S19.E01: Primal Instincts

[FormerMod-a1]

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Fifteen of the country's best chefs arrive in Houston, Texas, ready to fight for the title of Top Chef.

Original air date: March 3, 2022

[bosawks]

“Let’s get a good olive oil, it’s not our money.”

Monique is my spirit animal.

[MerBearHou]

I’m from Houston.  First of all, Dawn Burrell looks great!  It’s so wonderful to see these highly respected, mega-talented Houston chefs as judges (Robert, Hugo, Kiran, Chris - wish they’d shown the names for all) and I love seeing The Annie and our neighborhood Whole Foods.  That last team - anyone could’ve gotten the PYKAG but I’m good with the decision.  

[Jodithgrace]

Too soon to know names yet, but I did feel bad for the woman who got eliminated. She gets her dream opportunity to be on Top Chef and gets a bladder infection! She didn’t mention it the next day, but I’m sure her focus was impacted, and so she is the first out. Her whole team’s menu was poorly conceived though. Why do Asian, when nobody knew anything about it? Even the Asian woman on the team chose a dish she knew nothing about. 

I was expecting bigger fallout from the guy who lost his sense of smell and taste due to Covid. He ended up on the winning team, so it can’t be affecting him too much.  
 

I’m always so glad when my shows come back, especially now. I was so excited to see this pop up on my DVR. 

[dgpolo]

1 minute ago, Jodithgrace said:

I was expecting bigger fallout from the guy who lost his sense of smell and taste due to Covid. He ended up on the winning team, so it can’t be affecting him too much.  

I'm waiting for them to do one of those blind sniff challenges.

[buttersister]

I think the right chef went home, but I have to think that her partner (sorry, no name yet) who made the Korean dish she'd never eaten is right behind her.

Quote

Dawn Burrell looks great!

 Good to see her thriving.

[Msample]

Was it he only one who did the double take when the one chef in the quick fire took out a tray of frozen scallops and was trying to thaw them in a challenge with only 30 minutes? Did she not see Spike get reamed out that one time using frozen scallops?

[HurricaneVal]

This is a promising start.  I do not know personalities or names yet, but so far it is looking good!

COVID guy might get on my nerves later if he doesn't 'fess up.  Especially for future team challenges. I don't care if he screws himself over but that's a weakness team members should know about. 

I understand why he might want to keep it secret though.  He asked for an opinion on his tartare, got an honest "needs more acid" answer and ended up with the best tartare of the night.  Imagine if it was a head to head comp, and a competitor took advantage and tells him it needs salt even when it doesn't need it, or says it is bland when it is already searingly spicy.  I would hope the cheftestants are above that, but.....there may be a cloaked Richard Blaise here willing to be underhanded like that.

[cameron]

Who was the elderly lady sitting at the table with them in the restaurants.  Don't think her name was ever shown.  

[dleighg]

When the one chef said she had a bladder infection "and needed to take a rest," I was screaming inside "You need some antibiotics!" As someone who has suffered UTIs through much of my adult life, I travel with antibiotics-- does this show let contestants bring their own? But even so they have medics on call, right?

When the chef on the losing team said she was going to do a "North Korean bibinbap" I would have liked to hear what made it different than S. Korean (which I make frequently-- though in a vegetarian form). All I could think, snarkily, was that N. Korean wouldn't have, you know, food in it. Just rice.

I just knew those mushrooms in beef lard were going to be a problem. Yuk to congealed fat.

I did appreciate the overall talent of these chefs. There were a number of dishes or sauces that I'd never heard of, and I consider myself pretty well-informed!

[Fukui San]

In the Covid era I do not know how a chef with a 101 degree fever is allowed to participate. If I'm another chef I refuse to be in the same room as her. I don't care if the explanation is "bladder infection" or if she passed a rapid test. And then she's gone, anyway.

Just so fitting that Dawn as the guest judge has a team fail to plate anything. 

The beef challenge didn't do that much to let us know about the chefs' different styles, and highlighting only one top and one bottom team added to that. Lot of tartars and then seared filets with veggies. Will learn more in the coming weeks.

[LBS]

I’m rooting for Damarr Brown because his restaurant is literally 4 blocks from me.   As a result I was extra focused on the Green team.  Didn’t anyone else notice that they didn’t show any critique for them on the first task?  The team presented their food and then they cut to another team.  I’m sure the judges commented and that the team was just solidly in the middle but it was kind of weird to not show anything.  
Glad the show is back and can’t wait to get to know the chefs.   
 

[MerBearHou]

21 minutes ago, LBS said:

I’m rooting for Damarr Brown because his restaurant is literally 4 blocks from me.   As a result I was extra focused on the Green team.  Didn’t anyone else notice that they didn’t show any critique for them on the first task?  The team presented their food and then they cut to another team.  I’m sure the judges commented and that the team was just solidly in the middle but it was kind of weird to not show anything.  

Totally noticed that too!  It was weird and I missed hearing the descriptions and critiques.  I like that team a lot.  

[Rammchick]

Evelyn Garcia was driving me crazy the whole time -- she looked so familiar!  Just googled her and she was on Chopped ("All Burger Meal", 2014), if anyone else was wondering.

Who was the woman with the gray hair at the table during the tasting?  Her name was never shown.  Nice to see Robert del Grande, whose restaurant this was -- I always remember him because he was a Ph.D. biochemist before becoming a chef.

Overall, this looks like a good group again.  I enjoyed the fact that the blue team was given the first opportunity to pick their beef by the Quick Fire  winners, that was just a nice gesture, and augurs well for the season.

[Msample]

I am generally not in favor of team challenges; this one seemed especially arbitray in that they couldn't communicate. 

I feel for the judges, having to judge 15 different beef courses in one sitting. 

I'll give the editing monkeys credit, they fooled me during the elimination challenge; I thought the gnocci guy was doomed for awhile, his dish didn't look that appealing. But when I saw the mushrooms with congealed fat I knew he was safe . 

Would have liked to hear more on the beef dessert course. 

[Straycat80]

A promising start. I’m also rooting for my fellow Chicagoean Damarr Brown. The right person won, I knew it when the judges were praising his gnocchi. I don’t know why the losing team decided to do Asian food when no one knew how to do it. And working with a bladder infection! Those are painful, I know because I had many of them in my younger days. So kudos to her for hanging in there but too bad she got eliminated. 
Since they are in Houston I expect to see a lot of beef and BBQ challenges. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Straycat80

[CrazyInAlabama]

I liked Damarr Brown too.     

The dessert with beef was interesting.   The yellow group really cooperated, and did a great meal.

Brown team comes through for the win.     I like Robert's dish, and it looked great.   Jackson and Sarah did a good job too.    Robert wins.  Well deserved win.  

Stephanie didn't want to do anything Asian on her dish, so she 'accidentally' forgets the Bok Choy?   It may not have been a conscious decision, but it wasn't an accident.  Leia, and Jae really got stuck with the lack of cooperation doomed their cohesive meal.   Leia's wrap was boring.   The red team needed to talk to each other, and execute what they planned.  Red Team is the right choice for bottom team.    I loved the comments by Monica Pope.  SEveral of the judges had great insight about the dishes. 

Bye-bye to Leia.    I really though Stephanie, and her rotten attitude deserved to go more.    So, I'm guessing Stephanie will be this season's villain?  

Edited March 4, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[cameron]

2 hours ago, LBS said:

I’m rooting for Damarr Brown because his restaurant is literally 4 blocks from me.   As a result I was extra focused on the Green team.  Didn’t anyone else notice that they didn’t show any critique for them on the first task?  The team presented their food and then they cut to another team.  I’m sure the judges commented and that the team was just solidly in the middle but it was kind of weird to not show anything.  
Glad the show is back and can’t wait to get to know the chefs.   
 

Thought that was odd too.  I had them in the top two in that first challenge.

[SweetSable]

1 hour ago, Straycat80 said:

Since they are in Houston I expect to see a lot of beef and BBQ challenges. 

I do too, which is why I'm disappointed this season is in Houston.  We already had a Texas season and I don't need to see more beef/BBQ challenges.  And the first Texas season was awful.  Wish they had gone somewhere different this season.

[sugarbaker design]

2 hours ago, Msample said:

I feel for the judges, having to judge 15 different beef courses in one sitting. 

I feel for them as well.  I feel total jealousy!!!  This was like a high-end classy version of rodizio.

[MerBearHou]

Houston's cuisine is extremely diverse.  I can see why they did beef for this first show to lean into the Texas expectation, but I'm hoping throughout the season they take advantage of nearly every cuisine on the planet which can be found here.  

[marybennet]

3 hours ago, Rammchick said:

Who was the woman with the gray hair at the table during the tasting?  Her name was never shown. 

The woman with the gray hair is Monica Pope.  She owned and cheffed a really great and fun Houston restaurant called T'afia (still remember this chermoula and fig or date and some salty pork product appetizer); before that Quilted Toque, then Sparrow Cookshop--all really good.  She also started a great little farmers' market, I think, a good number of years ago.  The food is a little eccentric.  The atmosphere of the places always lively and hospitable.  But I don't think she does traditional restaurants anymore.  She's been a strong Houston food presence.

Edited March 4, 2022 by marybennet
Edited because it's good to close parentheses once you've opened them

[carrps]

O.k. when Leia said something like how you respond when someone is going to punch you? Uh, no. No one has ever punched me, like, really punched me. She's the one from NJ, right?

Sam is trying for a character. And he's trying waaaaaay too hard.

I wanted to eat both tartares, and I'm not usually a tartare person.

I thought the unnamed person at the dinner was a man until she spoke, so I was having trouble figuring out who you folks were talking about! But I thought Jo Chan was a man, too, until she spoke. Damn, I'm an old.

On edit: I thought the Annie restaurant was kind of ugly and depressing. Maybe it's more attractive at night?

Edited March 4, 2022 by carrps

[IdEatThat]

I’m not a fan of team challenges right off the bat.  Let’s see what they can do on their own a couple times first.  Having said that, I’m so very happy the show is back.  Hope we don’t have any of those crazy ice chopping, cross country skiing, shooting challenges. (Brought to mind by the Winter Olympics).

I was rooting for Leia.  I’ve eaten in her restaurant in Morristown NJ and it’s very good.  She’s a badass.  Sorry to see her go.  

[MaggieG]

It's the first episode so I'm still trying to learn everyone's name. I do like Sam and Buddha so far. And the Mississippi chef, Nick?

The winning teams food did look pretty delicious. I'm not a fan of tartare but I would have eaten Jackson's tartare.

[Bastet]

I completely forgot this was on, then fell asleep during the late night re-run, so I'll have to catch it in its entirety later, but from what I saw no one was a jerk, so we're off to a good start.  I liked the winning team giving first (well, first after them) pick of meat to the team that hadn't plated anything in the QF, and that team acknowledging the gesture.

[vb68]

I'm so happy that the show is back. I had no idea until about an hour before when I was scrolling through my tv grid. Also love that they had Dawn back. She was my absolute favorite from last season. And how appropriate that someone didn't end up plating with her right there. Lol   Hopefully Shoata shows up, too.  I think the show would do anything now to go back in time and have either one of them win.

That Quickfire is basically pure luck.  But it floored me when the one guy couldn't find the protein. All he had to do while waiting is stand there and watch. How was he not paying attention? Dummy.   Not to mention being fully unaware of the clock in the final seconds that you at least have to get something on the plates. Again I guess the luck of Dawn got him. 

They were foreshadowing Stephanie with the bok choy the whole way, so I was ready for her to leave. It looked like they took pity on her that she was pushed into an Asian course when she didn't want to do one? I understood what the judge was saying about the spring roll. It needs to be smaller to get a good wrap. That makes total sense. if it was between her and the woman who did the North Korea dish, I guess at least the latter took a risk.  It wasn't one that paid off at all, but it sounded like it was something of a dream she always had to do it. 

I was surprised the guy won with a pot roast.  It looked way too homey than what they usually go for in a winning dish. And I actually thought the meat looked burnt, but clearly I was wrong.   The guy who did the dessert thought he had it in the bag. I actually thought he did, too.

It does look like a good cast, but I'm not sure anyone popped for me like Shoata did in the first episode last season with his infectious laugh.

16 hours ago, SweetSable said:

I do too, which is why I'm disappointed this season is in Houston.  We already had a Texas season and I don't need to see more beef/BBQ challenges.  And the first Texas season was awful.  Wish they had gone somewhere different this season.

One of the few things I remember from that season is "Real Chili doesn't have beans!!" which I'm always quoting back to my father, who just stares back at me. Heh.

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When the one chef said she had a bladder infection "and needed to take a rest," I was screaming inside "You need some antibiotics!" As someone who has suffered UTIs through much of my adult life, I travel with antibiotics-- does this show let contestants bring their own? But even so they have medics on call, right?

There's absolutely no way they don't have any medical staff on call. Even in pre-pandemic times, That would be a necessity.

Edited March 5, 2022 by vb68

[TakomaSnark]

8 hours ago, LBS said:

I’m rooting for Damarr Brown because his restaurant is literally 4 blocks from me.   As a result I was extra focused on the Green team.  Didn’t anyone else notice that they didn’t show any critique for them on the first task?  The team presented their food and then they cut to another team.  I’m sure the judges commented and that the team was just solidly in the middle but it was kind of weird to not show anything.  
Glad the show is back and can’t wait to get to know the chefs.   
 

I thought that was super-strange too. I was certain they'd be in the top for the Quickfire. And then... nothing.

[Leeds]

18 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

 

COVID guy might get on my nerves later if he doesn't 'fess up.  Especially for future team challenges. I don't care if he screws himself over but that's a weakness team members should know about. 

 

Did he say he's keeping it from them?  Why would he?

7 hours ago, Msample said:

 

Would have liked to hear more on the beef dessert course. 

You mean the Spotted Dick?

Beef fat/lard/suet is (or was) commonly used to make pie crusts and in sponge puddings like Spotted Dick, and was/is also used in mincemeat.  We used to have what was called suet pudding and no-one blinked an eye.  Nowadays it's easy to find a vegetarian substitute, but I remember about 30 years ago my mum had a heck of a time making a sponge pudding for Sunday dinner (served at 1pm on the dot) suitable for my brother's vegetarian girlfriend.

[caitmcg]

3 hours ago, vb68 said:

They were foreshadowing Stephanie with the bok choy the whole way, so I was ready for her to leave. It looked like they took pity on her that she was pushed into an Asian course when she didn't want to do one

If we go by what they said at JT, hers was the only one of the three that actually did anything that highlighted the beef, so while they found it uninspired it tasted good and was decently executed, unlike the others.

Re COVID guy, yes, he said he wasn’t going to let anyone know just yet. I presume because he thinks that it would put him at a disadvantage for his competitors to know from the get-go that he is lacking two essential senses for the competition (and his livelihood). He was lucky it ended up a team challenge, because asking for tasting/feedback from his teammates was natural and to their advantage as well as his.

Edited March 5, 2022 by caitmcg

[TakomaSnark]

2 hours ago, Leeds said:

Did he say he's keeping it from them?  Why would he?

He did. He said he wasn't going to tell them and asked (in his talking head), 'Does that make me a dick?'

To which I replied to the screen: Yes. Yes it does.

[seltzer3]

There was some weird editing going on.  I seriously thought Buddha was going to win (since they were hyping his dessert so much).  Really shocked Robert pulled it out.

 

[KnoxForPres]

16 hours ago, Msample said:

I am generally not in favor of team challenges; this one seemed especially arbitray in that they couldn't communicate. 

I agree!  The only upside is as a viewer I feel even though it’s ep one I know I them better than normal. The teams felt more cohesive  

And I guess I need to try pot roast in my instant pot now. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Isn't doing coordinating dishes part of the team challenge?    Stephanie totally screwed her team over, and the three dishes were just disjointed, and nothing resembling a team effort.    I think she should have gone home, but I bet she'll be the villain this season and hang around for a few episodes.   

[SnideAsides]

22 hours ago, dleighg said:

When the chef on the losing team said she was going to do a "North Korean bibinbap" I would have liked to hear what made it different than S. Korean (which I make frequently-- though in a vegetarian form). All I could think, snarkily, was that N. Korean wouldn't have, you know, food in it. Just rice.

The noodles are different - South Korean noodles are generally made with wheat flour, but North Korean noodles are made from ground corn. Plus North Korean food is slightly sweeter because they use fresh mountain water rather than tap water.

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, SnideAsides said:

The noodles are different

Bibinbap is a rice dish, though.

[Corgi-ears]

I genuinely do not understand why not telling a bunch of people that you just met your medical history would make you a dick. Especially when this medical history is one that gives you a disadvantage instead of an advantage. I don't get it.

Edited March 5, 2022 by Corgi-ears

[TakomaSnark]

35 minutes ago, Corgi-ears said:

I genuinely do not understand why not telling a bunch of people that you just met your medical history would make you a dick. Especially when this medical history is one that gives you a disadvantage instead of an advantage. I don't get it.

I'd have to rewatch it to confirm, but I believe at the time that talking head was inserted - which of course, doesn't mean it's was literally a comment on the challenge at hand, could be sleight of hand editing - Jackson knew he was in a team challenge. The fact that the team did well doesn't mean he shouldn't have told them. It very easily could have gone the other way. 

[seltzer3]

Also, the woman who got eliminated definitely deserved it.  Even if beef wasn't, making a hand wrapped spring roll just seemed kind of lame, especially for the very first impression.  Come to think of it I don't think hand wrapped spring rolls were ever received well in top chef (Spike and Carla made vietnamese spring rolls and they were panned, because the judges thought they were taking the easy way out).  But putting strips of steak made it even worse.  Raw spring rolls are always shredded meat.

If they wanted to go asian, they could do a beef noodle dish (Taiwanese), or a beef salad dish (Thai).

[susannot]

Sam is so adorable that I just want to tuck him into my pocket.  Luke is handsome and I look forward to seeing his NOMA-inspired cuisine. There really are some heavy hitters on this season, so much so that I think private chef Robert was surprised by his win.

[meep.meep]

7 hours ago, KnoxForPres said:

I agree!  The only upside is as a viewer I feel even though it’s ep one I know I them better than normal. The teams felt more cohesive  

And I guess I need to try pot roast in my instant pot now. 

If you want a revelation - make your pot roast in the oven.  It takes hours but you get a depth of flavor that you'll never get when you cook it on the stove or in a pressure cooker.  Use red wine for the braising liquid also.  The hard part for me these days is finding a piece of meat with a bone.

I was surprised that they didn't do the usual judging fakeout by bringing up two teams for top and bottom judging.  The Brown team looked really surprised at being on top!

[carrps]

54 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

If you want a revelation - make your pot roast in the oven.  It takes hours but you get a depth of flavor that you'll never get when you cook it on the stove or in a pressure cooker.  Use red wine for the braising liquid also.  The hard part for me these days is finding a piece of meat with a bone.

In a cooking class in junior high, we made a sauerbraten. It took days to marinate and hours to cook, but, man, was it delicious! The marinade was mostly red wine, but also had vinegar. Yum.

 

[candall]

On 3/4/2022 at 8:20 AM, dleighg said:

When the one chef said she had a bladder infection "and needed to take a rest," I was screaming inside "You need some antibiotics!" As someone who has suffered UTIs through much of my adult life, I travel with antibiotics-- does this show let contestants bring their own? But even so they have medics on call, right?

...

I was screaming, "Go find a bottle of Uva Ursi!  It's right there at Whole Foods!" 

She could have knocked the lid off that UTI pain overnight with a hefty dose of Uva Ursi, aka Bear Berry.

(Best advice I ever got from my naturopath.)

 

7 hours ago, meep.meep said:

If you want a revelation - make your pot roast in the oven.  It takes hours but you get a depth of flavor that you'll never get when you cook it on the stove or in a pressure cooker.  Use red wine for the braising liquid also.  The hard part for me these days is finding a piece of meat with a bone.

I...

I thought that, er, 'pot roast' looked awful--more like a thin beef soup.  And he kept chopping at it with the slotted spoon, saying he wished it were more tender.  Surprise!  Winner!  Ya got me, show.

High five, Meep, I also cook roasts in the oven, with the "low and slow" method.  Takes forever, but there's something blahblahblah about melting the connective tissue that makes it come out all tender and tasty.

 

[Leeds]

 

3 minutes ago, candall said:

 

 

I thought that, er, 'pot roast' looked awful--more like a thin beef soup.  And he kept chopping at it with the slotted spoon, saying he wished it were more tender.  Surprise!  Winner!  Ya got me, show.

High five, Meep, I also cook roasts in the oven, with the "low and slow" method.  Takes forever, but there's something blahblahblah about melting the connective tissue that makes it come out all tender and tasty.

 

Yeah, WTH was he doing with the slotted spoon?

Low and slow is great with "second cut" parts, eg, brisket.  It's generally super easy to put together, and though it may take 8+ hours in the oven, it only requires a minimal amount of prep and a couple of minutes' attention every few hours.  It's also best (not possible here of course) to refrigerate it overnight and skim off the fat before eating.  A few easy ingredients, maybe onions, canned tomatoes, coca cola (! yes, it's thing) and you're on your way to Nirvana.

[awaken]

@TakomaSnark are you from Takoma Park?  😁 

I’ve been meaning to finally try making a pot roast, and this show inspired me to do it!

so glad we have top chef back!  

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, awaken said:

@TakomaSnark are you from Takoma Park?  😁 

I’ve been meaning to finally try making a pot roast, and this show inspired me to do it!

so glad we have top chef back!  

Let us know how it turns out!

[HurricaneVal]

Here's my favorite easy peasy pot roast recipe.  It is awesome in a slow cooker or slow oven.  One pot roast, one jar of sliced pepperoncinis, salt and pepper.  Oh, and non-stick spray.  Spray slow cooker crock or dutch oven with oil.  Scoop half the jar of pepperoncinis with juice into the pot.  Put the pot roast on top, salt and pepper the one side, flip over and salt and pepper the other side.  Pour the rest of the jar of pepperoncinis on top.  Cover, and cook on low in a slow cooker for eight hours or a 300F oven for 3-4 hours until falling apart.

This is like lazy chefs spicy sauerbraten.  The leftovers make incredible Philly steak sandwiches.

But there's no way to do low and slow with Top Chef.  I mean, it isn't Iron Chef or Chopped or anything where there are insane time requirements, but there isn't unlimited time either.  

Maybe that should be a future challenge: give 'em a pantry full of canned and jarred staples, some mundane veg like cabbage, carrots, onions, and potatoes, a big pot roast, pork shoulder, or mutton and an old fashioned low/high crock pot and ten hours.  Elevated comfort food is a big thing.

Edited to add: then while their stuff is cooking, do the quick fire with the theme of flash cooking.

Edited March 6, 2022 by HurricaneVal
Ideas. I got 'em.

[Chicago Redshirt]

17 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

I genuinely do not understand why not telling a bunch of people that you just met your medical history would make you a dick. Especially when this medical history is one that gives you a disadvantage instead of an advantage. I don't get it.

When that medical history involves a relatively recent bout with a potentially contagious, potentially fatal disease and you're going to be living and cooking in close quarters with other people, I think it's pretty dickish to keep that a secret, never mind the competitive advantage part of things.

Yes, maybe I'm a little paranoid but I would be pretty pissed if I were a competitor who just found out by watching this episode that the dude had had Covid and I was denied the chance to protect myself more or to ask that he be masked. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 3/3/2022 at 11:23 PM, HurricaneVal said:

This is a promising start.  I do not know personalities or names yet, but so far it is looking good!

COVID guy might get on my nerves later if he doesn't 'fess up.  Especially for future team challenges. I don't care if he screws himself over but that's a weakness team members should know about. 

I understand why he might want to keep it secret though.  He asked for an opinion on his tartare, got an honest "needs more acid" answer and ended up with the best tartare of the night.  Imagine if it was a head to head comp, and a competitor took advantage and tells him it needs salt even when it doesn't need it, or says it is bland when it is already searingly spicy.  I would hope the cheftestants are above that, but.....there may be a cloaked Richard Blaise here willing to be underhanded like that.

I get that Blais gets on people's nerves, and I am hot and cold toward him personally. But I don't think that he is a sneaky guy who would sabotage his competition like that. I think he just is so full of himself that he would not feel he needs to resort to trickery because OF COURSE he's better than them.

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

When that medical history involves a relatively recent bout with a potentially contagious, potentially fatal disease and you're going to be living and cooking in close quarters with other people, I think it's pretty dickish to keep that a secret, never mind the competitive advantage part of things.

Yes, maybe I'm a little paranoid but I would be pretty pissed if I were a competitor who just found out by watching this episode that the dude had had Covid and I was denied the chance to protect myself more or to ask that he be masked. 

Assuming production is like last season, everyone is being tested constantly. If he got over it the month before filming, he is long past being contagious. People are generally contagious from shortly before to shortly after onset of symptoms, from what I understand. We don’t know that he hasn’t told people he had it, only that he didn’t want to share that his senses of smell and taste are impaired. 

Edited March 6, 2022 by caitmcg