Chef Mathew Shea, Below Deck Med's newest chef, is getting some heat online for the way he acts while on charter, and his constant complaining. In the past, Captain Sandy has never been lucky when it came to the chefs hired on her yachts. This charter season, Sandy and the fans were excited to finally have a properly trained chef who seemed like they would be able to handle the pressures of the job. It seems they got their hopes up too soon, as Chef Mathew left the boat in the first episode, leaving the crew to figure out dinner service on their own. He complained about severe knee pain, and just after finishing the first lunch service of the season, he asked to leave the boat for an MRI and couldn't say if he would come back.
After the first episode aired, this season's chief stew, Katie Flood, spoke up about what it was like working with the crew this season. According to Katie, it took a while for her to warm up to Mathew. She claims he has the kind of personality that grows on you, and once you understand him, you can start building that friendship. One thing she admires about him is his ability to stand his ground. She said he is who he is, and she appreciates that he won't change for anything. While Mathew was hard to get to know, Katie said she got along with the rest of the crew, right off the bat. She had nothing but nice things to say about everyone on else on board.
While it seems like the crew has forgiven Mathew, the fans definitely have not, as he is being dragged online for his behavior and constant complaining. Reddit commenters are not happy with Mathew, and many chefs are speaking up about how his behavior is totally unacceptable. One viewer shared his experience falling while cooking a dinner service and severely injuring both his knees, while burning his hands. He claims he still stayed for his shift, and called Mathew a "professional avoider" for using his knees as an excuse. In regards to his complaining over cooking food for the crew, one commenter called Mathew lazy, claiming they used to be a chef and crew food is not hard to prepare, and can be the most basic food out there. The overall consensus is that chef gets injured on the job all the time and generally keep going.
Fans are pointing out that viewers should not be surprised by Mathew's behavior, as he said from the start that he has bad anxiety. One fan highlighted the fact that in episode two, Mathew explained that he usually gets super anxious before a job, and quits before it even starts. This commenter suspects his knee injury was a version of that, but he changed his mind somewhere down the line. Another hypothesized that Mathew has undiagnosed ADHD, depression and anxiety, and is insecure about his abilities because he doesn't have formal training. They also say he doesn't fit the environment and needs to get therapy and medication to deal with his issues. Another commenter said Mathew should be happy Kate is not his chief stew because she would not have put up with his negative behavior.
Mathew is still feeling the effects of leaving the crew high and dry and the first day of charter. Whether it is all in his head or not, Mathew felt like the crew kept throwing digs his way during their first night out as a form of punishment for what he did. One crew member he can't seem to find the right footing with is second stew Lexi. Could Lexi still be trying to punish him for deserting the crew and leaving them without a chef? Will Lexi and Mathew find a way to get along? It doesn't seem like they will, but this season of Below Deck Med is far from over, and there is still a lot fans have yet to see.
Source: Reddit
