mustique, things were quickly more stressful than he anticipated. The first charter of the season came without the majority of the ordered provisions, and Jono had to think on his feet for a group of charter guests who weren’t as understanding as the crew hoped. Jono made his way through the first charter and, along with the rest of theBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 9 crew, was able to handle the high pressure of the next few charters without missing provisions.
Though Jono had what he needed to create dazzling, delicious meals during the next charters of the season, he didn’t manage to produce food that the guests would remember the way he wanted them to. Getting to a point where he was struggling in his work quickly,Jono’s meals for the next few chartersof the season weren’t up to the typicalBelow Deck Mediterraneanstandard.Chef Jono’s meals were underwhelming for the guests, and though he was able to recuperate in his performance, it was evident he was in over his head.
AlthoughJono was able to pick himself back up for a time, the end of the charter season saw some of his biggest blunders. While the chef notably seemed to understand that he’d done poorly and wanted to improve himself afterBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 9, Chef Jono needs to make sure he’s ready before he returns to the reality TV version of a luxury superyacht. Chef Jono shouldn’t be asked back forBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 10, as he has a lot to learn before he returns.
8Chef Johnathan Might Not be A Real Chef
Although Chef Jono was able to work aboard Mustique, his background in culinary arts is a short one that would shock most viewers.Below Deck Mediterraneanwasn’t the first time Chef Jono workedin a galley, buthis time cooking aboard luxury vessels has been limited, as his background is actually in architectural design. Jono shared that before he was a chef, he was a trained architect, but the rest of his family worked in the culinary arts. As a self-taught chef, Jono had to catch up to the typical superyacht chefs seen onBelow Deckduring the charter season.
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WhileChef Jono may not have been traditionally trained as a chef, he has experience working abroad superyachts in the past. Sharing that his passion for cooking didn’t seem feasible in his younger years, especially after seeing the toll it took on those in his family who worked in kitchens, he chose to go for something more practical. Though architecture is something Jono enjoys, when he returned to his home nation of Dominica, he wanted to get back into cooking. Even so,the lack of experience Chef Jono hascaused him to struggle, and may keep him from returning.
7Captain Sandy Likely Wouldn’t Want To Work With Chef Johnathan Again
She Struggled To Work With Him The First Time
Although Chef Jono has shared that he enjoyedhis time getting to know Captain Sandy, theBelow Deck Mediterraneancaptain may not be interested in working with the chef again. Captain Sandy has a high standard for her guests and has shared in the past that she wants her staff to be the best they can. WhileCaptain Sandy has seen moments of greatness in Chef Jono, the issues he had aboard Mustique may be too much to see her jumping to work with him in the future.
ThroughoutBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 9, Chef Jono struggled to make a good impression on the guests who were aboard Mustique. During one of the most important charters of the season, where one of Captain Sandy’s personal friends was aboard the superyacht, Chef Jono bungled his dishes. Messing up multiple services and eventually making a near-fatal mistake,Captain Sandy likely wouldn’t want to take a chance working with Jono a second timeunless he took the time to cultivate his skills.
6Chef Johnathan Was A Rumored Producer Plant
He May Not Have Even Been A Real Yachtie
Although there’s not much proof of Chef Johnathan being a producer plant,it was rumored that he was a plant fromBelow Deck Mediterranean’sproducers to create more dramawithin the season. Jono, who struggled throughout the charter season, had enough skills as a chef to be accepted aboard the superyacht crew andmake an impression on Captain Sandy. While he may have been cast on the series with the producers knowing he wasn’t up to par, he did at least perform in the early days of the season.
Chef Jono lent credence to the idea that he could be a producer plant throughout the season, continuously finding his performance in limbo as he moved through the charters.Jonathan wasn’t able to find a consistent levelof performance, doing poorly in one charter and then excelling in the next. While it may have simply been Jono’s skills and the nerves that come from being part ofBelow Deck Med,his inability to perform consistently was difficult to ignore when rumors of him being a producer plant came up.
5Chef Johnathan Almost Killed A Charter Guest
He Served Them A Dish With An Allergen
During one of the latercharters ofBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 9,Chef Jono was dealing with a group of guests who wanted to do a sushi dinner, but forgot about the primary preference sheetwith a major stipulation. For each charter, Captain Sandy goes through the preference sheets of the charter guests, explaining what they want on their charter and specifying to Jono what they’d like for meals and any dietary restrictions they have. During a late charter, Captain Sandy shared a guest was coming aboard with a deadly allergy to raw fish, so Jono needed to be careful.
WhileJono was there during the preference meeting, he made a grave error when plating the meals for the guests during their pre-determined sushi dinner. Serving the guest with the dietary issue a plate of raw fish, the guest declined and shared that if she ate the meal, she’d likely die. The issue was major for Captain Sandy, whotried to call in a replacement for Jono because she wanted to let him go for the incident. When there was no replacement available, Sandy had to keep Jono on staff.
4Chef Johnathan Didn’t Put A Lot Of Effort Into His Dishes
He Often Was Shown Winging It
AlthoughJonocalled himself a culinary architect at the beginning of the season, his food was often panned for its lack of pizzaz. Throughout the season, it was clear thatJono needed to step up the quality of his dishes from charter to charter depending on what the guests were interested in eating. Some of his meals were great successes, but others fell flat, and it was something the interior department often took notice of while they were serving the guests.
Though there were some meal services that were slam dunks for Jono, others were lacking the luxurious quality that superyacht charter guests expect. During one of the later services in the charter season,Jono’s dessert was panned by the guests, who were expecting something a bit fancier for the event they were celebrating. While Jono was able to deliver high quality food,he didn’t put the effort into his dishes consistently to ensure that the guests were satisfied.
3Aesha Always Complained About Chef Johnathan’s Food
The Chief Stew Wasn’t Happy With His Performance
The interior department interacts with the chef’s meals the most aboard the superyacht, which often means that they’re the most critical of what’s being prepared in the galley. While Chief Stew Aesha Scott was one ofJono’s biggest cheerleaders onBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 9, she also took the most issue with his meals when they weren’t up to par.Aesha often made it clear that she wasn’t happy with the meals Jono was giving herand the other Stews to serve the guests.
WhileAesha had praised Jono’s cookingthrough the charter season, happy with the crew meals he was preparing and finding some of the guest meals up to par, there were often meals she felt weren’t up to a typical standard. Aesha wanted Jono to be successful, and did her best to advise him during the charter season, but there was only so much she could do to help him in his role while working in her own.Aesha struggled to ensure that Jono was cooking at a level she could bring to the gueststhroughout the charter season.
2Chef Johnathan Didn’t Like Taking Criticism
He Wasn’t Happy To Receive Feedback
WhileJono wasn’t above receiving feedbackfrom Captain Sandy, he didn’t seem to like criticism from anyone else aboard Mustique. While his performance was admittedly one of the worst of his career, Jono wouldn’t take criticism well. WhenCaptain Sandy would come to Chef Jono to talk about the issues she was havingwith his charters, he would listen, but rarely made any changes to the way he was working in the kitchen.
While it was okay for Captain Sandy to give him criticism, he didn’t appreciate it when anyone else did.Aesha shared a few of the guest complaintswith Jono rather than taking them directly to Captain Sandy, hopeful that he’d take her word on the issues and change his ways in the galley. Instead,Jono seemed irritated at the idea that he had to shift anything he was doing, and found the feedback to be annoying rather than helpful.
1Chef Johnathan Said Below Deck Was The Worst Charter Of His Career
He Did Poorly Under Immense Pressure
AsChef Jono moved through his timeonBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 9, he knew that he was dealing with some serious issues in his performance that he hadn’t had in his career before. Jono, who had worked in galleys before and felt he was ready for the challenge of a superyahct, seemed to be in over his head often. Making decisions based on impulse rather than information,Jono struggled to succeed on the superyacht in a way that confused him.
WithBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 9 keepingJono struggling with each charter, there was very little time for him to catch up with himself and learn from his mistakes. He shared during the season’s run thathe felt it was the worst charter season of his career, mostly because of the immense pressure he felt being aboard Mustique. Moving quickly and working efficiently are likely skills Chef Jono has, but he had a hard time showing that onBelow Deck Mediterraneanand likely won’t be asked back because of it.
Below Deck Mediterranean
Cast
Below Deck Mediterranean is a Bravo reality television series that follows a crew that works aboard a gigantic superyacht during the busy season. The show highlights the challenges of the crew as they serve their high-end clientele. Each season tackles new locations, such as Greece, Croatia, Italy, and France, with some repeating.
