You May Have Missed Below Deck's Chef Rachel's First Reality TV Appearance
Below Deck's Chef Rachel Hargrove has certainly made her mark on the show, spectacularly vacating her post midway through Season 8 after a charter guest's incredibly picky preference sheet sent her into an expletive-fueled rant, as per Bravo. (She came back and resumed her position the next day.) Hargrove subsequently revealed during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live that the encroaching COVID-19 pandemic, which was just becoming an issue, made her doubly concerned about remaining on the ship — particularly considering her boyfriend was in Italy, one of the worst hit areas, at the time.
The Michelin-starred chef has plenty of defenders, with fans rallying to stand by her, especially after the volatile episode in which she stormed off the yacht aired. In addition to her return, she's now busy on Cameo, where Hargrove is available for chats or requests. Hargrove's time on Below Deck may be her most well-known reality show experience to date, but Hargrove actually made her reality TV debut many years ago. Although it's likely you didn't even register it was her.
Before setting sail, Below Deck's Chef Rachel wanted to be on top
As the chef herself revealed on Instagram, she appeared on America's Next Top Model all the way back in 2005. Or, rather, on the premiere episode of Season 4, to be exact. Hargrove shared a screenshot, which showed her wearing a newsboy cap (a major fashion statement at the time) during an interview segment. She was also clearly terrified while doing her best model walk in another shot. In that segment, she wore a skinny black scarf, tied in a knot at her throat like a tie, and a denim jacket emblazoned with a pink flower.
The episode is entitled "The Girl Who Is A Lady Kat," if you'd like to go back and re-watch. "Hahaha oh 2005 I'm old," the former Below Deck star self-deprecatingly captioned the post. Hargrove only briefly appeared on the Tyra Banks-fronted show, but she's left a lasting impression on Below Deck. No matter what happens for the remainder of Season 8, the demonstrably talented chef will always be the woman who told Captain Lee to go "f*** himself."