‘Below Deck Adventure’ Chief Stew Faye Clarke “Couldn’t Have Asked For A Better Captain” Than Kerry Titheradge (2024)

Since she left the corporate grind for yachting, Below Deck Adventure Chief Stew Faye Clarke has never looked back. She left Southeast London when she was just 21 years old to see the world, gaining different life experiences along the way that have led to her most recent career endeavor. “All my friends from the UK and people I’d met traveling all over the world would send me emails saying, ‘Faye, you need to go on Below Deck,'” Clarke revealed. Their persistence paid off, and Clarke nabbed a spot on the latest installment of the Below Deck franchise in beautiful Norway.

Working with Clarke to keep the guests happy and occupied is Australian Captain Kerry Titheradge, whom Clarke said she’d work with “any day,” and Bosun Lewis Lupton, whom Clarke calls the “nicest, genuine guy.” Alongside Clarke is the interior team of Stews Oriana Schneps and Kasie Faddah, whose previous work history will definitely cause friction during the charter season. In the galley, Clarke felt a certain kinship with Chef Jess Condy, but knew to “bite [her] tongue: to keep the peace during tense dinner services.

Decider got to speak with Clarke over Zoom to find out more about her path to Bravo, the challenges of a charter season in Norway, and her friendship with former charter guest, Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City star Heather Gay.

DECIDER: You left the corporate world and ended up in the yachting industry. What inspired you to make that transition?

Faye Clarke: I was working in Dubai when I knew I needed a change. I was consulting and doing so many different things, but I wasn’t happy. I said to myself, “I need a job that lets me go to work in flip flops, not stilettos.” I was just exhausted. My goal was to get out of the corporate industry by the time I was 30 , no matter what. When I turned 30, I was like, “right, I’m out.” I flew to Italy and, walked up and down a marina and in and out of coffee shops and bars until I met somebody who would hire me.

What made you want to get involved with the Below Deck franchise?

Honestly, everywhere I went, somebody would say, “Oh my God, Faye, you need to go on Below Deck. You just belong on Below Deck.” The person who really pushed me to pursue the show, though, was the owner of a beautiful super yacht in Miami that I was working on. This multi-multimillionaire was just obsessed with Below Deck. He watched the yachties do their thing while he ate breakfast, while he ate lunch, and while he ate dinner. I think yacht owners are into the show because they want to know what their crews may be getting up to on their own yachts.

This is first time the Below Deck franchise has ever traveled to Norway. Had you ever been there before your charter season on Below Deck Adventure?

It was a first for me too! Norway was the game changer for me. I probably wouldn’t have auditioned for the show if it was going to be in Mediterranean or somewhere like that. I loved that the experience was going to be an adventure in a country that I’d never been to before. My philosophy is to travel to as many countries as possible and meet as many people as possible before I die, so this sounded like a lot of fun.

What challenges did this new environment give you as a Chief Stew?

Well, there was so many challenges [laughs]. One was that I ordered a real-life Viking outfit and one actually got delivered to the boat. The helmet was heavy and so was the chain, and then there were swords! It felt like it was from a museum. I could barely lift it, let alone store it.

While the props were challenging, the most challenging aspect of the season was the sunrise and sunset in Norway. The sun almost doesn’t go down. Our guests needed to be entertained from seven o’clock in the morning till sometimes two or three o’clock the next morning. They just kept going and going and going. I had to keep coming up with entertainment and drinks and co*cktails and food.

Captain Kerry has had more than 20 years of experience in yachting and it shows. What was it like working with him?

I couldn’t have asked for a better captain. I would work with him any day. I love Aussies. I’d love to live in Australia because the men have banter but know when it’s time to focus and lead. That was just Kerry. Though, he wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable. He went through a very bad, bad time, and he came to me for support, which I was happy to give. More than anything, though, I saw so many of his strengths. We are going to be a pretty good team moving forward.

Your Stews Oriana and Kasie had worked together previously. Were you at all wary about their history with each other?

I didn’t need to know the details. I sensed that there was probably some beef or something there between then. With two Stews who’ve worked together, there’s always going to be something that happened in the past or something that they’re not going to be happy with. I didn’t even get involved. I was like, “Okay, I’m cracking on with my job, you deal with whatever you got to deal with.” Fans will get to see how their relationship plays out during the charter.

It’s well-known in the Below Deck franchise that all chefs have a touch of the crazy. How did you get along with Chef Jessica Condy?

It’s really difficult to explain because Jess and I are very similar. We are the same age. She left home at a young age and so did I. She left South Africa, I left the UK. We’ve been working our way around the world trying to be the best people we can be, both personally and professionally. We could relate to each other on many levels.

When it came to controlling her stress levels, however, she expressed her frustrations naturally. I had to control my own stress levels because if she went crazy and I went crazy simultaneously, there would have been a huge war in the galley. Plus, the galley was right next to the dining table where the guests would sit and eat. I had to bite my tongue quite a bit. At the end of the day, it’s quite a high-pressure job being a chef. Though I’ve said it before, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Was Bosun Lewis Lupton a good ally for you?

I love Lewis. He is the kindest, nicest, most genuine guy that I’ve ever worked with. I did sometimes need to give him a little kick in the butt and say: “Come on, for God’s sake, these people are in the interior 24/7, get them out, get them out on the fjords, do something with them, do an obstacle course.” It took me about three weeks of trying to convince him to do some kind of bloody obstacle course before he actually did one.

Kyle from the deck team is quite a character, for better or worse. Do you think Captain Kerry made the right decision to fire him?

When the engines fouled and things like that, Kyle stepped up. Clearly, yachting is what he was born to do. However, he made other crew members feel awkward in their cabins and in their general work environment, and he was dangerous and drank too much. We didn’t need that. We had enough on our plate. At that time, it felt like the right move to recruit somebody that we didn’t have to worry about. Though, who’s to say the one that we did recruit was any better?

What a tease! The show’s called Below Deck Adventure. Did you get to go on an adventure off the yacht?

We got one full day off, and we went on an adventure zip lining over waterfalls and things like that. I was exhausted. I was a little bit hungover and standing at the top of a waterfall having to walk across a piece of wire. All the cameras were on me, and I’m like, “not today, I can’t do this today.” I just was a bag of nerves. I did it obviously [laughs], I had no choice with all those people watching me! We definitely got to experience Norway. I also stayed a week after and did a road trip. Norway reminds me a bit of New Zealand—both are magical places. It’s just like something out of a movie. When we were cruising through the fjords, we were the only super yacht and the only boat I saw the whole time. It was as if we had the whole of Norway to ourselves. It was very special.

Speaking of special, one of your charter guests this season is Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Heather Gay. Are you still in touch?

Oh, absolutely. I’ve just flown from her house to here after staying with her and her friends. We all became family. Heather even took us to her salon. She’s witty, she’s funny, she says what she thinks, and she’s caring. That’s what I like. Her friends were so lovely, and so were the guests that she was on board with. I think that says a lot about someone.