Below Deck Chef Rachel Hargrove Reacts to Charter Guests' Shade About Her Food
The charter guests incorrectly thought they tasted "fake crab" in one of her dishes.
Chef Rachel Hargrove was immediately looking forward to cooking for the latest group of charter guests in Below Deck Season 8. "These guests are awesome in my eyes," Rachel said in an interview during the November 30 episode of the series. "I'm really excited about the fact that they're into food, they're into wine. This is pretty much up my alley."
So, Rachel served up something special for the guests' first lunch on board My Seanna: pearl couscous with some "amazing marinated snow crab," as Rachel described it in the episode. "You can't fail with this," Rachel said in an interview.
Unfortunately, the charter guests didn't have the reaction Rachel was hoping for as chief stew Francesca Rubi served their meals (clip above). First, they seemed confused about the crescent-shaped plating of the dish. Then, when the charter guests actually started eating, they wondered if the dish contained "fake crab."
When Francesca went to check on the charter guests, the primary, Tim, asked the chief stew if there was imitation crab in the dish, and she assured him that it was real crab. "On what superyacht would you serve fake crab?" Francesca said in an interview during the episode.
Rachel was shocked when Francesca relayed the charter guests' feedback in the galley during lunch service. "What? No," Rachel told Francesca. "It's like one of the most expensive crabs that you can have."
Still, Rachel thanked Francesca for sharing the charter guests' comments with her. "I'd rather know, bad or good, I don't care," Rachel told the chief stew. "I want to know everything."
The charter guests ultimately enjoyed the dish, with one even calling it "delish."
Captain Lee Rosbach was surprised to hear the charter guests' "fake crab" comments as he watched the November 30 episode of Below Deck. "Really, fake crab, smh [shaking my head]," Captain Lee tweeted as the episode aired. "Appalled."
Rachel shared on Twitter that she was similarly taken aback by what the charter guests had to say about the dish. "I know I was [disappointed] to hear him say that," she replied to Captain Lee's tweet.
The galley drama didn't end there. At the end of the episode, Rachel discovered that the Petrossian caviar the charter guests had requested didn't appear to make it into the yacht's provisions. "I don't have this caviar the guests specifically said they wanted, and I'm losing my s--t," Rachel said in an interview during the episode.
The episode ended with Rachel searching the fridge for the caviar. We'll have to wait and see if this service will be a success or a dinner disaster.
Want more Below Deck? New episodes air every Monday at 9/8c or catch up on this season through the Bravo app.
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