Rachel Hargrove, the American yacht chef known for her role as head chef on Bravo's Below Deck seasons 8, 9, and 10, has built a new career as a wellness entrepreneur since publicly cutting ties with the network in July 2022. Based in South Florida, she now runs Shaucha by Chef Rachel Hargrove, offering chef-prepared meals, Ayurvedic treatments, and personalized coaching.
Early Life and Culinary Training
Born on 17 February 1982 in Tampa, Florida, Rachel Hargrove is 44 years old as of 2026 and an Aquarius. She trained at the Culinary Institute of America and completed an apprenticeship at Quattro Passi, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy. Her culinary education also includes time spent in Thailand, Japan, India, and Italy, where she developed skills in cuisines ranging from molecular gastronomy to gluten-free pasta.
Before her television debut, Hargrove worked in professional kitchens both on land and at sea. Her Bravo profile introduced her as a chef capable of handling any charter guest's preference sheet, no matter how demanding.
Career on Below Deck
Hargrove first appeared on Below Deck in 2020, during Season 8. In Episode 7 of that season, she reached a breaking point after receiving an outrageous food preference sheet, leading her to walk off and use expletives. In an interview with Entertainment Online, she explained her decision to return for Season 9 on My Seanna: "I didn't really want to leave Captain Lee hanging. I just needed a breather and needed to walk off and take a second. Especially for everything that was happening to process it. That was one of the craziest sheets I've seen in my life. And then, I'm running as a sole chef? But it really was; I didn’t want to disappoint him."
In 2021, she returned for Season 9, appearing more composed. She reduced her drinking, maintained her cool with demanding guests, and impressed viewers with consistent culinary performances. She then filmed Season 10, which aired between 2022 and 2023, completing three seasons in the franchise.
In 2021, netizens unearthed clips of Hargrove's audition for America's Next Top Model Cycle 4 in 2005, when she was 23. Confirming the clips in an interview with Entertainment Online, she said, "Oh, yeah! That happened." She added, "That was so much fun! I was bartending, and the casting director came up to me and (said), you know, um, 'Excuse me, have you ever thought about being a model?'... They just kind of brought me through; I think it had to do with my personality being just off the wall, so… I don’t know! It was a lot of fun; it was a lot of fun."
According to her IMDb profile, Hargrove appeared in 17 episodes of Below Deck in 2020-2021, 15 episodes in 2021-2022, and 17 episodes in 2022-2023. She also made appearances on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (4 episodes in 2021-2022), Below Deck After Show (1 episode in 2021), and America's Next Top Model (1 episode in 2005).
Departure from Bravo
In July 2022, Hargrove publicly clashed with Southern Charm star Austen Kroll on X (Twitter), branding him 'narcissistic.' The dispute stemmed from a promotional stop for Kroll's beer company, Trop Hop, in her hometown. In an X thread with a Bravo PR representative, she explained: "He (Kroll) was in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, where I live. We met up… but what was actually good was I met his brewing team. We were all hanging out. He didn’t like the fact that I don’t party and wasn’t doing his whole thing… being an idiot." She also mentioned another incident involving Kroll and Shep Rose: "The guy's an idiot… even when he and chep (Shep Rose) through (threw) my bag on the floor at up fronts while waiting to go do dress rehearsal."
On 28 July 2022, Hargrove announced on X that she was cutting ties with the network entirely: "I will no longer be accociated (associated) with organisations I don't believe in..." Three months later, she updated fans about the Below Deck Season 10 Reunion. She did not attend the reunion and also skipped BravoCon 2023. Since then, she has kept her distance from the network and most of her former castmates.
Current Endeavors
Rachel Hargrove now lives in South Florida and works internationally as a private chef. She is expanding her wellness company, Shaucha by Chef Rachel Hargrove. Through Shaucha Life, she offers chef-prepared, nutrient-dense meals, Ayurvedic treatments, massage therapy, skincare, yoga, IV therapy, and personalized coaching.
She remains active on social media, maintaining a significant following on Instagram and Facebook. Since leaving the reality TV spotlight, Hargrove has successfully rebranded herself as a holistic wellness entrepreneur while continuing to work as a sought-after private yacht chef, building an independent career on her own terms.
