Ep 4. Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

The fourth season of Below Deck Mediterranean's fourth episode is called 'Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen.' The season features an all-star cast of experienced yachties aboard the 184-foot mega yacht Sirocco, cruising the Mediterranean's breathtaking waters.

This episode paints a vivid picture of the challenges that the crew confronted during their charter season. Over the course of the hour, the tension between the crew members reached new heights, and the interaction between the kitchen staff and the interior crew became a significant source of conflict.

The episode begins with the yacht's current charter guests, a group of wealthy and demanding guests, placing several demanding orders for breakfast in their cabins. The sequence becomes increasingly complicated as the breakfast orders multiply, and the bustling kitchen staff struggles to keep up. The kitchen staff, which includes third steward Anastasia Surmava, sous-chef Mila Kolomeitseva, and head chef Ben Robinson, face a slew of unique challenges.

As tensions mount between chefs, it becomes evident that they have vastly different ideas of what well-plated dishes should look like, resulting in some glaring problems. The disagreement between the chefs eventually spills over to the yacht's interior crew and sparks a rift.

The episode sees the interior crew challenging the chef's plating skills and sticking to their belief that dishes need to be presented in a particular way. This puts added pressure on the already frenzied kitchen staff as the culinary expectations of the charter guests continue to increase.

Things start to heat up in the afternoon when Anastasia is assigned table duties, leaving Mila to work on alone in the kitchen. This becomes a significant problem as she struggles to keep up with the volume of work and starts to make mistakes in the dishes she servers. Anastasia, who previously worked in the kitchen, is soon called in to help the struggling Mila. However, this leads to conflict when Anastasia's sloppy service and poor attitude irks Captain Sandy Yawn.

Meanwhile, the guests grow restless, and their tempers flare when the chefs continue to make blunders while cooking their meals. There is a growing sense of unease in the air, with some guests becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of the food served. Hannah Ferrier and João Franco, members of the yacht's stalwart team, take it upon themselves to calm the guests and remind them of the yacht's five-star service.

Over the course of the episode, the pressure on the yacht's crew inches closer to the boiling point. Grappling to keep up with the unending demands of the charter guests, both the kitchen staff and interior crew find themselves increasingly frustrated with each other.

In the end, the episode is typical of the heart-pumping, high-stakes adventure for which Below Deck Mediterranean has become known. It builds suspense and keeps viewers hooked throughout, with a dizzying sequence of twists and turns. The interplay between a predominantly female crew and male guests creates an added layer of nuance and drama to the show, highlighting the challenges of navigating relationships in a high-stress environment.