Another Below Deck Podcast - Sea Rat Interview - Ellie The Balkan Biscuit

Episode Date: June 26, 2024

Pat and Dylan sit down with Ellie the Balkan Biscuit to talk waking up chefs, perspective, blue Tootsie pops, the Balkans, perspective, being happy in life and never wasting opportunity. Ad Free and Uncensored at Patreon.com/AnotherPodcastNetworkYoutube at https://www.youtube.com/@anotherbelowdeckpodcast_Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/badtvpodcast/Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/anotherbelowdeckpodcast

You know, going through, you know, so much struggle from having limited means and having limited opportunities in that part of the world, it really made me appreciate being given an opportunity, you know, so that's why I'm a maximum effort person. I don't think things for granted. Dude, Ellie, you are the best. Yeah. You really are the best. I mean, have her move to America and teach some of these young kids how to appreciate how good they got it.

Yeah, yeah, Gen Z, quit complaining about hedge funds buying up your homes, okay? You stupid pieces of shit. Well, they couldn't afford them anyway. Hello masses, how are you? My name is Dylan, I'm saddled up next to one Patrick Hickey. Permission to come aboard. Did you see how I delayed a little bit there while you were taking that sip of Topo Chico? It's professionalism. Joining us today is, I mean, she goes by many names.

We refer to her as the Balkan Biscuit. She is, you know, the lover of Thing Two. She is Second Stew. She is Ellie. Thank you so much for joining us. Woo! So happy to be here. Thank you for joining us. All right, so we've got a little bit of a delay. It'll feel like I'm not sure it'll be like somebody doing a report from the field.

There you go. Yeah, you just wait you ask the question, then wait for a second. And then they'll catch up to the question. Right. But this isn't about war or global affairs. This is about more important things. Exactly. So, Ellie, what's up? That's our first question. We start every interview by saying, what's up? Thank you. Yeah. I'm so excited to do this. It's been a wild ride already with the show. Yeah. Should hit the fan for me out the gate. Yeah. But it's only beginning.

So, yeah, I'm excited. Now, just to put the audience up to speed, Ellie, this isn't your first season technically on below deck. You got robbed. You got robbed in a past season where you came on. And what was your arc? Was it a one and a half episode arc on? Was it was it MED what was your arc? Was it a one and a half episode arc on, was it Med or was it OG?

Yeah, so I was originally on Below Deck Med season seven in Malta. And I honestly thought I wasn't even going to join that season because it was like three days to go before it ended. And then Kyle fell down the stairs and couldn't walk. So I jumped in to be his replacement for the last charters. It was two episodes. Is that pink ass?

That was him. Yeah. Yeah. He'll be missed. Yeah, no, he will be missed. So listen, we have a lot of listener questions to get into. We have a lot of questions from our own minds. I think I'm doing good so far. You're doing a great job. Yeah, it's been a while since Bravo has allowed us to speak to, excuse me, that we call you C-Rant, to a cast member of the show. And so we're a little nervous. It feels like the first day of school all over again. Well, and also I, you know, quite high right now. I got this, you wouldn't believe this, Ellie, for one moment. You wouldn't believe this.

I took a hit of this new pen and it had a nostalgic, familiar flavor to me. I couldn't point it. I couldn't place it. Bubblegum. No. Blue Tootsie Pop. And I got it. Pulled it from the rafters.

I was like, it's a blue Tootsie Pop. Dude, I didn't even know we even talk about it. I technically was right in my answer. So Ellie, you've had a hell of a couple of episodes. I think we would be remiss if we didn't start from the point of origin of the drama with you. And Jono, that being you waking up the chef. Now. Don't you think we should tease that? That's a little bit more of the juicier because, you know,

she ultimately knows what happens to Jonah. We're going to tease it. Do not answer that question. We're going to tease it. Pat, go ahead and ask the question. OK, so I just want to warn Ellie. We've solicited these questions that I'm about to ask, from a group of our fan listening

base called The Barnacles. And let me just warn you, they're rude, they're mean, and they can be insulting. OK, so. You know, it's what with the anonymity of the internet, you know, people just kind of hide behind usernames and they can spout, you know, whatever hatred they have. You know, it's a very, very perilous place.

And I'll just go on record as saying, they should not be allowed in polite society. These people are monsters. And the only reason we allow them to ask questions, Ellie, is it's like throwing meat to a wolf. Yeah, and for all the fans who are wondering, Ellie will talk in the interview at some point, I promise you.

OK, so let's get out of the gate with question one. And I warned you, Ellie. This is from Joseph Misner. He wants to know, what the hell happened with that outfit on the first dinner? Why do you own those individual pieces? Why did you put them together? And why did you wear them on international television? Okay?

I hate that question. Well, I hate it too, but this is what they want to know Ellie, please explain yourself I have an answer for that outfit. That was not an outfit out of my repertoire and that was something the provision are delivered as You know the outfit for the evening to be on theme. So it wasn't my outfit. Okay, there you go. So take that barnacle, put that in your pipe and smoke it. All right, these will be some nicer questions to go Ellie. Okay, all right. Um, Katie Luzender wants to know, who are

you still in touch with from the show? Ironically, my closest friend from the show is Jono. Yeah, you guys have been really mixing it up quite a bit on social media despite your virulent hatred for one another to begin the season. Now I think this is a pretty great question. This is also from Katie. She said, what horrible thing are you about to do on the show that Bravo would allow you to come and be asked question by us? Yeah, because typically we get guests right before they're about to be fired. Yeah. And the fans know the fans know our history very well. And that's a very good question. episode, but surely you are going to be doing some egregious, hedonistic and wrong things, maybe unethical, you know, but we don't have a crystal ball.

I wouldn't say that. No. Well, I have quite a bit of drama this season. So the way the season started for me, that's how it's going to continue. I'm going to be going strong until the very end. Fuck yeah. Well, so let's get to something that, you know, the Jono stuff we'll get to in a second. But you and Brie, who we refer to as Cheese, you guys had a beautiful kind of budding relationship, a mentor and a mentee, is it a mentee, it's a mentee,

until Thing 2 got involved, AKA Joe. Now, how are you and, we don't need to get into the future of the show, but do you regret kind of not being more transparent about your desires for Thing 2, because both of you were very tepid and half measurey with him and then, you know, you're both going for him and it's just a communication breakdown.

Led Zeppelin song, go ahead. Yeah, so I mean in retrospect, I don't feel like any of that was worth it, but we'll see why. I don't feel like any of that was worth it, but we'll see why but Honest yes I do wish was more transparent with Brie and we also we need to see next Episodes to see what happens because that's when the whole thing is really going to all They're gonna be quite a few events that happen in the next episode before that whole blow-up

Happens between us. Okay. Ellie, you're a pretty honest person. Why in that laundry room conversation with Cheese, did you not just say, hey, I like them, I'm starting to feel? Because you were telling other people on the boat that. Why not be upfront with her? Yeah. So, you know, if you pay attention to what she's saying to me, she said to me, I thought

you liked them because you said you did. She said that twice. So she does express awareness that I did say to her I liked him. So, but at that point, I'm kind of still trying to, you know, give her some wiggle room because I really didn't want to get into drama with her over Joe, you know? And then that night after the whole party, that's kind of giving it away, but I'm just to make it very clear that I am interested in him. Things will ensue. Yes, things will ensue. Now listen, do you do you do you believe in the claim you have over Jo regarding your as credited to your status of second stew with her being a third? Do you think

that that makes you more you know your first in line for Joe? No. So I really thank you for that question. I really want to have a chance to explain how I saw this whole thing. Yeah. So because I felt like by Bree's own admission, I felt like I did say to her multiple times that I like this guy. And also I did properly train Bree. So it wasn't just a matter of giving her a notebook. Like I took the time to train this girl to do everything in laundry, from how to organize things, how to fold things, which settings to use.

Like I really trained her properly. And I think that because of that training, she essentially managed to keep her job. Yeah. Yeah. So because of that,, she essentially managed to keep her job. Yeah. Yeah. So because of that, I'm like, okay, I think I deserve a little bit of respect from you. That's how I would see a person who saved my job, who cared enough about me to go out of their way to train me and save me. I'm going to push back against that.

I'm not going to push back. I'm not going to push back at all. Because when you said it in the show, you said, I'm the second Stu, so I get thing two. I thought that was absolutely insane of you to say. But with you breaking it down the way you just did, it makes perfect sense. By the way, you are an amazing mentor, Elly, to watch. Corporate America will be reaching out

to have you train some of their young people. Don't say yes. They will promise you a corporate ladder and you will not climb fast enough and they will lay you off That's how it works. Alright, can we get to Jono, Jono, whatever? Can I really, we're talking about the mentorship really quickly I just wanted to add like one more thing here. I always compare a brief relationship to me, to my relationship to Asia, because I was kind of in the same relationship with Asia, because Asia gave me a chance to kind of grow in my position and train me as well. So I always think that, you know that if Asia had said to me specifically,

she liked some guy on board, I would not have gone there with him out of respect for her. That's how I see things. People see things differently. It's playing the game well, Ellie, but I think in society, the hierarchy of a work environment

should not play as a factor in your love lives. I You know listen, I Ellie I'm on your side completely I think Pat is being way out of line and disrespectful quite frankly quite frankly rude and disrespectful We're having a little bit of a camera issues right now. We can't we're freezing a little bit, but there you are We're gonna get it, but it's the audio is the most important part and everything's going swimmingly so should we get to Jono? Okay? Well Christian del buv asked if Jono's chef skills were a car would it be a Lambo a Mazda or a Trabant what the hell is that? Let's just say a Geo Metro No, let's put golf cart in for Geo Metro. Okay. Cause people know what a golf

cart is. Don't. Okay. Car heads chef skills. Where would you read them? Cause you love using cars as an analogy for someone's skillset. So where would you put his skillset? Is he a Lambo, a Mazda or a golf cart or golf cart? Or golf. And here's the thing. I love John as a person. And I would love to defend his chef skills. I would love to do that. But I just, I can't right now. I can't, he might improve.

Let's give him a chance. But right now his chef skills are like a vintage Volkswagen Beetle. You know, it's going to break down on you. You're just waiting to see when and how bad the damage is going to be this time around. Right, right, right. You'll get from point A to point B, but you might taste like spoiled chicken when you get there.

Yeah. Yeah. All right. Tara Anderson wants to know, OK, can you put us in the mindset of that night where you were waking up Jono? And because this listener wants to know, okay, can you put us in the mindset of that night where you were waking up Jono or Jono? And because this listener wants to know... You know what really helped me?

You put, when I've been writing my notes, you put an H after the L and then it reads as Jono. Jono. Right. Jono. Well, Captain Sandy calls him Jono too. Well, Captain Sandy is, listen listen we're conducting an interview right now so let's not get into it. Oh yeah well we could ask is Captain Sandy a Camaro or a Geo?

We're not gonna get into that. Let's go back to night one night Jono okay you wake up Jono the children are screaming at you we need boo booze, we need cheese. What took place? Oh my God, that night felt, I honestly, I felt like I was paying off a karmic debt that night. It was that bad. So here's the thing, like we didn't have wine. So I was making cocktails literally nonstop. I would deliver a batch of cocktails.

They're already asking for the next batch. I didn't even have enough breathing room to wash the glasses. I had glassware everywhere. So on top of that, they asked for this food. They're like, oh, you know, what about that food? Because they put it on their preference sheets. They were expecting this food to be ready, you know? Right, right. And somebody remembers, they're like, oh, you know, what about that food? Because they put it on their preference sheets. They were expecting this food to be ready.

Right, right. And somebody remembers, they're like, oh, what about all that? So, you know, mac and cheese and guac and nachos and grilled cheese. Is that around? I'm like, oh, not really. Yeah. I'm just, you know. So in my mind, I'm thinking, look, I know John has gone to bed.

I get it. Is it reasonable to wake him up every single night? No, of course not. But tonight, yes, it is because one, it was on the sheet and you didn't do it. Like you blatantly disregarded a guest request. And secondly, we spend the entire day saying no to these people.

It doesn't matter if they're 20 year olds, if they're influencers, they're paying customers, you know? So this was one chance to really go the extra mile because it was in our power to deliver this. You know, it would have been like that one thing they had and they could say, oh my gosh, look, they went the extra mile for us. Yeah, I asked for an Atari game system

for Christmas in 1983. My mother didn't get it for me. Didn't get it. I'm still holding a grudge now. It's been nearly 45 years. You know, Ellie, you're a good egg. I mean, I love Ellie. She's got, I mean, she just sees the Sea Rat world the right way. You know, Mel Byer, who also works in the industry

of Fellow Traveler, she says, and she's no fan of this podcast, by the way, she wanted to know, why not just make the drinks first? It takes two minutes, apparently, according to her. Well, yeah, because I just explained that there was no breathing room between drink orders. Yeah. And also, the second thing is the grilled cheese situation.

It was not as easy to make grilled cheese on that boat that night as it might seem to people. Because it's not a matter of just like opening the fridge and pulling out the cheese and getting the panini press. We got provisions at the last minute, so there was no time to like organize the fridge. Like we're talking walk-in fridge, shelves, crates of food stacked upon each other. Right. So everything just got thrown into crates. Nothing's labeled. I don't know. Like I'm walking into this fridge. I'm like, where do I even begin looking for these ingredients? Yeah. Yeah. Digging some crates of food. Yeah. I couldn't even find bread for the longest time. Butter even Gail went in there looking for

butter. Now to be fair to Giorno, He apologized. Where's the where's the jam? Where's the jelly and all this? See this is where I felt and I can't get back at a time machine But he should have gotten up and at least helped a little bit and showed you around and then went back to bed That seems like that was a be a nice come on Jono. I mean and and these chefs, these chefs, they make chicken with coconut and rosemary. And then they go to sleep. Meanwhile, you're up at night getting screamed at by barely legal children who

are trying to get piss drunk. Do you guys ever, is shots not a great detractor? Can't you just mix a couple shots, bring them out there, you know? They're done in two seconds, I think. That's why. I know. You want them to sip on something and stay busy for a half hour.

Yeah, listen, I don't know. I don't know how it works. And also, like, if you look at the footage, there were quite a few scenes where they show glasses nearly full sitting around everywhere. So this was another thing. They would order cocktails and they were so drunk, they would just forget to even have a cocktail and just keep asking for more cocktails. It's right there. Ben there, sister.

Hey, sister, Ben there. Can I ask one? Of course. been there. Can I ask what one course can I real quick? So Balkan biscuit, aka Ellie, were you pissed, cheesed, hurt, betrayed, when you got to the tip meeting after that charter and Sandy seemed to have a kind of leadership conference optimism about how the charter went despite it being an objective unmitigated fucking disaster but when it came to you waking Jono up she was a little bit more i don't know the knives were out um did you feel like that set you guys off on a bad foot

did you have a chip on your shoulder for the rest of the season what was that like Did you have a chip on your shoulder for the rest of the season? What was that like? Um, well, I mean, I clearly was not happy with that. You know, um, I would have, I would have been happy with that statement being made after, um, I got some credit for my efforts or after John O got a little bit of reprimand for you know his lack of effort yeah after that if she said in the future don't make the chef I would have had no issue with that statement right last question to beat up

on Jono Tara wants to know actually that's physical assault there she wants to know have you ever physical assault I mean we can't I can't ask that question we can't ask have you ever worked That's physical assault. I mean, we can't ask that question. We can't ask that question. Have you ever worked with a chef that refused to feed paying customers? I think that's a great question. Oh, wow. That's a good question. No. No. I was shocked. And not only that, not only did he say he's not going to get up,

he was like quoting the maritime law at me. That's why I was in the cabin for like 10 minutes. You know, he was citing maritime law. He's going to get his lawyers involved. I'm like, maritime law. I've been out for 25 hours straight. I haven't had a break. If anybody needs to go to a lawyer, it's me. Yeah. Yeah.

These boats. All right. Here's a question for you. Our own chief steward, our Facebook admin. Hey, chief still wants to know how does coming from the part of the world with such a turbulent recent history affect your desire for security and the better things in life? Your cheerful and determined persona is refreshing and inspiring. I think he wants to know how bombs being dropped on your town

affected you. Chief Stu, that was such an amazing question. I'm so sorry that Pat put a lump of shit on top of it the way that he did. But Ellie, could you speak to the way that he did, but Ellie, could you speak to the beauty in that question, please? Yes, thank you. I appreciate that beautiful question, thank you.

I mean, that has definitely affected my life in a positive manner, actually, because what it did for me is it puts things into perspective, and I think that's what a lot of people lack these days is perspective. Yep. You know. So a lot of misery comes from lack of perspective and that's kind of what allows me to be a happy person and be like, I'm actually doing that bad. It's giving way worse. And also going through so much struggle from having limited means and having limited opportunities

in that part of the world, it really made me appreciate being given an opportunity, you know, so that's why I'm a maximum effort person. I don't think things for granted. Dude, Ellie, you are the best. You really are the best. I mean, have her move to America and teach some of these young kids how to appreciate how good they got it Yeah, yeah Gen Z quit complaining about hedge funds buying up your homes. Okay, you stupid pieces They couldn't afford them. Anyway, hey Anna and Alessic wants to know what's your endgame? Is it to be a chief stew in a couple years? Do something outside of the industry? Because your social media is less so below deck and more so you in clothing that's not really

clothing kind of. So what are, what? She's an influencer. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. So when it comes to social media, I love the fitness niche. So I've worked in the spa for many years. So I know quite a bit about, you know, health and fitness and all that. So I wanna focus my social media on that. But outside of that, I really like skills. I thrive on skills.

So one of the reasons why I still want to persevere in yachting is because like there are still aspects to yachting that I haven't conquered. You know, there are still more skills I can learn, and that's what makes me excited about it. So I actually, when I got back from the show, I found some smaller boats, like 30 meters, and I freelanced as a solo shoe. So I've been on an absolute mission to get my skill levels up. Dude, you are such a fucking rock star, Ellie. I cannot wait to see you for the rest of the season. We cannot thank you enough for your time.

Can we do a quick up? I know we're running out of time. Oh, did that sound like a wrap up? That sounded like a wrap up. That wasn't a wrap up. Who could have confused that for a wrap up? Yeah, yeah, OK. So let's get to some juicy questions.

First off, I saw you on Watch What Happens. It was fantastic. One of our bits, which were apparently stolen, was the Mary F. Kill, which it felt like they did a half hour version of that for you on that show. No one did Mary F. Kill before we did Mary F. Kill. OK?

And that's just a fact. So I'll spare you that. But here are some juicy questions that the listeners want to know. Ever hook up with a charter guest? A charter guest, no. No. Too pro.

Too big of a pro. Too pro. OK. Worst charter ever story. Worst charter ever. I don't really have a worst charter, because I've worked on Uber uber luxury yachts for multi-billionaires.

So it's a little bit different being with that type of people than working on a booze cruise in Miami. Yeah. You know? But I do have a worse spa story. When I joined my first cruise ship as a massage therapist, Within like a week, I got this guy in my massage room, this older gentleman, and I left the room to let him, you know, lay down and cover himself.

I got back in and I'm looking at this man, he's literally butt naked, literally butt naked, thankfully facing down. And next to him is a wad of cash. I'm like, oh Lord, I see where this is going. He's doing this stuff to himself. I'm like, can we please just put the towel, this is like my first week on board. I'm like, I don't wanna cause problems.

Did you tell John Travolta that you'd rat him out? Sorry? Oh, sorry, I made a John Travolta joke. He got in a little trouble doing the same thing a couple of years back. You know, you know, John Travolta jokes. Me neither, Ellie. Ellie, when you're around these uber rich creeps, do they, um, do they feel colder than other human beings? You know, we talked about the beauty of hardship kind of forging perspective. Are their perspectives reptilian and horrifying? Are they cold?

Are their eyes black? Yeah, yeah. Kind of like a grim. No. I always use an example. The richest man I worked for, he had a 140 meter yacht. So he was literally the richest man in his country. And it was so interesting observing how he behaves and his family as well, you know, and it really made me feel like I value my life more than anything. Because, you know, his kids, they had everything, but they didn't know how to appreciate it because again, it's the perspective that makes you appreciate things and it was kind

of sad to be honest it was sad to see human beings who literally have what people dream of and not know how to appreciate it yeah but for him for example you know like at that level you're surrounded by people who just want to please you like nobody has the balls to say no or oppose you in any way. Yeah. And I just took the most genuine approach with him. I was like, the same way I'm talking to you guys right now. That's how I talk to him as well. And we created such a close bond. He felt, you know, it was so refreshing for him to have somebody like that around. So you should make you CEO of his company. Sorry?

You should make you CEO of his company. Sorry? You should make you CEO of his company. Are you fucking, are you on fucking bath salts right now? She's positive. She'd be, she's great at work. She respects the hard work. You know what? I agree. You should be the CEO of this company.

You absolutely should. Now listen. That's all I got. I think she was great. She's inspiring. I know you're not going anywhere. Inspiring? There's no way that she's getting fired.

No. I mean, sometimes it's literally a coin flip with people we have come on as guests. Well, I mean, less of a coin flip, you know? I mean, it's like a six-sided dice, and most of them say fired some of the time. But not Ali. Not Ali.

Thank you. And I just want to say, I know how that preview looks at the end of this episode, and please hold off your pitchforks until you see next episode. Or sharpen them and throw them at her. It's a free country. Ellie, thank you so much for joining us.

Socials, real quick, what can we plug for you? Oh, just my Instagram, the Balkan Biscuits, and everything is in my link, link there. All right. I'm really excited. Next time you're in LA, you got to come to the studio and you got to give us, we got to talk about the part of the world that you're from because it's a fascinating place and we don't know enough about it.

I don't think it's still there. Thank you guys. You're the best. You're my favorite below Deck Recap podcast. Oh, you say that to everybody. Thanks, Bulk and Biscuit. Thanks, Bulk and Biscuit. No, I believe it.