By Alexandra Jones

August 27, 2026
From: Summer 2026

A cheese professional’s sense of smell is their superpower. What happens when it disappears?

For those who navigate the complex world of artisanal cheese, the senses are not merely tools; they are the very foundation of their craft, their passion, and their livelihood. A cheesemonger discerns the subtle nuances of ripeness from a rind’s aroma, an affineur guides the maturation of a wheel based on evolving olfactory cues, and a judge evaluates excellence through a symphony of taste and smell. But what happens when this indispensable sensory architecture is compromised or, worse, entirely lost? The experience, as several seasoned cheese professionals have discovered, is a profound journey through professional uncertainty, personal grief, and an arduous path toward recalibration and recovery.

The Unseen Threat: Anosmia and Ageusia

The narrative of Tracey Johnson, a UK-born, British Columbia-based cheese educator and proprietor of Cheese Needs, perfectly encapsulates this daunting challenge. Her invitation to judge the prestigious British and Irish Cheese Awards in early 2025 marked a pinnacle in her career. It was a testament to years spent meticulously developing her palate and honing her olfactory senses—a critical stepping stone towards her ultimate goal of judging at the revered World Cheese Awards. Yet, upon returning home, a common cold descended, not only bringing typical discomfort but also an insidious complication: a complete loss of taste and smell that persisted for six agonizing weeks, long after her other symptoms had vanished. “My taste was gone completely,” Johnson recalls. “I could put chili in my mouth and I wouldn’t know it was there. I literally couldn’t taste anything.”

Johnson was experiencing anosmia, the complete loss of smell, and ageusia, the inability to taste—chemosensory disorders that, while devastating for anyone, carry profound ramifications for professionals whose careers are intrinsically linked to these senses. Chefs, sommeliers, perfumers, and, critically, cheese experts, rely on a finely tuned sensory apparatus to perform their daily tasks, evaluate products, and educate others. For them, anosmia and ageusia are not just inconveniences; they are existential threats to their professional identity and economic stability. The impact extends beyond the immediate work, affecting quality of life, personal safety, and mental well-being, often leading to isolation and depression.

A Chronology of Sensory Loss and Resilience

The stories of those afflicted reveal diverse origins and coping mechanisms, painting a vivid picture of adaptation in the face of adversity.

Tracey Johnson’s Arduous Road to Recovery

Johnson’s initial despair was palpable. The inability to distinguish even the most basic flavors or aromas left her questioning her future in the cheese world. Her planned participation in the American Cheese Society’s Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator (CCSE) Exam, a crucial benchmark for her career progression, had to be deferred. A series of specialist visits, including scans and consultations, followed, initially offering a glimmer of hope that a simple sinus operation might restore her senses. However, subsequent scans revealed her sinuses had cleared naturally, leaving her doctors with no further medical interventions to offer. This medical dead end plunged Johnson into a deeper sense of hopelessness, compounded by the mental health toll of her condition.

Refusing to surrender, Johnson embarked on a self-directed recovery mission. Drawing on research shared by friends and guidance from colleagues who had navigated similar experiences, she began a rigorous smell training regimen. Three times daily, she would intentionally inhale the potent aromas of essential oils—starting with juniper, lemon, clove, and eucalyptus, and rotating to a new set every few months. This deliberate re-exposure aimed to stimulate and re-educate her damaged olfactory nerves. Alongside this, her doctor recommended a suite of supplements: Vitamin A for neuroplasticity and nerve regrowth, Vitamin B complex for general recovery and mucus reduction, and Vitamins D, saffron, and magnesium to support her mental health. Johnson emphasizes the critical importance of seeking support early, noting, “I would encourage anybody going through this to seek support before it gets to the point where you’re talking to your doctor about depression.”

Nearly a year after her initial illness, and three months into her dedicated regimen, Johnson estimates she is three-quarters of the way back to normal. Her sense of smell is steadily improving, she can identify the five basic tastes, and, perhaps most importantly, she has begun to enjoy cheese again. Her beloved Chällerhocker was the first cheese she recognized, a poignant milestone in her recovery. With renewed confidence, she has decided to take the CCSE Exam in July, a crucial step towards rejoining the judging circuit. Her journey has instilled a profound appreciation: “I feel like having any of your senses is such a privilege,” Johnson reflects. “It’s probably one of the most basic things we take for granted.”

Steve Millard: The Lingering Shadows of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a sudden, global awareness to chemosensory disorders. Industry veteran Steve Millard, who spent a decade as senior vice president of merchandising and operations at Murray’s Cheese, found his highly refined senses obliterated by the virus for approximately six months. “Being in the food business for so long, I spent a lot of time sharpening my sense of smell and taste,” Millard recounts. “To suddenly have that gone, I was like, ‘Is this the end of my career?’”

Now the general manager at Acme Smoked Fish, Millard estimates his sense of smell has returned to about 80 percent of its former capacity. However, some lingering effects persist, such as a complete inability to detect heat from spicy foods and occasional "phantom smells" like garlic and chicken broth. For Millard, returning to the intricate world of cheese would require significant recalibration. “I would definitely have to recalibrate,” he states. “I don’t think I would ever get back to where I was before.” His experience underscores the long-term, sometimes permanent, alterations that even a viral infection can inflict on the most discerning palates.

Linda Luke: A Career Redefined by Trauma

Not all sensory loss stems from illness. Linda Luke, a now-retired cheese broker, faced a far more sudden and traumatic onset of anosmia and ageusia 25 years ago. On her way to the Summer Fancy Food Show, an ironic twist of fate saw her suffer a near-fatal allergic reaction, leading to unconsciousness and a severe head injury. The fall severed the delicate olfactory nerves running along the bony plate separating her sinuses from her brain, resulting in permanent damage.

Luke was utterly unprepared for the profound impact. “I was absolutely not prepared for what happens when you lose your sense of smell. We take it for granted because it works on this subliminal level that we’re not even aware of,” she explains. The early years were marked by intense grief and a pervasive sense of isolation. “I felt like there was a scrim between me and the rest of the world. It had set me a couple of steps away from everybody else.”

Despite the devastating loss, Luke’s career was already firmly established, built on her ability to communicate the value of fine cheese. She leaned heavily on her extensive network of friends and colleagues, relying on their sensory descriptions to fill the void. More crucially, she adapted her communication strategy, shifting from flavor profiles to storytelling. “Instead of talking about the flavor profile, I would try to learn more about the history or what part of the manufacturing makes it unique,” she explains. This innovative approach allowed her to maintain her professional effectiveness. “It could have really affected my job if I hadn’t figured out a way to do it.” Her story is a powerful testament to ingenuity and resilience in the face of irreversible change.

Liz Steeves: The Occupational Hazard of the Cave

For some, sensory degradation is a slow, insidious process, an occupational hazard accumulated over years. Liz Steeves, a freelance cheesemonger in Connecticut, believes her sense of smell was significantly impacted by working in a cheese cave system with high levels of ammonia for 32 hours a week.

As microbes in cheese break down fats and proteins during aging, they release various waste products, including ammonia. Proper ventilation is critical to introduce fresh air and expel these gases. While modern caves often feature state-of-the-art fan and filter systems, many smaller or older facilities might rely on less sophisticated methods. In Steeves’s experience, her relatively low-tech aging cave likely lacked optimal ventilation. The change was so gradual that she only realized it when she stopped noticing the biting, pungent aroma that typically greets anyone stepping into an ammonia-rich environment. “When I go in the cave, it just feels like regular breathing,” she observes. “I realized that I wasn’t smelling things the way I used to.”

While her sense of taste remains unaffected, Steeves’s olfactory sensitivity has markedly decreased. This became starkly evident when she attempted to identify smells in a wine aroma kit, getting every answer wrong. After over a decade in the industry, she remains confident in her abilities but acknowledges the heightened difficulty of certain professional challenges, such as the American Cheese Society’s CCSE Exam. She frames her condition with a philosophical acceptance: “It’s like a professional sports star who has bad knees because they played football. I got to work in a cheese cave, and that was a really cool experience that I miss dearly. If I had 100 percent lost my sense of smell, I probably wouldn’t look at it as fondly, but that’s where I sit with it now.”

Supporting Data: The Science of Our Senses

The human sense of smell, or olfaction, is often considered the least understood of our senses, yet it profoundly shapes our perception of the world. It’s a primal defense mechanism, evolved over millions of years to alert us to danger—be it fire, gas leaks, or spoiled food. Critically for the food industry, it is also inextricably linked to how we experience flavor.

The Intricate Dance of Taste and Smell

As Hong Wang, a molecular biologist and member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, explains, “Taste is sensed by the taste buds on the tongue and soft palate. Olfactions are sensed by the olfactory sensory neurons up in the nose, then integrated in the brain together with taste as flavor.” This integration is key: while the tongue detects basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami), the richness and complexity of flavor—the nuances that distinguish a Parmigiano-Reggiano from a cheddar, or a washed-rind cheese from a blue—are primarily derived from the olfactory system. When this system is compromised, the world of flavor collapses into a much blander reality.

A Spectrum of Chemosensory Disorders

Anosmia, the complete loss of smell, and ageusia, the complete loss of taste, are at one end of a spectrum of chemosensory disorders. Others include:

• Hyposmia: A decreased sense of smell.
• Parosmia: A distorted sense of smell, where familiar odors smell unpleasant or different.
• Phantosmia: The perception of smells that are not actually present, often described as phantom odors.

These conditions typically arise when the delicate olfactory nerves, located in the upper nasal cavity, are damaged. While aging naturally diminishes olfaction (studies show deterioration starting in the 70s), numerous other factors can cause temporary or permanent damage. These include:

• Viral Infections: As exemplified by COVID-19, which brought these conditions to global attention. A 2025 study published in JAMA Network Open found that 80 percent of subjects reporting smell loss after COVID had clinical hyposmia, with 23 percent experiencing severe or total loss.
• Physical Trauma: Head injuries, like Linda Luke’s, can sever or damage olfactory nerves.
• Neurological Disorders: Conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease often manifest with early-onset smell loss.
• Autoimmune Diseases: Some autoimmune conditions can affect nerve function, including those related to olfaction.
• Medical Treatments: Chemotherapy and radiation can temporarily or permanently impair taste and smell.
• Environmental Exposure: Chronic exposure to certain chemicals or irritants, like high levels of ammonia in poorly ventilated spaces, can cause nerve damage over time.

The Promise of Regeneration and Training

Despite the bleak outlook often presented, the human olfactory system possesses a remarkable capacity for regeneration. “The olfactory system has the ability to regenerate, so a lot of times, we can recover from smell loss,” explains Hong Wang. This inherent regenerative ability forms the basis for "smell training," a non-pharmacological intervention that encourages patients to repeatedly smell a set of strong, distinct odors. The goal is to stimulate nerve regrowth and re-establish neural pathways to the brain. While clinical trials exploring treatments like corticosteroids and platelet-rich plasma have shown some promise, there are currently no specific treatments for anosmia or ageusia approved by the FDA. This makes personalized strategies and patient resilience all the more crucial.

Official Responses and Industry Implications

The growing awareness of chemosensory disorders, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is prompting a reevaluation within both the medical community and industries reliant on the senses.

Medical Community’s Evolving Understanding

While direct FDA-approved treatments for anosmia remain elusive, the medical community is increasingly focused on understanding the mechanisms of smell loss and developing supportive strategies. ENT specialists, neurologists, and researchers at institutions like the Monell Chemical Senses Center are advancing our knowledge. The emphasis on smell training, dietary supplements, and mental health support, as advised to Tracey Johnson, reflects a holistic approach to managing a condition that significantly impacts quality of life. The advice to seek support early for potential depression highlights the recognition of the profound psychological toll.

Adapting Within the Cheese Industry

For professional bodies like the American Cheese Society (ACS) and the Academy of Cheese, the experiences of individuals like Tracey Johnson and Liz Steeves raise important questions about professional development and assessment. How might sensory evaluation exams, such as the CCSE, adapt to accommodate individuals with altered olfactory capabilities? Could there be pathways for experienced professionals to demonstrate expertise through alternative means, such as deep historical knowledge or understanding of manufacturing processes, as Linda Luke pioneered?

Furthermore, the issue of occupational hazards, as highlighted by Liz Steeves’s experience in cheese caves, calls for greater attention to workplace safety. While cheesemaking is generally considered low-risk, the long-term effects of exposure to certain gases like ammonia in poorly ventilated aging environments must be addressed. This might lead to enhanced industry guidelines for ventilation systems, regular air quality monitoring, and increased awareness among cheesemakers and affineurs about potential long-term health impacts on their senses. Providing clear recommendations for protective measures and regular health checks could become standard practice.

Broader Implications and a Future of Adaptation

The stories of these cheese professionals underscore the multifaceted implications of sensory loss, extending far beyond the immediate professional realm.

Professional Redefinition

For those whose careers are intertwined with their senses, anosmia or ageusia necessitates a profound professional redefinition. It requires immense adaptability, a willingness to leverage alternative skills, and often, a reliance on the collective knowledge of colleagues. Linda Luke’s pivot to storytelling exemplifies how experience and communication skills can compensate for sensory deficits, proving that expertise can manifest in diverse forms. However, the emotional and psychological toll, the feeling of being "a couple of steps away from everybody else," remains a significant challenge, often leading to mental health struggles that require dedicated support.

Consumer Trust and Industry Evolution

The expertise of cheese professionals is built on trust—trust that they can accurately assess, describe, and recommend products. When their primary sensory tools are compromised, it indirectly affects this delicate relationship. The industry may need to consider how to transparently address these challenges, perhaps by fostering a culture where experts can openly discuss sensory changes without fear of professional marginalization. This could lead to a more nuanced understanding of "expertise," acknowledging that it encompasses a spectrum of knowledge and experience beyond perfect sensory acuity.

Looking ahead, the cheese industry, like many others reliant on specialized sensory skills, will likely evolve. This evolution might include:

• Enhanced Support Networks: Creating formal or informal peer support groups where individuals can share experiences, coping strategies, and emerging research.
• Research and Development: Encouraging and funding research into prevention and treatment of chemosensory disorders relevant to occupational exposures.
• Adaptive Training and Assessment: Developing more inclusive training programs and certification exams that acknowledge and accommodate varying sensory abilities.
• Technological Aids: Exploring how technology might assist professionals in objectively evaluating aspects of cheese that are typically sensorially perceived, though this can never fully replace human judgment.

The Enduring Passion for Cheese

Ultimately, the narratives of Tracey Johnson, Steve Millard, Linda Luke, and Liz Steeves are not just tales of loss, but also of remarkable human resilience and an unwavering passion for cheese. They highlight the invaluable role of our senses, often taken for granted, and the extraordinary lengths to which individuals will go to reclaim them or adapt to their absence. As Tracey Johnson aptly puts it, having any of our senses is a profound privilege. Their journeys remind us that while the landscape of sensory perception can change dramatically, the human spirit’s capacity for adaptation, innovation, and connection to a beloved craft can endure, even in silence. The ongoing research and shared experiences offer hope that for many, the road to recovery, or at least meaningful adaptation, is possible, allowing them to continue their vital work in the vibrant world of cheese.