Johnathan "Jono" Shillingford, a controversial but entertaining chef in Below Deck Mediterranean season 9, claimed that, despite the allegations about his poor performance, he is receiving rave reviews about his food on a non-Bravo yacht. The complicated personalities of the Below Deck franchise chefs are familiar to viewers of the popular show. Jono has been receiving backlash after making several mistakes with his cooking that an experienced chef should not have made, such as serving cold eggs. Jono also clashed with his Below Deck Med castmates, including making derogatory comments about Elena "Ellie" Dubaich.
Jono's captain on the Below Deck Mediterranean yacht, Sandy Yawn, was recently on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and stated that Jono needed to improve his cooking. Seemingly in response to this statement, a video posted to Jono's Instagram account showed the chef on a yacht, discussing his current employment position and bragging about the positive comments he's received.
Jono explained, "We have a FULL a** house this week. 11 guests! But so far they are SO wonderful and have been loving the food." Jono went on to explain that the guests even clapped for him one evening after dinner.
Has Chef Jono Improved On Below Deck Med Yet?
Chef Jono's Words Do Not Match His Actions
Chef Jono caused quite a commotion not only with his lackluster cooking for the guests but also with his rude behavior towards his Below Deck Med crewmates. Jono immediately had problems with Ellie when he refused to wake up and make late-night snacks for their guests, who had specifically requested to have some prepared. However, Jono's recent posts on his Instagram account showed that his disappointing performances may not have been real at all. In Jono’s most recent video, he claimed that “the guests are so nice, they are loving the food, and they are so happy to be here.”
"I went out after dinner last night, and they clapped for me! It was so sweet. That's what you want as a chef, for people to love your food," Chef Jono explained in his video. He went on to explain that his current charter guests have a few eating restrictions but that he is so excited to be cooking several types of cuisine for them. When Chef Jono finally addressed his appearance in Below Deck Mediterranean season 9, he said, "It's so weird to see myself. I'm still getting used to it. I love it, but its just, like, weird."
Jono continued to explain that he was so grateful to have gone through this season and to have had some pretty amazing guests during his time on Below Deck Mediterranean. Regarding a recent episode, Chef Jono said that he loved the guests who were about to appear on the charter and that he was excited to see the drama between the members of the interior crew. Jono seemed to be pretty strategic in avoiding any mention of the disappointing food he has served to guests, which does not build a lot of confidence in his ability to improve his cooking.
While many chefs in the Below Deck franchise have larger-than-life personalities and egos to match, they were still usually able to present amazing food, which is why they got away with their behavior. Although Chef Jono claimed his guests are raving about his ability to make incredible meals, viewers of Below Deck Mediterranean are only able to see what is being presented to them: cold eggs and badly cooked steak. Chef Jono’s recent remarks about his happy customers and his clashing performance on Below Deck Med leads to speculation over whether he has been sabotaging himself on purpose.
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9 p.m. EDT on Bravo, then streams the following day on Peacock.
