Chef Anthony Iracane is bidding farewell to Below Deck. After struggling under pressure during multiple meal preps, the season 11 cook was discharged by Captain Kerry Titheradge in the Bravo series’ April 22 episode.
The French foodie received his marching orders for failing to provide pork alternatives for the show’s most recent primary guest, serving a vegetable-averse vacationer salad, and mishandling another guest’s late-night request for lobster grilled cheese. These culinary blunders resulted in the crew receiving their lowest tip of the season, a mere $17,250 to be divided among them.
As a disappointed Chief Stew Fraser Olender lamented in a subsequent confessional, “This is embarrassing. Is it because of the food? I’m gonna say yes.”
Captain Kerry summoned Anthony to the bridge to deliver the news of his dismissal. “I think you’re an incredible chef; your food is absolutely amazing,” Kerry told him. “But you’re starting to kind of nose-dive. I’m seeing guests not satisfied with elements of what you’re doing.”
“You’re not flourishing here,” he added. “If I keep you here any longer, I’m setting you up for disaster. I’m doing you a favor.”
The news devastated Anthony, who insisted he tried his utmost to meet the guests’ numerous demands. “This is the first time I get fired,” he told Kerry, “first time ever in my life.”
In a confessional, Anthony admitted, “I’m like shocked. That’s not real. It’s not possible.”
However, Kerry remained resolute in his decision. “It’s heartbreaking,” he expressed in a confessional. “I don’t like this at all. The crew are starting to notice where the chef is failing us. If I keep this guy any longer, morale will be terrible, and I can’t have that.”
Later, Fraser found Anthony in tears in the kitchen. The emotional moment caused the Chief Stew to question his earlier encouragement of Kerry to let Anthony go. “To see him in so much pain for something that I feel like I aided is really difficult,” Fraser shared. “I’ll love that boy forever. But right now, the job is more important, and he’s not right for the job right now.”
Before disembarking the ship, Anthony told Fraser, “I did the best I can. It wasn’t enough.”
In other Below Deck firing news, Anthony’s dismissal follows that of Bosun Jared Woodin, who was let go for unprofessional behavior earlier in the season. Additionally, Stew Cat Baugh voluntarily left the ship after acknowledging her struggles with the job and personal issues back home.
