Below Deck Down Under Recap: I’ve Never Met Such a Person in My Life

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I anticipated two possible scenarios when the cast of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City began their charter trip on the Katina: either the challenges would bring the crew closer and make them incredibly resilient, or the stress would push everyone to their breaking point. Thankfully, the interior and deck teams largely impressed us with their teamwork and ability to handle difficult guests. However, things weren’t as smooth in the kitchen, and by the end of the episode, Alesia was completely overwhelmed and ready to quit.

So, the first charter dinner is…tense, to say the least. The ladies are still bickering, but Mary and Angie are thankfully enjoying their meal in peace. Everyone raves about the food, though you wouldn’t know it from actually hearing them compliment the chef! It’s a constant parade of crew members up to the sundeck – checking in, clearing plates (and broken glass, apparently), or, in Jason’s case, actually joining the guests for dessert when they invited him. He practically scurries back inside afterward, clearly rattled by the drama. And speaking of drama, Alesia totally forgot to tell Ben that the captain was joining them for dessert, which is about to cause a meltdown in the galley, I just know it!

After lunch, Ben suddenly felt guilty about being so critical of his assistant, Alesia. Perhaps he realized they had a long season working together. He awkwardly told Alesia that his tough criticism was actually a sign he cared about her—he’s the type of person some would call a demanding perfectionist. But honestly, while he’s a talented chef, this dessert was just not good. A messy “deconstructed cheesecake” with plain chocolate sauce felt like a letdown after the beautifully prepared fish and potatoes he’d served earlier.

Bronwyn mysteriously chooses to sleep outdoors, and is still there when Eddy and Betul begin their workday. As Ben teaches Alesia how to prepare fruit for breakfast, the deck crew prepares for a busy day, planning to sail the guests to the beautiful Tobago Cays, a bay full of marine life. Jason hopes the scenery will improve everyone’s mood. Betul and João struggle to raise the anchor – it keeps getting stuck – which delays their departure by about an hour. Although it wasn’t anyone’s fault, Betul and João worked well together to resolve the issue, but the delay still disrupted the day’s schedule.

By the time the crew reaches the beach, they have to set up their equipment right in front of the guests, which Daisy compares to a mortifying social blunder. She’s hoping to keep the ladies distracted so they won’t focus on the work being done, but honestly, they’re too caught up in their own drama. Mary Cosby is telling Meredith she’s dull, and Angie is recovering from a breakfast argument with Britani about real estate. Generally, these women seem completely self-absorbed. Jenna has been observing them closely, and in a private interview, she reveals she’s trying to imagine herself as each of them, hoping that working on the yacht will be her ticket into a life of luxury and extravagance. Despite some questionable decisions, I find Jenna likable so far. She’s funny and a hard worker, which are great qualities for a reality TV cast member.

I still don’t feel like we’ve really gotten to know the crew yet – things will probably become clearer after their first night out. There’s a bit of flirting happening: Jenna with Ben, and Alesia with Eddy (and I won’t rehash the awkward lines the women are saying to Captain Jason!). However, it seems increasingly unlikely Alesia will last long enough to actually pursue anything with Eddy. While the guests are enjoying the beach, she calls her mom to complain about the drama in the kitchen. Her mom, predictably, sides with Ben, saying he’s the one doing all the work. Maybe if Alesia had followed through with culinary school like she originally intended, things would be different!

This week, we learn more about the backgrounds of the crew members. Eddy shares that his father passed away when he was young, and he believes his dad would be proud to see him traveling and enjoying adventures like swimming with turtles. Betul, however, reveals her father strongly believed women didn’t belong in traditionally male fields, and almost prevented her from getting an education. This experience fueled her determination to pursue her goals, teaching her that you have to fight for what you want. What a queen!

While inspiring stories of bravery are nice, they don’t really make a good Below Deck episode. What does make a good episode? Wealthy people behaving badly – and Heather perfectly demonstrated this during lunch. She first asked Daisy to move the lunch setup after Jenna had already finished setting the table. Then, just before everyone was supposed to eat, she decided she only wanted a small, relaxed lunch with a few guests, sending the others back to their rooms. She even asked Whitney if that was rude! This request caused chaos for Jenna and Daisy, and also threw off Ben, who had planned a family-style meal. Ben, as everyone knows, is incredibly flexible when things change at the last minute.

The chef was trying to figure out whether to serve the people in the cabins or the saloon first, but Daisy immediately said the main group should be served first. She told Ben, the cook, about the change, and they agreed he’d arrange all the food on platters, then divide it between the two groups. However, Ben realized some of the food – like salad, shrimp cocktail, and wings – wasn’t really suitable for plating, so he decided to only plate the meals for the cabins. That seemed logical, but somehow the message got mixed up. By the time Ben brought the platters to the saloon, there were no plates on the tables! It was all very chaotic, and honestly, it’s confusing to explain. To make things worse, Whitney kept complaining that she was hungry.

Things get really weird next. Everyone’s anticipating another meal in just a few hours, but honestly, it’s overshadowed by…well, a shirtless Mike. Apparently, he’s a stripper when he’s not sailing, and Lisa – who was just fighting with Heather – casually asks him to give Heather some attention! Then Britani asks João for a lap dance, which clearly makes him super uncomfortable. Mike ends up giving the bosun some pointers, and they try to laugh it off, but it’s just awkward watching the guys be put in that position. Some of them, like Mike, seem into it, but I really didn’t want to see João so unsure of himself that he ended up just kissing Britani on the cheek.

Okay, so things start getting really wild after Angie somehow manages to get her finger stuck in a door while wearing an inflatable seahorse – seriously! Then, the whole crew inexplicably finds time to do full-on zombie makeup. Dinner starts out okay, but quickly descends into screaming matches. Mike, for absolutely no reason, lies to Daisy about a lipstick stain on a glass – major red flag, if you ask me. The ladies manage to behave long enough for Jason to join them for dessert, but then they try to drag him into their drama. Luckily, Daisy saves the day and gets him out of it, which earns her some points with the captain. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Ben and Alesia are getting along fine until dessert… then he asks her to assemble pistachio ice cream zombie heads! Knowing she doesn’t have any cooking experience, he basically sets her up to fail, just to ‘test’ her. It just creates more work for him, because he ends up having to fix everything before it goes out, and he even forgets an ingredient in the rush. He really set them both up for disaster.

Alesia struggles with another test that morning, this one more fair. This time, the mistake is entirely her own. She starts strong, even anticipating Ben’s needs as he begins work in the galley. However, things quickly go wrong when Ben checks on the muffins. Alesia has overfilled the pans, resulting in a truly awful batch. With no other baking tins available, Ben discards them and starts over. Alesia is upset that he won’t let the muffins finish baking and serve them to the crew, but this demonstrates her lack of understanding of kitchen efficiency. Overly large muffins would take too long to cook, ultimately providing a poor experience for guests just to avoid waste for the crew. Alesia is simply hurt and embarrassed. The narrator repeatedly urges her to look things up online.

Alesia, feeling overwhelmed, retreats to her cabin and calls Bri, a former contestant, to complain. Bri gently points out that Alesia always has the option to leave. Alesia expresses regret over leaving her enjoyable life in Canada for a job where she’s constantly criticized. While she acknowledges that skiing was more appealing than the stressful kitchen environment, she realizes everyone has to work. The episode concludes with Alesia discussing the possibility of leaving with Jason. She suggests they’d be better off with someone more experienced, but Jason explains he wants her to stay because the kitchen has been understaffed since the beginning, and the intention was to train her on the job. However, it’s becoming clear that Alesia isn’t passionate about becoming a chef, and she’s creating more work for Ben, who has to constantly correct her mistakes. While Ben could provide clearer guidance—though it might be frustrating—it would likely be more effective than the current situation. Perhaps Alesia could switch to working in the cabins, which are in terrible condition, covered in fake blood and makeup.

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2026-02-10 05:56