Below Deck Down Under star Captain Jason Chambers gets real about what it was like to work with chef Ryan McKeown on Season 1 of the show.
Although the newest Below Deck spin-off was a Peacock original, dropping earlier this spring, the show has a new lease on life after hitting Bravo airwaves.
Whether the show’s airing on Bravo or Peacock, one thing won’t change.
No love was lost between the hunky captain and the chef who caused Captain Jason many problems.
Ryan lasted longer than Captain Jason would have liked due to the lack of a replacement, but the chef was eventually fired.
Time does not heal all things in the case of Captain Jason, who recently spoke out about working with Ryan.
Captain Jason Chambers reflects on tough time working with chef Ryan McKeown
This week the captain stopped by the podcast Side Piece with Melissa Pfeister to dish Below Deck Down Under. Captain Jason didn’t hold back in expressing his true feelings about having Ryan as a crew member.
The incident in the galley where Ryan and Captain Jason got into a yelling match was brought up, and it had the captain doing some reflecting.
“I’ve got my chef, and he’s back chatting to me. But I’m shutting my mouth and taking big breaths. [It] was the hardest thing I had to do,” he shared.
Captain Jason knew he had to rise above the situation because he wouldn’t get anywhere otherwise. Putting the hammer down on the chef would have only made things worse for the crew.
Below Deck Down Under’s Captain Jason saw potential in Ryan McKeown at first
When Ryan came aboard the yacht, Captain Jason thought he would be good and saw potential in him.
“To be quite honest, Ryan and I got on pretty well. We had good chats. There was a lot I wanted to get out of him. I could see some potential there. And that’s where I wanted to go,” the captain stated.
However, all that changed that night in the galley when Ryan was clear he would do things his way, and nothing Captain Jason said would make a difference. That was the moment the captain knew Ryan had to be fired.
Captain Jason hoped things would have ended differently with Ryan, especially when the chef stepped up his game with the food and got along with the chief stew Aesha Scott. Unfortunately, it was too little too late at that point.
Season 2 of Below Deck Down Under has filmed with Captain Jason Chambers at the helm. The show won’t premiere until spring next year, but fans attending BravoCon 2022 will see Captain Jason there next week.
To listen to Captain Jason’s full interview on Side Piece with Melissa Pfeister, click here.
Below Deck Down Under airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo. Season 1 is streaming on Peacock.
I couldn’t stand the chef. He was so arrogant and it was always his way or the highway in his relationship with the chief stew. Good riddance!