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Losing one's sense of smell and taste is one of tell-tale signs that you might have COVID-19. It's one of the most common symptoms reported by COVID-19 survivors and patients such as Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, NBA player Rudy Gobert, and Filipina singer Angeline Quinto.

Along with other symptoms and the anxiety that a COVID-19 patient needs to deal with during recovery, not being able to enjoy food is also one of the inconveniences that many of them go through.

Can you imagine having to eat something and not being able to taste it or at least smell it? Very unpleasant and frustrating, right? This is why two British chefs, Ryan Riley and Kimberley Duke, were inspired to write a cookbook that could help COVID-19 patients enjoy food again despite losing their sense of smell and taste.

The cookbook is titled Taste & Flavour. It contains 17 science-based recipes that amplifies flavor combinations, textures, and other sensory elements that could help stimulate the compromised senses of a COVID-19 patient.

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Chef-authors Ryan and Kimberley, who are also childhood best friends, consulted with scientists, researchers and patients in order to come up with recipes that people with dulled senses would still find delightful.

Most of the recipes in the cookbook were based on the work of Barry Smith, co-director of the Center for the Study of the Senses at the University of London.

He was part of a team that researched on the different ways that COVID-19 can alter an infected person's senses.

Their study found that 65% of people who had COVID-19 worldwide experienced smell or taste disorder, with 10% percent being long-term COVID-19 cases or the “long-haulers” and 3% of those might have permanent loss of their sense of taste and smell.

Those who suffer from anosmia or partial loss of taste and smell, can sometimes taste hints of basic flavors such as salt, sugar, and lemon.

Barry Smith recommends cooking with umami-rich elements since they can activate saliva flow and simultaneously boost the flavors in a dish. So, it'll be helpful to use ingredients such as mushrooms, cheeses, and soy sauce.

Moreover, eating foods which stimulate the trigeminal nerve might also help. The trigeminal nerve is responsible for triggering sensations when eating mint, wasabi, and cinnamon.

In the Taste & Flavour cookbook, authors Ryan and Kimberley put together recipes that emphasize texture, colors, umami, and acidic flavors.

“It's all about adding extra sensory excitement into your food,” said Kimberley.

Some of the recipes include umami biscuits, veggie pineapple tacos, and baked vanilla oats with cardamom, raspberry, and rose syrup.

One of the mouthwatering dishes in the 'Taste & Flavourr' cookbook / Source: ryanrileyy (IG)

For Ryan Riley, aside from helping people with COVID-19, it was his own experience of losing his mother to lung cancer that ultimately inspired him to better the lives of people suffering from loss of smell and taste.

One of the side effects of cancer treatments is impaired sense of taste and smell. So, in 2017, Ryan started teaching free cooking classes for cancer patients who suffer from this side effect.

“I was her primary caregiver, and it was a very traumatic and awful time,” Ryan told The Washington Post. “Through that period, I saw it wasn't just the treatment that was impacting her quality of life; it was also that she wasn't enjoying food and lost her appetite.”

He added, “It just felt right that something that could be useful should be accessible to all.”

'Taste & Flavour' author Ryan Riley and Kimberley Duke / Source: @ryanrileyy (IG)

In 2019, Ryan and his co-author Kimberly established Life Kitchen, a free cooking school for cancer patients that teaches special recipes and cooking skills to help them regain the pleasure of eating.

And this 2021, their mission has expanded to helping COVID-19 patients through their groundbreaking cookbook Taste & Flavour.”

“We've had wonderful moments of people tasting something for the first time in months and they start crying,” Ryan revealed.

“I just want to give people a bit of joy in such a dark time. Food is the one thing that unites us all, and we all deserve to enjoy it.”

If you want a free digital copy of Taste & Flavour, you may download it for free here: lifekitchen.co.uk/product/free-taste-flavour-book/. Better hurry though because there are only less than 300 copies left.

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