This season on Below Deck Mediterranean, the drama has been all about the food. As in, food that was not up to charter guest standards–or even high school cafeteria standards. At least until third stew Anastasia Surmava took over the galley and upgraded the charter dining experience to Applebee’s level. The original chef, Mila Kolomeitseva, served up grub that fell somewhere between Banquet frozen meals and Spam Casserole on the culinary scale–and that is being generous.
As fine cuisine is one of the most important parts of the charter guest experience, it was surprising to see Captain Sandy Yawn give Mila chance after chance before throwing her permanently overboard. Captain Sandy’s hesitation to fire Mila left many viewers scratching their heads, wondering, what was she thinking?
In an interview with Bravo’s The Daily Dish, Captain Sandy opened up about the Mila debacle–and how she felt about firing her. Captain Sandy revealed, “I don’t feel awkward. You know, when you get fired, it doesn’t feel good. You feel like a loser. I’ll speak for me: I’ve been let go before.”
Of course, there is no good way to fire someone, but Captain Sandy tried to take some of the sting out of canning can-loving Mila before she actually did it. Captain Sandy stated, “When you build their character and then you have to say, ‘I have to let you go and this is why,’ at least they know they have great qualities; they just don’t have the skill set.”
I am sure Captain Sandy had to dive to the bottom of the ocean floor to find great qualities in Mila, but bless her heart for trying!
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Part of the reason Captain Sandy might have kept Mila around for as long as she did was that the chef was always on her best behavior around her. Captain Sandy shared, “As far as Mila goes, she was always respectful to me. I didn’t see her in the galley. I wasn’t in the van. I don’t see that. But in front of her boss, she was gracious, kind, ‘Yes, Captain, always.’ ”
“Yes, Captain” seems to work wonders around Captain Sandy. It even led to Joao Franco being promoted to bosun this season! I guess you can overlook canned seafood and hard shell tacos when you are being respected. At least to a point.
Mila might have been kissing up to Captain Sandy for job security, but her reported background was what initially impressed her. Captain Sandy explained, “Chef Cordon Bleu, like come on, Paris-trained. You want to believe people.” Paris trained–but at Le Cordon Bleu–or Le Cordon Arby’s of Paris?
Captain Sandy also said she was surprised at Mila’s chef skills, admitting, “It was a shock to me. Poor Hannah [Ferrier]. Like, I had no idea.” I guess Captain Sandy’s initial observations of microwave nachos were overlooked when Mila gave her a few “Yes, Captains” and told her how fetching she looked in her captain’s uniform. In a heterosexual way, of course!
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To be fair, Captain Sandy might not have been aware of everything going down in the galley. She clarified, “I don’t see what happens until I watch the show. And what Hannah went through in the galley with her and how Hannah refused to serve certain dishes, I’m so grateful. When she told me about the nachos and I walked through and I was like, ‘The tacos? Are these for the guests?’ ”
Wouldn’t that have been the time to make an emergency call to chefs Ben Robinson or Adam Glick? Did Captain Sandy really believe that a chef who would serve up such fare could redeem herself?
Captain Sandy claims that firing Mila wasn’t as easy as it might look. She declared, “In the middle of the season, all the good chefs are taken so it wasn’t like I could fire her on the spot.”
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Couldn’t Captain Sandy have just called up Le Cordon Bleu and explained that she was experiencing a culinary emergency and asked them to send their very best to the South of France? Or maybe by this time, Sandy was a little Cordon Bleued out.
It will be interesting to see how Anastasia and reluctant sous chef Travis Michalzik fare in the next charters. Something tells me the kitchen drama isn’t over yet.
TELL US- DO YOU THINK CAPTAIN SANDY SHOULD HAVE FIRED MILA SOONER? DOES CAPTAIN SANDY LET PEOPLE WHO FLATTER HER GET AWAY WITH MORE?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
