New chef Mila Kolomeitseva horrified the crew on Below Deck Mediterranean's season four premiere Monday with questionable food choices.
Traveling with the yacht Sirocco around the south of France, Mila already courted controversy in a recent preview clip, announcing that she didn't want her young son to see gay men kissing.
The Siberian-born cook won no fans for her cooking style on the season premiere of the Bravo show.
Rough start: New chef Mila Kolomeitseva horrified the crew on Below Deck Mediterranean's season four premiere Monday with questionable food choices
Hired for her impressive resumé, Mila studied at the famed Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, and claimed that people raved about her cooking.
She showed up sick her first day—suffering from food poisoning—and her slapdash offerings concerned the crew.
While guests praised her foie gras burgers and enchilada sauce, behind the scenes, the charter team—led by chief steward Hannah Ferrier—was embarrassed and worried.
'In nine years in yachting, I've never refused to take a dish out,' said Hannah, who hid a plate of nachos with corn niblets that Mila had thrown together for the five guests onboard. 'I just cannot serve that to guests. It's disgusting.'
Taco time: Captain Sandy Yawn got worried when she saw new chef Mila preparing tacos for their guests
Weak nachos: Mila made some weak nachos that the crew was too embarrassed to serve
Mexican food: The guests were served enchiladas and tacos but not the nachos
Dish denied: Chief steward Hannah Ferrier was embarrassed by the nachos and didn't serve them
'Okay, what the f***,' said new second steward Aesha Scott. 'It's literally just a plate with some chips on it. Like, that's terrible.'
Captain Sandy Yawn wondered what she'd gotten into when she stumbled across Mila assembling cheap-looking tacos for their high-end luxury clients.
'Seeing the tacos is very disturbing, but I need to give Mila the benefit of the doubt because she was sick,' Sandy said. 'I'm just thinking about her resumé and I'm hoping for the best.'
Very disturbing: Captain Sandy admitted that she seeing Mila make tacos was 'very disturbing'
Staying positive: The yacht captain said she was going to give Mila the benefit of the doubt
Luxury yacht: Season four follows Captain Sandy and the luxury yacht Sirocco during yachting season in France
The coup de grace was when Mila misjudged the timing of her guests' meals, and began plating steaks too early, eventually needing to warm them again by artificial means.
'I've never seen a chef put steaks into a microwave,' marveled Hannah.
Ironically, Mila called the boat itself 'poorly organized' and excoriated the chefs who'd been there before her for leaving a sloppy kitchen.
Microwave steaks: Mila further shocked Hannah when she put steaks in the microwave
She was just one of five new characters for the show, each with their own quirks.
'Type A' newcomer Anastasia Surmava,the new third steward, has done hundreds of charters, and called herself 'a perfectionist' and a 'people pleaser.'
Born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, and raised in Burlington, Vermont, she felt driven to work hard, she said.
New addition: Anastasia joined season four as third steward
'My mom always says, ''If we were in Georgia, you'd be married with three kids by now'',' Anastasia noted.
Travis Michalzik, a new deckhand, grew up in a suburb outside of Perth, Australia that had the highest incarceration rate in the country, he claimed.
'Sailing was basically my quickest way out,' he said, admitting that his mates back home would describe him as 'a dickhead.'
