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Post by pretlitdev on Jun 6, 2018 21:14:59 GMT
I don't know, if I paid all that money for a charter yacht trip, I'd demand whatever meal I felt like. If you want a set menu, you go on a big cruise ship. I mean, that was one of the problems with that chef Leon in the Caribbean right? That he made the same meals for each charter. Even though the beef cheeks were good, the guests are paying for a more unique experience.
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Post by acookertv on Jun 6, 2018 21:26:16 GMT
I disagree. A big cruise ship has a much bigger kitchen, larger staff, and more room for food storage. The logistics of having enough food on a charter yacht are such that it makes sense the way Sandy explained it- they have to know ahead of time what they need so they can plan accordingly to have it in stock and have enough room to store it. I think the key reason that guests fill out preference sheets ahead of time is so that they can accommodate what is wanted with the limited space they have. Now given how many guests have ignored their preference sheets it's quite possible that this time around they didn't do an adequate job of explaining the purpose of preference sheets up front so they didn't get good information. But I don't recall in past seasons that guests have spent a lot of time ordering like a menu. Instead, menus have been created based on the preferences. Leon got in trouble because he did the same food charter after charter, which indicated he didn't regard the preference sheets but did what he wanted to. Adam is following the preference sheets and the guests are unrealistically thinking they are on a floating grocery store.
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Post by pretlitdev on Jun 6, 2018 22:06:55 GMT
Well yeah, they are getting a little crazy with it. But I don't necessarily see anything wrong with saying I like Lobster, Steak and pasta on the preference sheet. And then maybe sitting down with the chef at breakfast and saying hey, for dinner tonight we'd like to go with a surf and turf. I mean, you mentioned on your preference sheet that you like steak and lobster, so they should have stocked that right?
Plus there are other staples that should be stocked every single charter like pasta (it is Italy) eggs, cream and milk, etc. So a creative enough chef should be able to whip something up on the fly if they have to if one guest gets super picky.
Maybe it was just the way Sandy approached them that annoyed me. I mean, she says nothing when it's a friend of hers and every person is ordering eggs a different way but then on another charter she blusters on about how they usually have a set menu and a guest can't change it even if they give Adam enough warning. After all, the guest told him that at the beginning of the day, right? (I may be messing up the timeline) If they gave him enough warning then the crew can order a special same day delivery, just like they did with the tequila.
I'm just thinking, if I pay 50k + for a private luxury charter, I've given them a preference sheet with many options for my whole trip, and I give them enough time to special order something if necessary, I don't see anything wrong with saying hey, at dinner tonight I'd like steak.
Where Sandy needs to step in is when they're already sitting at the table with a meal that should match the preference sheets and instead one person goes I want a salad, another says I want waffles, and a third goes I can't eat any dairy. Like her friends pretty much did at breakfast.
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boann
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Post by boann on Jun 8, 2018 18:07:54 GMT
I think that part of the issue is that there isn't a base menu that can be easily adapted. For example he is handling the kosher menu separately from the others. I don't see why everyone can't just eat that menu, with vegan substitutes for the vegan. I.e. build a menu using lots of vegetables and grains, put in the proper proteins for a kosher meal, and substitute either tofu, grilled portobellos, beans, etc for the protein for the vegan. Adam needs to lead to the guest to it by making suggestions. This is what Ben would do. Captain Lee described how Kate does it on one of seasons of Below Deck. She focuses on bringing up fun ideas the deck crew can effectively accommodate, rather than giving a whole list of options that may be difficult when the deck crew is short staffed. As long as the attitude is "Tell me what you want and I'll cook it" the guests are all going to think about what they would really like to have and ask for it, even if if means lots of different dishes.
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Post by acookertv on Jun 8, 2018 18:16:01 GMT
That's a great point. And among the large number of guests they've had who claim to be foodies though they seem to have a limited knowledge of food, hearing the chef talk in terms of "I make a great ..." would probably bring a lot of excitement over the meal instead of wrongly assuming they know all about it before they've ever tasted it. I hadn't thought about it until you said it, but for the top crew members, there is just as much of an art in managing the guests as there is in managing the crew.
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Post by pretlitdev on Jun 8, 2018 19:15:21 GMT
I think that part of the issue is that there isn't a base menu that can be easily adapted. For example he is handling the kosher menu separately from the others. I don't see why everyone can't just eat that menu, with vegan substitutes for the vegan. I.e. build a menu using lots of vegetables and grains, put in the proper proteins for a kosher meal, and substitute either tofu, grilled portobellos, beans, etc for the protein for the vegan. Adam needs to lead to the guest to it by making suggestions. This is what Ben would do. Captain Lee described how Kate does it on one of seasons of Below Deck. She focuses on bringing up fun ideas the deck crew can effectively accommodate, rather than giving a whole list of options that may be difficult when the deck crew is short staffed. As long as the attitude is "Tell me what you want and I'll cook it" the guests are all going to think about what they would really like to have and ask for it, even if if means lots of different dishes. This is a great point. It definitely seems like there would be a way to build out a basic dish and then adapt it to the different diets. The one difficulty is in my limited understanding of kosher cooking-don't the pans and stoves need to be separate during the cooking process? I know this charter is difficult with all the different restrictions, but the crew knew about them ahead of time. It's not like that first charter where they were all "We hate pasta! We hate bowls! This is dog food! Can I have some spaghetti?" Like I said, if the guest is reasonable and making requests at breakfast for what they'd like to see at dinner, I don't see a problem, especially when you're spending this much money on a vacation. It's when Sandy and her friends are all ordering completely different things, or a guest likes shellfish but then suddenly doesn't that it becomes a problem. |
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Post by acookertv on Jun 8, 2018 19:32:58 GMT
On the days they are at sea, requesting dinner at breakfast may not be possible if they don't have the provisions for what would be requested. That's why I think that Boann's suggestion of doing it the Ben way where you take the preferences, create a menu based on the provisions and preferences, and then build up the guests excitement over it makes more sense than laying out a wide open "what do you want"?
I don't think it can be ignored that a big difference between Ben working for Capt Lee and Adam working for Capt Sandy. Capt Lee always seems distant and uninvolved with what is going on, but that's really a leadership style that leaves people free to do their jobs well. Capt Sandy is much more hands on, and at times can go overboard on micromanaging. It may be that Adam is giving guests too many choices and creating problems for himself because he's over correcting on trying to live up to everything Sandy is looking for.
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Post by pretlitdev on Jun 8, 2018 20:27:05 GMT
That's where I'm saying the preference sheets come into it-if I've put on my preference sheet that steak is my favorite food, it should already be on board. So what's the problem with saying at breakfast "Hey, can we do a steak dinner tonight?"
As far as being out to sea, it's not like they're halfway across the Atlantic. They don't ever seem to stray too far from land, since these tend to be 2-3 day ships and a lot of times the crew plans something for them to do on land. As long as they're not asking for something super exotic that has to be flown halfway around the world, it shouldn't be a problem to get it delivered, ala the tequila that Hannah forgot to order.
I agree with you though, I think between Sandy and Adam they're almost encouraging the behavior of guests treating this like a restaurant with a bunch of different menu options.
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Post by acookertv on Jun 8, 2018 21:00:29 GMT
I remember one time when Ben was the chef, there was a scenario where a preference sheet indicated a favorite food, and Ben knew that at one of the stops they were making, they had the best quality of that food (I THINK it was mozzarella?) So he planned from the start to get the favorite food when they were in that port in order to make it the best possible for the guest - and the guest was quite happy. A situation such as that could explain why a preference sheet said steak, but there was not steak on board a particular day of a multi day sail. To me, a expressing a favorite like that means that the food should be served at some point during the cruise, but does not necessarily dictate when - or that it's on board the entire time. They've got a very limited space for storing food, so for multi day cruises, they have no choice but to do provisions piecemeal.
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Post by pretlitdev on Jun 8, 2018 22:10:47 GMT
And again, that's where this crew is really dropping the ball on communicating with the guests. I mean, we've seen before in previous seasons after they get their initial tour of the boat that the chief stew does something like "We're going to do the special dinner you requested tonight, then tomorrow we're going to take you to a swim spot where you can play with all the water toys and the day after, we're going to take you to the best steak restaurant in Italy, it's got a whole slew of Michelin stars."
Otherwise I'm gonna assume that they've got all the favorites that I listed on my preference sheet on board. Plus like I mentioned, they're not days away from land. If Hannah can get a bottle of liquor delivered last minute then they should be able to get a bunch of other ingredients delivered, as long as a guest gives them plenty of heads up. If I tell the chef I'd like a steak dinner and he mentions that they were planning on taking me to the birthplace of steak tomorrow, then I can wait. But the crew needs to communicate just like the guests need to (looking at you, crazy blond lady from the first charter). If I was the crew, I'd much rather a guest sit down with me early and try to plan a meal, especially if they have a ton of dietary restrictions, than to try and claim last minute that you don't like or can't eat something. Even though the charter guests on this show get a discount because they're on tv, they still deserve to have their preferences met.
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Post by JustJuls on Jun 8, 2018 22:24:03 GMT
I was actually impressed that Adam sat down with the primary guest to go over the meal. I was thinking...good! This should work out better for him. But then one of her friends jumped in and the menu started going wild again. I wonder if they ever sit down for dinner  On the edge of my seat!  |
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Post by Imperfect1 on Jun 9, 2018 17:48:57 GMT
I was actually impressed that Adam sat down with the primary guest to go over the meal. I was thinking...good! This should work out better for him. But then one of her friends jumped in and the menu started going wild again. I wonder if they ever sit down for dinner On the edge of my seat! Yeah!!! It was almost midnight when the episode ended, and the guests hadn't even sat down for their 9:30 PM dinner yet! So Adam shouldn't be blamed for the food being ruined because of the time lapse ---- BUT that doesn't give him free license to b*tch endlessly about the guests and their food issues. Cooking is his JOB. That's what he's hired to do. |
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Post by pretlitdev on Jun 9, 2018 20:36:21 GMT
I give everyone a pass on b*tching about their job, as long as it's not right in front of their guests and he's not putting onions in everything.  Especially in the service industry, it's pretty common to be just out of guest hearing whining about how much they suck and then going back out front with a smile on your face. |
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Post by JustJuls on Jun 10, 2018 1:17:43 GMT
I grew up in the service industry. My dad owns an Inn and Restaurant on the California Coast. And yes...you explain it perfectly |
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Post by JustJuls on Jun 13, 2018 5:01:40 GMT
Someone needs to slap Kasey into gear. She is horrible.
That dig by the primary at the end was absolutely unnecessary. Hannah, Adam and crew were at their beck and call. People really do take advantage.
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Post by acookertv on Jun 13, 2018 9:45:54 GMT
The primary proved she will miss out on a lot in life by looking down on so many people instead of appreciating them for all that they are!
I am curious to see how Hannah's discovery of how much Kasey exaggerated her abilities will play out.
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Post by beerbelly on Jun 13, 2018 10:41:19 GMT
I love that they found out that she worked for a Long Island booze cruise! I mean the big key was that she gets sea-sick.
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Post by pretlitdev on Jun 13, 2018 14:26:42 GMT
I always wonder what people are thinking when they lie that horribly on their resumes. I mean, like Brooke said, it's one thing to pad it out a little, but to throw in things that you have absolutely no experience with is dumb. Did she think no one would be able to tell she hadn't had "silver plate service" or whatever it was experience?
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Post by momrek06 on Jun 13, 2018 15:52:14 GMT
I grade this season with a D- .... and yes Kasey is a train wreck.  |
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Post by JustJuls on Jun 13, 2018 16:14:59 GMT
She doesn't know how to make a bloody mary...or a coffee. She put down the place mat and silverware after the guy had his breakfast on the table She's one of the most unfriendly people too. Does she ever smile if she's not drinking and flirting with Joao? I am surprised that Hannah hasn't complained about her to Captain Sandy. I would think Sandy would cut Hannah a little more slack if she knew what she was dealing with....Kasey and horrible guests every time. Boy did she yell at her for that sparkler situation! |
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Post by acookertv on Jun 13, 2018 17:19:47 GMT
Didn't Hannah talk to Sandy about it a bit in the beginning? It was more about her not being able to do her job because of sea sickness than all the other things she cant do ... because that early on she didn't know how much she can't do. I recall they talked about it a bit, and Sandy basically dismissed Hannah and told her it's her job to manage with what she has. It's not a good reason for Hannah to not go back with more information now, but may explain why she hasn't.
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boann
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Post by boann on Jun 13, 2018 17:22:19 GMT
"Good grief...Kasey needs to get off that boat. She's SO dull. She not only can't do her job (because of the sea sickness)....she doesn't know HOW to do it. Her responses to Hannah piss me off "I already did it." ....or just how slow she is to respond...or move...or smile. "
I think what frustrates me is that she doesn't know how to problem solve or figure things out. Okay, she doesn't know how to make a bloody mary. I don't either, but if asked to I would do what she did and google it to find a recipe. Then though I would follow the recipe. Instead she just gave up and mixed tomato juice with vodka. So then in order to give the guests what they request she has to wake up Hannah because she can't figure out how to take care of TWO people.
This is why parents should not raise their daughters as princesses. Princesses don't develop the skills to problem solve.
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lonnie
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Post by lonnie on Jun 13, 2018 17:30:17 GMT
I think she would have been off the boat by now if Captain Lee was there.
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Post by acookertv on Jun 13, 2018 17:51:13 GMT
I think she would have been off the boat by now if Captain Lee was there. I think you're right. Even though he really doesn't show it, Capt Lee is VERY protective and supportive of his leadership staff. Something just seems off about Sandy this season - maybe she was effected by being aware of how audiences responded to her last season? It seems like she's leaving her leadership out to dry and is oblivious to the rest of the crew. I feel like she's playing to the cameras instead of just running a boat. What makes Capt Lee so great as a TV captain is that he comes across like he doesn't give a damn that there's a tv show going on. |
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Post by JustJuls on Jun 13, 2018 18:12:45 GMT
I think what frustrates me is that she doesn't know how to problem solve or figure things out. Okay, she doesn't know how to make a bloody mary. I don't either, but if asked to I would do what she did and google it to find a recipe. Then though I would follow the recipe. Instead she just gave up and mixed tomato juice with vodka. So then in order to give the guests what they request she has to wake up Hannah because she can't figure out how to take care of TWO people. This is why parents should not raise their daughters as princesses. Princesses don't develop the skills to problem solve. One would think that Sandy would understand if Hannah explained exactly HOW bad Kasey is....and it's not due to sea sickness. But that certainly should have been a HUGE red flag to Sandy.  |
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Post by beerbelly on Jun 13, 2018 22:11:34 GMT
Sandy noticed the lack of vacuuming that Kasey did but blamed it on Hannah saying that she didn't train her properly. How could Hannah train her when Kasey was sick all the time? And really, you need training how to vacuum?
Capt. Sandy is a whole 'nother person this season. I liked her calm and supportive role she played last season, now she's spying and blaming people. At least she told the crew they did an excellent job after the last batch of rich 'n crazies.
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boann
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Post by boann on Jun 14, 2018 10:39:55 GMT
Sandy noticed the lack of vacuuming that Kasey did but blamed it on Hannah saying that she didn't train her properly. How could Hannah train her when Kasey was sick all the time? And really, you need training how to vacuum? Capt. Sandy is a whole 'nother person this season. Exactly. If your chief stew needs to explain that all of the carpet needs to be vacuumed, your chief stew is working overtime on her job and micro managing someone else’s job. |
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Post by Imperfect1 on Jun 16, 2018 13:53:47 GMT
I grade this season with a D- .... and yes Kasey is a train wreck. I'm actually enjoying this season MORE than most, because the crew members are not at each other's throats!!! I enjoy it so much more when they're not fighting!!! If they have to be miserable, I'd much rather have them complaining about the guests, than being miserable with each other. |
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Post by momrek06 on Jun 16, 2018 16:21:04 GMT
I grade this season with a D- .... and yes Kasey is a train wreck. I'm actually enjoying this season MORE than most, because the crew members are not at each other's throats!!! I enjoy it so much more when they're not fighting!!! If they have to be miserable, I'd much rather have them complaining about the guests, than being miserable with each other. Hiiiiii Imperfect1 my grade of D- is based on the fact none of the crew have a clue how to do their job AND if they do (Adam) he complains or (Hannah) she cries or (Kelly) who cannot even vacuum or (Jaoa) who thinks he should be the Capt. Even Capt Sandy seems off this season.  I don't think they have enough crew to be honest. Oh and I am certain this season is scripted. |
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Post by Imperfect1 on Jun 17, 2018 19:24:16 GMT
I'm actually enjoying this season MORE than most, because the crew members are not at each other's throats!!! I enjoy it so much more when they're not fighting!!! If they have to be miserable, I'd much rather have them complaining about the guests, than being miserable with each other. Hiiiiii Imperfect1 my grade of D- is based on the fact none of the crew have a clue how to do their job AND if they do (Adam) he complains or (Hannah) she cries or (Kelly) who cannot even vacuum or (Jaoa) who thinks he should be the Capt. Even Capt Sandy seems off this season. I don't think they have enough crew to be honest. Oh and I am certain this season is scripted. Yep, all good points Kar. But all of that is more tolerable to me than the vicious fights the castmates usually get into, with each other. I guess the bottom line is that it isn't such a great show. It has soooo much potential to be a great show, but it just doesn't ever rise to that level. |
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On the edge of my seat! 
Especially in the service industry, it's pretty common to be just out of guest hearing whining about how much they suck and then going back out front with a smile on your face.
