Below Deck chef Ben Robinson brought his own special blend of arrogance, charm and kitchen skills to the galley, but he has flaws, so I don’t think he was the right casting choice for the show. Along with the food, Ben served up plenty of drama on Below Deck seasons 1 through 4 and Below Deck Mediterranean seasons 1 and 4. From his feuds with fellow cast members to his hot-headed nature, Ben was never a team player.
Ben has his fans – they fell in love with him in the early seasons of Below Deck, but Ben’s franchise stint hasn’t aged well. With his thick British accent and scamp-like energy, it’s easy to fall under his spell. Fans ate up Ben’s “boat-mances” with Hannah Ferrier and Tiffany Copeland, and rooted for him when he seemingly found love with sweet Emily Warburton-Adams on Below Deck season 4. That romance wasn’t destined to last forever, as the two broke up a few years later.
It’s not that Ben isn’t a fantastic chef. His food is top-notch, and his culinary skills can’t be denied. However, Ben let emotional problems and anger issues run rampant during his time on TV. While it may have produced some entertaining moments on Below Deck, I wish Ben would have focused more on the job at hand and less on the drama.
Ben Robinson Had A Hair-Trigger Temper
Ben Could Fly Off The Handle At Any Moment
Ben had plenty of diva moments on Below Deck. Memorably, he flipped out after a charter guest gave a lower tip because they felt the food preferences sheet had not been followed. After the tip meeting, Ben unleashed his anger on the galley, cursing and throwing objects around, much to the surprise of the rest of the crew. It’s frustrating to see a grown man act like a child and throw temper tantrums, especially in the workplace, and it makes me sympathetic to everyone who had to work with Ben, like Bosun Eddie Lucas, who tried to calm Ben down.
Related
20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now
Reality TV is more popular than ever. With so many to choose from, here are some of the best reality TV shows to stream or watch right now.
Ben’s outburst was so memorable that Captain Lee Rosbach named it as the most memorable chef meltdown during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live in 2020. Captain Lee was diplomatic in his response, however, defending Ben by saying he’d been under a lot of pressure and that resulted in his breakdown. However, if Captain Lee recalled this as his most memorable chef meltdown, it must have been pretty intense for the crew.
“The biggest one I’d ever experienced was with Ben, I think it was season 2. And we were just really having a tough time and he was under a lot of pressure and things were not going well. And I believe we aired every bit of that footage.”
During Below Deck Mediterranean season 4, Ben lost it over a guest’s preference sheet, which he failed to follow. He prepared a Caesar salad dressing that had anchovies, which was a no-go for one of the guests. When Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier attempted to explain the situation to Ben, he started to lose it in the galley.
Ben’s skin went flame-red as he went off about how cluttered and dysfunctional it was in the galley. He even threatened to give up cooking for good, to which Hannah responded in her confessional, “With Ben, the crankier he gets, the more volatile he gets, the more I react, and the whole dynamic of the boat blows up.”
Ben Clashed With Castmates
Ben’s List Of Enemies Is Long
During Below Deck season 4, Ben and Chief Stew Kate Chastain butted heads over an early dinner for guests. Ben blamed Kate for not communicating properly to the guests. Kate shot back that she couldn’t control when the guests would be hungry. Kate’s no-nonsense approach to the job clashed with Ben’s emotionally charged response.
“Three things you encounter in life: death, taxes, and Ben getting angry when asked to cook food.”
Another Ben meltdown occurred during Below Deck Mediterranean season 1 over croissants, of all things. Stewardess Julia d’Albert Pusey and Ben beefed over the charter guests’ breakfast preferences, and by the time the dust had settled, Julia was crying in her cabin, claiming she couldn’t work with someone like Ben because he belittled her and made her feel stupid. Ben’s response was defensive, placing the blame back on Julia, which didn’t help the situation.
Related
Below Deck Down Under’s Season 3 trailer painted Lara Rigby as the villain, but the episodes reveal her as a supportive leader. So, who’s the villian?
Ben doesn’t like to take responsibility when he’s in the wrong, as evidenced by his scuffles with Kate and Julia. He masterfully redirects the blame to the others, and in a high-pressure environment like a super yacht, with a lot of tip money on the line, Ben isn’t the team player he needs to be. He’d rather avoid accountability, since he feels he’s never in the wrong.
Ben’s Defensive About His Posh Upbringing
Ben Grew Up Privileged
Ben tries to hide the fact that he grew up privileged with a famous novelist, Patrick Robinson, as a father. I’m sure Ben feels like he needs to prove that he’s a worthy chef, regardless of who his father was, but it’s clear that this is a trigger for Ben. On Below Deck Mediterranean season 1, Ben and Julia chatted about their English upbringings. Julia said it was obvious Ben was posh.
“The first moment I met Ben, I knew he was privately educated and from a very well-to-do family. It’s obvious… Private school boys in England have an air about them of self-righteousness.”
Later on, Julia says Ben is very condescending and derogatory towards her, implying that he’s arrogant because he grew up privileged. Ben actually cries as he says he’s more sensitive than people think. Ben has a lot of baggage stemming from his upbringing, and he’s defensive about being portrayed in a certain light because of it.
Will Ben Robinson Return To The Franchise?
Ben Has Said He Will Most Likely Not Return
Life after Below Deck has been fruitful for Ben, as he’s still a very successful chef who does live events and cooking demonstrations, and he shares a lot of his life on social media. Many fans would probably love to see Ben back in the galley, but he’s made comments that imply he’s not planning to return. Showbiz Cheatsheet reported in 2021 that Ben, 49, said during an Instagram Live that he was “too old” for the show, but he still loved cooking.
On an Instagram video Ben posted in December of 2023, a commenter asked him if he planned to return to the show, and Ben responded, “I don’t think so. But stay tuned please… Good things on the horizon.” He also teased a potential cooking show. While his answer wasn’t a firm no, it doesn’t seem like he’s interested in returning to Below Deck any time soon. Perhaps, instead of coming back as chef, Ben could return as a guest on a charter, and he could give the interior crew a run for their money when it comes to service expectations.
Sources: Watch What Happens Live, Showbiz Cheatsheet, Ben Robinson/Instagram
