Below Deck Down Under’s new sous chef is ready to spice things up!
How to Watch
Watch Below Deck Down Under on Mondays at 8/7c and next day on Peacock. Catch up Bravo.
After near constant bickering between Head Chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph and the boat’s “disrespectful” first sous chef Anthony Bird, Alesia Harris breezed onto the Katina in Season 3, Episode 6 with nothing but positive vibes and an eagerness to learn.
“I feel like I’ve got a firecracker come into my galley. I love the positive energy, I love her attitude,” a relieved Tzarina exclaimed. “I can work with this.”
So just who is the new sous chef already transforming the galley?
Alesia is a 25-year-old from London with an unexpected past. The bubbly blonde grew up in a nudist colony before making her way into the yachting industry.
“I first got into yachting as a deck stew/crew chef,” she explained. “I love food. I love the smell, I love the color, but I feel like I’m starting from green.”
What Alesia may lack in experience (and possibly geography knowledge) she makes up for with her laidback approach to life.
“To be honest, I’m gonna wing it, but that’s my lifestyle,” she admitted to producers. “I didn’t even know where the Seychelles was. I’ve been telling everyone it’s near Jamaica.”
Although it was just her first day among the crew, it didn’t take long for Alesia — who also shared that she loves to dance and cook Thai food — to mesh with the cast.
“I just hope I can do you proud,” she told Tzarina.
One boatmate was particularly taken with the UK native. After hitting the dance floor together, deckhand Johnny Arvanitis tried to move in for a kiss, but he got denied by a quick-thinking Alesia who turned her head.
“Johnny darling, I’ve literally met you for like five seconds,” she said before adding that she wanted to go “slow.”
But don’t write off a possible boatmance between these two just yet.
“Every single time I look into those eyes, I’m like, ah. He’s a gorgeous man, but I don't know him,” she later told producers. “It’s just too much too soon, we’ll see.”
What happened to Sous Chef Anthony Bird?
Alesia’s seamless entry was a welcome change for Tzarina, who never could find the right footing with Anthony.
From day one, Tzarina and an extremely confident Anthony were at odds about nearly everything in the kitchen, from Anthony’s role in the galley to the way Tzarina ran the department.
Anthony — who wasn’t shy about criticizing Tzarina’s cooking — often scoffed at having to spend much of his time doing dishes or organizing the kitchen.
“I don’t want to be taken advantage of here,” he told producers at one point. “I’m organizing, I’m putting provisions away, I’m doing guest food, crew food, cleaning, the galley — I’m just doing everything.”
But Tzarina believed an “arrogant” Anthony just wasn’t willing to put the time in to work his way to the top.
The tension finally reached a boiling point after a frustrated Anthony secured another job. Although he was willing to stay on for a few more charters, Captain Jason Chambers let the “disrespectful” sous chef know in Season 3, Episode 3 that his services would no longer be needed.
“So you can go today, this morning.” he told him. “Pack yourself up there.”
To find out more about Tzarina will fare with her new sous chef on board, watch Below Deck Down Under Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo or stream the episodes on Peacock after they become available the next day.
