Tzarina Mace-Ralph might be back for her second season of Below Deck Down Under, but that doesn’t mean the pressure has alleviated. Especially now she’s working on the biggest yacht in Below Deck history. With a sous-chef by her side, it seemed like Tzarina might be able to start Season 3 off on the right foot. But the sous, Anthony Bird, had a problem with authority, slammed Tzarina with his terrible attitude, and was told to exit the yacht before the season’s third episode came to an end.
Over this past weekend, Tzarina sat down with Reality Tea to chat about all we’ve seen so far, and even gave some hints as to what we can expect moving forward. How does she feel about Anthony now the season’s over? Was there a sense of vindication when Captain Jason Chambers drew his line in the sand? And will Harry be able to see out the rest of the charter season with his mangled thumb?
Here’s what she had to say…
Tzarina doesn’t think she “helped” with Anthony’s anxieties
“I think that Anthony was just very nervous coming into this,” Tzarina said of her sous joining the show. “You definitely have to be a certain personality type to be able to do a show like Below Deck. I think maybe he just wasn’t quite ready for that sort of thing.”
Still, Tzarina admits she might have been able to alleviate his anxiety. “I don’t think I helped, because normally when the head of department sits down with someone to have that first meeting; because I’m dyslexic, I have to write everything down, otherwise I don’t remember it properly and I get mixed up. So, I think maybe the notepad threw him off a bit.”
I’m not convinced; I just think he was being an arse from beginning to end. “Most sous-chefs thinks that they can do better. Even when I was a sous-chef, though I was very different to Anthony. I was very, ‘Yes sir, of course, thank you.’ I’ve always been trained like that; I don’t think Anthony was,” Tzarina mused. “But every sous-chef always think they can do better … it’s a work dynamic.”
Sadly, Anthony’s attitude – as well as a problem with bug infestation in the galley – put out Tzarina’s flame of confidence as soon as she arrived. “I came in with so much confidence and hope, which was shattered in the first hour. So, everything that I prepared myself for just went out of the window.”
“You really don’t know what you’re stepping into,” Tzarina continued. “It was a huge galley. That was a big boat. She’s a big bitch, that one!”
Captain Jason did Tzarina a “huge favor”
Though there were some tensions between Captain Jason and Tzarina during Below Deck Down Under Season 3, Episode 4, the head chef admits her friend did her a “favor” early on, by firing Anthony.
“Captain Jason knows I’ll normally hold onto something until it’s really the last minute and I’ve broken,” Tzarina explained. “Obviously, you only see small portions of the show; that [when he eavesdropped on Anthony and Tzarina’s disagreement during Episode 3] wasn’t the only time that he was hiding behind a door and listening in.
“I think he got to the point where he realized, ‘if this carries on, I’m probably going to lose my head chef.’ So, I think he just needed to get the bad energy and toxic out as quickly as possible. To be honest, he did me a favor because I probably would’ve held on as long as possible.”
As for the reason for all the chef-on-sous-chef tension? “I think the whole issue was that he was trying to manage me, and he didn’t understand authority and respect,” Tzarina concluded. “As soon as he saw me – and I’ve had this from a lot of places because I’m 5’3”, a little thing … I don’t hold myself like one of these proper chef types because I don’t think you have to – but yeah, I just think he had too much attitude, didn’t he?”
Tzarina on Lara Rigby’s work style, Harry Van Vliet’s crushed thumb, and his blossoming romance
“The problem is that with something like Below Deck, you can’t be perfect, and Lara has such an obsession with control and perfection,” Tzarina claimed. “I think it overcomes her and takes over. I saw it a lot when we worked on the boat previously, but I think because she’d been running that boat for so long and she had such a good routine, and her captain let her have full control over that boat as well … coming on and suddenly losing that control begins to really affect her.”
“We all look like sh*t when we’re filming, we can’t look perfect because we don’t have time,” the head chef continued. “I think unfortunately that might have affected Lara quite a lot as well. It’s not the sort of place you need to be worrying about that sort of stuff. It’s like Survivor on a yacht, really.”
As for Harry’s thumb injury? “I can’t believe they showed that much!” Tzarina said. “I almost fainted. But, I absolutely felt relief when Harry returned. He’s like my little brother. Knowing that his thumb was okay in that moment was such a relief. But now we have to get through … you have so much to look forward to, so get your popcorn!”
Viewers have also seen Harry work his charm on Brianna Duffield, one of the stewardesses. “Thankfully, he doesn’t need his thumb with Bri!” Tzarina joked. “I don’t think he’s gonna want his mother to watch this romance blossom. But my Harry last season was a boy, and my Harry left this season a man. He’s got stubble now, he’s edgy, he’s cool, he dates models. Harry is the man now; a lot of kids are gonna look up to Harry.”
Keep watching Below Deck Down Under Season 3, because Tzarina promises it’s unlike any other
“The crew was very different to my first season, with very different personalities,” Tzarina said. “But this is the reality, and why Below Deck is a reality show. When you join boats, you don’t know who you’re working with, so you’re always having to figure out that dynamic. So much happened, you’re never gonna see another season like this. So many things happen all at once that we probably could’ve made three whole seasons. The editors had their work cut out! We were so lucky to have really, really nice crew at times. That’s my teaser for you, at times!”
With so much footage to look back on, Tzarina is happy to continue learning about her craft. “I’m always about self-growth,” she said. “Even this last year waiting for it all to happen, I’ve done so many healing retreats and upped my therapy. I’ve spoken to a lot of people who are big managers about management techniques; I’ve ever done a cooking course. There’s always room to improve. I’m only 32, I’ve still got so much to learn. I’m a baby, I’m at the beginning. I think as long as you can accept the fact that everyone isn’t perfect and progress can be made, you’re good.”
It’s for moments like this that Tzarina remains such a firm fan favourite. I for one cannot wait to see what she’s got up her chef sleeves for the rest of the season.
This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.
Below Deck Down Under continues Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo, with new episodes streaming next-day on Peacock.
TELL US – ARE YOU ENJOYING BELOW DECK DOWN UNDER SEASON 3? DID YOU FEEL FOR TZARINA HAVING TO DEAL WITH ANTHONY AS HER SOUS-CHEF?
