‘Below Deck’ Recap: I Am Uncontrollably Drooling at Chef Rachel’s Italian Feast

If you haven’t watched the latest episode of Below Deck, I recommend doing so while wearing a bib because I straight-up drooled all over myself just hearing about what Chef Rachel was whipping up this charter.

After living in Italy for several months last year, Chef Rachel Hargrove shares that she’s cooking up “a nice Italian feast” for the latest charter guests ahead of their Casino Night on the yacht.

When deckhand Wes is helping out in the galley, he asks her, “How old were you when you found this as your passion?” Rachel then delivers the most Rachel story we’ve ever heard from her.

“Oh fuck me, man let me tell you what,” she starts. “I was actually about 18, because I ran my mouth as a bartender and the boys in the kitchen were like, ‘Hey smartass why don’t you put your money where your mouth is?’ And I said, ‘Fucking watch me,’ and that was it.”

Of course she did! There’s never been a challenge this woman hasn’t conquered, especially in the kitchen. One of the charter guests remarks during dinner, “The chef is amazing,” and that “You can just tell everything that she’s made today is made with love and passion,” and Captain Lee agrees, saying, “She is extremely talented.” Plus this episode, we got to see that in action.

“Homemade pasta, nothing compares,” Rachel says in her interview as she prepares that night’s main course. “I really, really love to take the time to make it from scratch, make it authentic. I can’t stand using boxed pasta, can’t do it!” she says while faking a gag.

And when that quatro fungi con pappardelle emerges from the galley, my god. It looks truly spectacular, and is only confirmed when a guest tells her, “I’ve never had food like this in my whole life,” also calling Rachel a “freak of nature.”

“My mother told me I broke her uterus,” she confirms for the guest. They also compliment her on the dang chicken fingers and fries she makes for young guest Alexander, who ate up every bite of the lunch! Also, when his pasta with butter is delivered for dinner…some may say it’s a basic dish, but it looked absolutely to die for.

And in case that wasn’t enough, the next morning, chief stew Heather announces to the group, “So Chef Rachel has prepared an avocado toast on a hashbrown pancake with a poached egg and some melange microgreens, as well as a chocolate chip pancake special with whipped cream.”

“That sounds like my favorite,” Alexander says, taking the words right out of my mouth.

Below Deck airs Monday at 9 pm ET/PT on Bravo.

Stream Below Deck on Bravo