‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’: Chef Cloyce Martin Talks Daisy ‘Marriage’ & Upcoming Dramas

Chef Cloyce Martin has felt the pressure to deliver aboard the Parsifal III on Below Deck Sailing Yacht. The now 23-year-old Californian came in with a confidence that rubbed Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher the wrong way, especially after a few missteps. The interior head even went to Captain Glenn Shephard to express her concerns about the chef regarding the quality of the food.

Things were dicey in the galley for a while, but Martin rebounded with some impressive dishes. The question is if he can keep it going with the back half of the season about to begin. Here Martin opens up about his experience on the Bravo reality show and sets the record straight on his water adventure off the boat that got Captain Shephard hot. 

How do you look back on what you’ve been through so far on the show? What kind of reaction have you felt from viewers?

Cloyce Martin: It has been exciting to witness no doubt. Reactions are getting continuously more and more positive as the season goes on and viewers have a chance to see the food I have been making. I think we continue to push the limits of what was possible on the boat. As the interior team and I continue to mesh more and more throughout the season, I think we continue to evolve together. I think it’s a fun upward trajectory we get to see this season. 

Being so young, do you feel you were underestimated? Some may feel you came off cocky, but with such a big job you had confidence is important.

I’d say I approach everything possible with a confident mindset. I think if you go into it with anything less, you set yourself up for inevitable failure in a lot of ways. I think especially being young, I’ve been one who constantly reassures myself that I possess the skillset, capabilities, and knowledge to accomplish anything and everything I set out to do. This was no exception. Parsifal is the largest boat I’ve worked on to date. Having this opportunity that is internationally televised, I did a lot to make my mind right going into it so that I was going to be able to perform. Even though we had these hiccups at the beginning, I think having that strong and confident mindset early on and knowing we could overcome and accomplish anything set me up for success throughout the rest of the season as well. 

I established myself early on as someone who could do the job, especially when some extra circumstances come into play behind the scenes where you may not always get to see in terms of chaos with the guests or hiccups that go on. Having that confident mindset allowed the captain to be reassured the team he had on board was capable and that we’d be able to adjust and work through the new circumstances as they came about. 

There was a moment when you went out with the guests for an excursion rather than prepare lunch in advance. Do you still stand by your decision?

I absolutely do not regret doing that. There was some trouble on the boat, which kept Davide [ Morosi ]behind. Gary [King] asks me to go set up the float with Emma [Crouch], knowing it’s more than a one-person job. The swimming you see is me trying to help the deck team, stepping in and assisting to a degree. While I was there, the guests needed extra service. Diana [Cruz] was able to help with the drinks and cocktails, which is why you see me stepping in to pour some wine. 

I’m not trying to take anyone’s job. I think being a team player and being able to assist each other as I was doing there with the deck team and the interior, I think that’s an important part of succeeding and failing together. I think that has always been my mindset. I’m more than happy to get out there and do it. The guests requested we ride the SeaBobs with them to give them a tutorial and show them the area we chose for them to have their afternoon float. Of course, we were happy to do it. I’m here to give the guests what they want. If they want me to ride a SeaBob with them, we certainly will. 

So there was more to this story.

That little snippet you see of me and Keith [Allen] riding the SeaBobs together, we’re actually saving a small Chihuahua, who had swam off the coast and started getting into some waves while his owners were nude swimming off the coast. Keith and I ride out to get the dog. On our way back, we do a loop around the float and that’s when you see us all smiling. You missed a couple of little details that inform all the reasoning behind these things. I would say it was more than justified and sanctioned exiting of the boat. While I know it doesn’t happen often by the chefs, I don’t regret it at all. The guests were happy. I’ve made lifelong friends in that particular group of ladies. I’d say it was a win.  

What do you make of your evolving dynamic with Daisy and this love-hate relationship at times?

I love watching all these conversations back that we’ve had. I’d say early on we were really starting to get to know each other and learning each other’s management styles. As you can see, we are quite different in a number of capacities. I think that comes from our different life experiences. Obviously, she has been doing this for a lot longer than I have. I think she comes at it with a very different perspective, which is great. I lean into that more and more as the season continues, allowing things to work its way out. I see it as a marriage on the boat. So it’s a happy wife, happy life situation as you will. The more that Daisy is happy, the easier my life is, which bleeds into the rest of the crew as well. I am very pleased we have an upward-trending positive vibe as the season continues because things get easier and easier for both of us. 

No firing then. You were on the verge of it early on.

Yeah, but you’ll have to see. 

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'Below Deck Sailing Yacht' Captain Glenn Shephard Dishes on Season 5 Dramas, Daisy & More

Tell me about your hot sauce Chef’s On Fire. How did that come about?

I thought naturally as a chef I wanted to have an opportunity, especially now that my work is becoming more public, to share that with a broader audience. I wanted to provide something tangible that people could enjoy. Chef’s on Fire is an exciting new play on hot sauce. Not just sauce you pour on your food but rather sauce I will encourage people to incorporate in their cooking and daily lives. Maybe it’s a bottle of green sauce where you add some green chili or pineapple habanero you use a marinade with your chicken.

It’s to rethink hot sauce as not just a drizzle of Tapatio on what you’re eating. Rather incorporating it in and utilizing the depths of flavor and hours of reduction I do on the backend when we’re manufacturing them to allow you to elevate and up your game while you’re in the kitchen. Excitingly as well, we’ll branch off with a couple of other products as well and a partnership of chef knives coming out. 

We could have the next Gordon Ramsay here. Look out.

He is someone I aspire to be. He is quite a decorated chef. I’d be pleased to follow in his footsteps. 

What can you say about the charter guests this season?

There are lots of fun personalities coming up. You’ll see the crew get into a bit of trouble throughout the next couple of episodes. There are some fun little moments. That blood on the couch was not the last bit of chaos that we got to experience. There is lots to come. 

Below Deck Sailing Yach, Mondays, 8/7c, Bravo

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