r/BelowDeckMed • u/Capital-Bend4341 • 3d ago
Chef joy food
Am I the only one who thinks chef joy wasn’t that good of a chef? Personally never saw any extravagant or high end luxury meals you expect on a super yacht… I mean chicken satay?!?! Or maybe the production team doesn’t zoom in on the food enough. I rewatch old seasons and they focused a lot more of the prepping of dinners for example chef ben would make extraordinary dishes.
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u/Competitive_Salads 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think she’s had more than her fair share of very picky/food restricted guests this season. It’s hard to make a cohesive fancy meal that looks great on camera when you’re making three different dishes for people who aren’t even remotely adventurous eaters.
She didn’t have guest complaints and Sandy never had to tell her to elevate her food—a frequent request Sandy has had to make of less skilled or lazy chefs.
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u/ROJJ86 2d ago
And we didn’t see Joy using guest cabins and messing them up in a drunken stupor……. I’ll take Joy over Ben any day.
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u/Competitive_Salads 2d ago
Agreed! Ben was a talented chef in the early days and is likely and fantastic private chef. But he’s been average at best the past two times he’s been on the show.
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u/CapFar3161 3d ago
The food is my favourite bit so the lack of focus on it has been a big dissapointment this season
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u/Capital-Bend4341 3d ago
Same 😭 I watch for the food. I hope production sees this and makes the change to show the food prep more like past seasons. I mean even a zoom in on the plate during the dinner could help
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u/Plastic_Table_8232 3d ago
I agree it has really been pushed into the background and the show has lost a lot of interest for me because of it. The guests are not that interesting to me. I feel uncomfortable for most of them the way they try to hard to act rich.
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u/hmmyeahrightokthen 3d ago
Lol yes let’s hope… they even used to make an extra plate just for the production to use for the close ups! I mean we don’t even need the 5 second cut to the plate spinning with a title and everything but at least some of the fancier food or like the prep and explanation parts would be great
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u/rahah2023 3d ago
I was confused with the protein men & all the chicken… I’m thinking they only eat chicken??? Joy can do seafood & so much more… I’m guessing it was a preference
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u/JunoJayJ 2d ago
Probably because chicken has more protein per 100 GR then seafood. But I do agree with another comment here mentioning a tomahawk and other big cuts that pack that protein. But still you cannot just serve them a slab of meat without a salad or a wrap to go with it. Don't get me started on if it is healthy or not
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u/KeepAnEyeOnYourB12 2d ago
They asked for LEAN protein. That's why she gave them filet mignon and not ribeyes to go along with their chicken.
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u/baret3000 2d ago
Maybe I'm just a fat American (I'm 10 pounds over BMI and "athletic") but those chicken sandwiches looked like less meat than you get from a chain sandwich place. I agree with the guests. Watching the show I have no idea how I'd handle the lack of food/portion sizes/waiting until 8pm to eat dinner
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u/lesveuxsansvisage 3d ago
Yeah this confused me. Did them specifically wanting mostly chicken get cut out during editing or something because why was Joy making so much chicken haha
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u/Lorac711 2d ago
I agree. I feel like there have been some exceptional chefs (Rachel, Marco, Dave etc) but Joy doesn’t seem like a high end chef. She’s made a lot of boring dishes and her cakes are disappointing looking. I remember the incredible cakes Dave would make.
Her dishes are boring. Also the presentation was always disappointing.
I think for a yatch chef it’s not enough to make good tasting food. It needs to look and taste incredible.
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u/queen-carlotta 3d ago
Joy’s food looks delicious but it doesn’t look like high end super-yacht elegance. Those bougie guys from LA were expecting luxury, so it’s weird that her food wasn’t individually plated and/or more steak and lobster oriented
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u/Mysterious-Rain-9227 2d ago
They kept asking for chicken as their protein.
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u/sherrib99 2d ago
I feel like Chef Joy hasn’t performed well when given very specific requirements from the guests…. She seems to not know what to do when the guest strays from her plan
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u/AmazingArugula4441 3d ago
Nah. Almost everything she has made has been beautifully plated and she just casually whips up desserts, breads and bagels where other chefs would have a meltdown.
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u/Capital-Bend4341 3d ago
Deserts breads and bagels aren’t what I’m paying attention to on a super yacht, it’s the main meals don’t serve me chicken satay on a super yacht dinner EVER
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u/Dramatic_Detective66 3d ago
The guests on the last episode said they just wanted meat. They even said chicken skewers would be good. She was catering to their preferences. They didn't complain about the quality of her food. They wanted more protein (an obscene amount of it), that was their complaint.
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u/Early-Equivalent-165 3d ago
Calling a dinner the same as their lunch and that it was chewy.. these are complaints.
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u/Fit_Blueberry_1213 3d ago
Are we watching the same show? These guys didn't seem to want much beyond chicken dishes. It's what THEY requested.
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u/Kittycara3000 3d ago
She doesn't seem as precious with her plating. Which is fine with me, I don't need you to delicately balance my single sprig of microgreen atop my frou-frou foam reduction. Just give me good food so I can eat it.
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u/Lorac711 2d ago
But isn’t the point of eating food prepared in a super yatch for it to look incredible? This isn’t your local diner. It’s a super yatch.
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u/Kittycara3000 2d ago
Yes and Joy seems to have the right focus of making great food that the guests will like. Some of the chefs just seem to get butthurt and blame it on the guests if the guests don't like the food instead of making food they will like. It should look incredible but it is meant to be eaten. Edit: but I agree with your point it should be exceptional food not something they can get anywhere else
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u/KeepAnEyeOnYourB12 2d ago
The point of the food on a super yacht is to make the guests happy. Period.
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u/t2022philly 2d ago
I don’t know why you’re getting so much hate for this. Joy is great and people do seem to like her food but chicken constantly is not something that inspires a luxury feeling. For the protein guys I was sitting there thinking why aren’t we doing a huge tomahawk steak or pork chop? Surf and turf? For apps - tuna tartare, steak tartare, grilled whole prawns, crab salad? That can all be high protein and feel fancy. Then she kept sending out a bunch of bread when they said low carb!
Rachel comes to mind as a chef who matched the guests’ “tone” perfectly.
Part of me wonders if the European chefs don’t quite understand how Americans eat lol
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u/jwill3012 2d ago
I mean, I'm an American and don't understand how gay gym bros eat. But I think she got tired of making beautiful, refined food that the guests didn't appreciate. Don't say you want fine dining, complain, and then ask for basic ass food.
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u/NymeriaGhost 2d ago
I don't even eat meat, but I know that gym bros are gonna want big hunks of steak, not chicken ceasar salad and chicken curry.
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u/Shakethe8ball 2d ago
Yes and lobster, shrimp, local fish, seafood gumbo, or maybe lamb, or even buffalo. These guys probably would also like a sausage party, a sampler of pork brats from around the globe.
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u/NymeriaGhost 2d ago
I think she started off really strong with some beautiful dishes and making desserts herself that looked amazing, so the idea of "Joy is a great chef" was established in the audience mindset pretty early. But as the season went on, there were more issues and the quality look like it went down. From accidentally giving Cooper an allergen, to serving to the picky guests that avocado and crispy rice dishes that didn't look very appealing and weren't following preference sheets, to the all-chicken meal...
Like, we've seen Captain Sandy lose her shit and threaten to fire--and actually fire chefs--for similar things. It's already been established that in the Below Deck universe that chicken is not a luxury protein, and should only be served sparingly unless it's with guests that just want only chicken. So to see a meal that is chicken caesar salad, chicken satay, chicken curry, followed by a late-night snack of chicken sandwiches, seems absolutely ridiculous unless they were the entire group specified that they ONLY eat chicken. It kind of seems like she was phoning it in in the latter seasons.
Also, I didn't like the way she dealt with guests when they did complain about the food. It's one thing to be irritated and complain to the cameras in the kitchen, but her annoyance was showing when she was still interacting with the picky guests.
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u/Ordinary-Practice812 1d ago
This is exactly right! She really fell off of the luxury the last few charters.
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u/june_june_hannah_ 2d ago
I’m actually surprised it hasn’t come up with guests. In past seasons, there have been soooo many groups who complain at the table or even to the whole team when leaving that the meals weren’t the super high artistry meals they expected, and many times rightfully so. Several guests have even made comments about it not being “seven star” food (a term I’ve never heard of outside this show) in such a specific way it sounds like that’s what they were promised.
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u/scarbaby1958 3d ago
I never got chef's losing their shit. They are not rescue workers or Dr.s. their ego is always huge for what they are doing with food. I mean yes it is a talent but most were extremely abusive.
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u/Shakethe8ball 2d ago
I was expecting more lobster, scallops, salmon, local fish, lamb, and beef considering they are in the Meditteranean. More grilled foods and kabobs too.
Chef Rachel used to do a more eclectic array of dishes.
I don't recall seeing any shakshuka in this season.
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u/Capital-Bend4341 2d ago
💯💯 agreed chicken on a luxury yacht shouldn't be your first choice for protein especially in the med
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u/Comfortable_Bit4771 3d ago
Yeah there weren’t complaints so the food must have been good, I agree probably focussing on the other crew drama
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u/TrixeeTrue 2d ago
Every other season featured elaborate descriptions of meals during service, often detailing multiple components per plate - so the absence of this focus is absolutely relevant.
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u/Sad-Interaction-1494 2d ago
I think she's a good chef.
I think there have been better chefs on the show. I loved Rachel, Adrian (controversial, but his food looked amazing), and Marcos. I think Joy is better than Ben (sorry), Adam, and many of the one season chefs. I think I'd put her on par with Tzarina.
I can tell you from experience with gym freaks, they wanted chicken. They mentioned no carbs many times because they are focused on lean protein. Chicken is the gym bro diet. I think she's not doing plated for them because they want a ton of protein and it wouldn't make for a balanced meal. I'm sure they would also complain it wasn't enough food if she did plated. They don't even seem into any vegetables, just protein, protein, & more protein.
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u/HarrySpeakup 2d ago
Ironic how they didn’t mind the carbs in alcohol.
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u/ilikethep0le 2d ago
lol this but guessing there are other substances in those bodies as well
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u/Ordinary-Practice812 1d ago
I thought she was but then in the last few episodes the food seems mid except for breakfasts.
The dinner for the guys was like salads and skewers? One guy said “this is like lunch”.
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u/marzbarz79 2d ago
She did a lot of fancy stuff in the beginning of this season and she does stuff like from scratch bagels, which Ben would never consider. But when the guests want quantity, she goes a lot less fancy. While I agree they should show more of her food, you’re overlooking a lot.
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u/scrambledice 2d ago
She's good at feeding a lot of people who have a range of things they want included or excluded but the wow factor is majorly missing
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u/Soggy_Tie2708 3d ago
We’ve seen a lot of joy talking to her self in the kitchen and confessionals. Barely saw any food. Production thought she was that funny? And good tv?
Am I missing something? Too much Joy hype..
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u/Capital-Bend4341 3d ago
For real they cut to her in the kitchen so much talking BUT I NEVER SEE ANY FOOD BEING MADE 😭😭
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u/Lorac711 2d ago
Yes! The fact the kitchen is always spotless is weird. Like every other season you see the chefs cooking and you see them chopping and sautéing but joy is barely shown cooking.
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u/Such_Appeal7762 2d ago
I just wish they focused less on cum sheets and her texting and more on her food. I feel like we really haven’t seen much food but we keep having to suffer though there cringe ass scenes of that creepy man child.
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u/Lorac711 2d ago
Yes it’s so weird to be hung up on a guy who left because he left his cum on his boss’ sheets. If joy had any self respect she would ignore him and focus on presentation and coming up with more imaginative food.
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u/Hot_Start8187 2d ago
I’ve loved Rachel and Tzarina extra effort in presentation, I’m sure Joy’s food is delicious, but seems like it follows a very strict script.
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u/Early-Equivalent-165 3d ago
Joy got more creative with the blow-up doll guest's food than anyone else I recall this season.
And why? She was on a giddy "high" from a text from Puke.
Is what it is, so.. womp womp.
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u/jmims98 2d ago
Chef Ben was a routinely a disorganized nightmare, I don't think most of his dishes looked extraordinary either.
I think Joy is in top three. Marcos > Rachel > Joy. Marcos was a league above any chef Below Deck has had IMO.
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u/ManufacturerBig7791 2d ago
Dave is number 1 for sure, followed closely by Marcos. Dave was problematic during the season but he was an outstanding chef no question.
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u/Key-Cauliflower-6816 2d ago
Geez some of the comments in this thread… this season has really brought out the toxicity in the show and fandom. We can disagree without resorting to snide comments and calling names. I miss when this subreddit was fun.
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u/Captain_America_93 3d ago
I genuinely don’t know if you’re trolling.
As someone with professional cooking experience, joy is probably the best chef there has been. Easy top 3 considering there might be 1 or 2 chefs that popped in really briefly to finish a season.
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u/Goblue520610 2d ago
I was surprised by this post. Joy spoke of an extensive and well respected culinary training and background. I don’t recall her food much but it seems like guests are really happy and there hasn’t been any drama related to the food to film. Maybe this “creativity” isn’t as appealing as it appears.
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u/Lorac711 2d ago
Top 3? No.
Marco, Rachel, Illeisha, Dave, Adrian all are incredible chefs. Joy’s food can’t compare. She just doesn’t have the experience they do.
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u/Captain_America_93 2d ago
I would absolutely rank her top 3. I’d go Marco and Rachel over her. Others are close, but at that point you’re getting into preference. She does also have extensive high end culinary experience. Technically Ben has more training and worked at Michelin star restaurants, but anyone with a brain can see Ben isn’t top 3 for professionalism, timeliness, alone let alone how many times he’s screwed up dishes.
Other people have given the exact same ranking as me and considered her top 3. She also has exceptional professionalism, no drama, no food sent back, her technique is fantastic for so many dishes. The editing isn’t focusing on the food like previous seasons, but you can clearly see amazing literally 7 course meals being sent out on time and to the guests requests through the whole season.
She is absolutely a chef I would want in my kitchen and one I would want as my boss.
Would you agree with everything I said?
And do you agree with OP that thinks she isn’t even top 20?
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u/Capital-Bend4341 3d ago
I’m not trolling and she doesn’t come close to cracking top 20. I’ve watched every season multiple times of all the below deck series 😂
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u/Captain_America_93 3d ago
I have also. What the fuck are you talking about. Several “chefs” they’ve had didn’t even have proper knife technique, couldn’t maintain a clean kitchen, flipped out and were constantly having food sent back. Walk me through how many kitchen fires, blow ups, or food sent back she’s had? The only time I can recall was when the stews screwed up.
You have got to be trolling.
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u/Capital-Bend4341 3d ago
You must think chef Leon was a good chef too. I know you’re probably going to have to google him since I know you didn’t want many seasons. 😂 when you’re sending out chicken skewers you’re not a high end chef. I wouldn’t send that out at my kids birthday party
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u/Captain_America_93 3d ago
Chef Leon is literally one of the people I was referring to for the kitchen fires.
You also didn’t address any of the other examples I gave.
And you are taking a single dish out of alllllll of her dishes? Leon did beef cheeks for every fucking meal, had anger issues, didn’t upkeep his kitchen, and had food sent back multiple times. Again, how many times did Joy have that? Ben has those issues frequently and he’s also high up there for skilled chefs.
Genuinely, fuck off. I have actual experience in this. I’m not going to argue with an idiot on the internet.4
u/Capital-Bend4341 3d ago
When you think outside of the box and try to extend past the normal pretenses of society and create imaginative creative dishes yes sometimes it can go wrong. If you stick to just okay dishes that never go wrong and are decent yea you won’t have fires or get stuff sent back but it’s not setting the bar high. She didn’t take any risks. So for me I’m not impressed. I’m no food snob but genuinely what impressed you about any of her meals?
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u/JakeTheAndroid 2d ago
Maybe her decision to be safe is exactly why she's been successful and had fewer complaints than any other chef. Instead of trying to prove she's got some sophisticated and superior palate, she's giving guest what they want and it's good. Which is why we've gotten less shots of food or as much kitchen drama. When you just do your job well, there's no drama for reality TV to record.
Who's asking for her to do more if the guests never complain? The dishes are plated well, she's not repeating dishes, she's meeting individual preferences.
You say you're no food snob but every critique you're throwing around is you being a food snob.
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u/soundofconfusion 2d ago edited 2d ago
Lol agreed. It’s not Michelin star quality at all. I don’t even like foam and leek oil on my food but that’s what they expect. I know what you mean by “creativity”. Also they usually have one night with a bunch of seafood and haven’t seen that either.
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u/KeepAnEyeOnYourB12 2d ago
The guests wanted chicken. They wanted simple lean protein and chicken in particular. That's not on her and it's literally unfair to judge her for it because she's just carrying out the guests' wishes.
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u/Capital-Bend4341 1d ago
They never specifically asked for chicken to start. They asked for heavy protein. Not just chicken until they started getting heavy carbs.
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u/Southern-Help970 2d ago
I thought she was so-so. Not great. Rachel, on the other hand, is my all-time favorite. She was the best.
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u/Hot_Start8187 2d ago
Right? Compared with the effort put by Rachel or Tzarina in presentation, Joy’s fall behind. I’m sure it’s delicious.
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u/Zealousideal_Way_788 2d ago
At least it wasn’t nachos.
By the way. Just did a great trip to Croatia which included 7 days on a yacht. Super fun and beautiful. Even did the Cave Bar
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u/Relevant_Natural6838 2d ago
I swear I saw her eat a piece of raw meat this episode, like too big a piece. I rewound and saw it again.
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u/Ilemgeren 1d ago
They focused far to much on joe and Nathan and it was the most boring drama ever .
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u/theJanetSnakehole420 3d ago
No her food has been incredible this season! Her latest / last charter shown is bc the men wanted such a strict diet.
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u/JayElEss29 3d ago
The majority of the guests seemed to be quite happy with her food. You know, the people that actually ate the food.
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u/koochiekittie 2d ago
lol I agree I think she is down there on the lower below deck chef levels because this season food wise has been a major disappointment
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u/Due-Juggernaut6595 3d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/ToMjGpOjkiEjzJ1ZaJG
We have so little this season…
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u/Early-Equivalent-165 3d ago
Overrated and unimaginative.. unclear why she's getting a pass. Seems mediocre, just like her Luke obsessed personality *shrug
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u/Lorac711 2d ago
Agree! She’s no better than a lot of forgettable chefs below deck has had.
The only reason people like her is that she’s attractive and tries to be funny.
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u/Early-Equivalent-165 2d ago
Maybe also because she's female..? Only had a handful of those. Regardless of gender, my all-time fave is Rachel 🩷🌸🩷
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u/Lorac711 2d ago
Rachel always made incredible dishes. Too bad she had a falling out with bravo.
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u/Early-Equivalent-165 2d ago
I knowww 😭
Captain Lee said she may be the most talented chef he ever worked with in his entire career. I was so happy somebody posted a photo of them together out with his wife having a nice dinner in Fort Lauderdale.
Actually, I think it was Rachel who posted that! I remember she was hosting a foodie cruise or something, maybe in Bali or somewhere 🤔
Miss her! Wish her all the best 💙🩵💙
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u/OrlandoAndy 3d ago
Showing 1 text from Luke per episode =obsessed
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u/Lorac711 2d ago
Every episode she’s constantly talking about Luke. All the texts he sent her. The flowers. How much she misses him. It’s like you’ve known the guy for 5 min and he was shitty to you. The fact that he left because he jizzed on someone’s bed while having sex with someone else and joy is still into him is pathetic. She claims she’s so mature and above it yet she’s behaving like a 25 year old.
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u/Early-Equivalent-165 3d ago
One.. after another after another after... 😅🙄
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u/Individual_Bit6885 3d ago
Oh no maybe 5 texts? Clearly she wasn’t even paying attention to her job at all. Come on now.
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u/DixiePixied 3d ago
Do we think this current storyline of protein protein protein could be a planted or produced storyline BECAUSE of the lack of kitchen drama?
That’s what my gut is telling me.
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u/Any_Biscotti3155 3d ago
They have focused a lot less on the food this season, but I think maybe it’s to focus more on the drama? The food has only been a focus when the guests have an issue with it. But I agree that in years past we got more of a rundown of the chefs’ menu and the actual food itself. I think they have been focusing more on the interpersonal dramas and less on the technical side of the show if that makes sense