By Alexandra Jones
August 27, 2026 | From: Summer 2026

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

The intricate world of artisanal cheese is a symphony for the senses, a complex tapestry woven from textures, flavors, and, perhaps most crucially, aromas. For those who dedicate their lives to this craft—from cheesemongers and educators to affineurs and judges—the ability to discern subtle notes of earth, fruit, mushroom, or cellar is not merely a skill; it is the very foundation of their expertise, a sensory superpower that guides their decisions and defines their careers. But what happens when this most vital sense, often taken for granted, vanishes? This question has become increasingly pertinent in recent years, casting a shadow over a profession that thrives on sensory acuity.

This article delves into the profound ramifications of chemosensory disorders like anosmia (loss of smell) and ageusia (loss of taste) on cheese professionals, exploring individual stories of struggle and resilience, the scientific underpinnings of these conditions, and the evolving landscape of recovery and adaptation.

The Invisible Threat: Anosmia’s Impact on the Palate

The world of cheese judging represents the pinnacle of sensory evaluation, a domain where a finely tuned palate and an acute sense of smell are paramount. For Tracey Johnson, a highly respected UK-born, British Columbia-based cheese educator, reaching this echelon was a career-defining moment. As the proprietor of Cheese Needs, a home cheesemaking supply company, and an instructor at the Academy of Cheese, Johnson had meticulously cultivated her sensory perception over years, seeing an invitation to judge the British and Irish Cheese Awards in early 2025 as a validation of her dedication. It was also a critical stepping stone towards her ultimate aspiration: judging at the prestigious World Cheese Awards.

When the Superpower Fails: Tracey Johnson’s Ordeal

The elation of this professional milestone, however, was swiftly followed by an unforeseen challenge. Not long after returning home from her judging duties, Johnson contracted a severe cold that, for six agonizing weeks, robbed her entirely of her senses of taste and smell. While her other cold symptoms eventually subsided, the chemosensory loss lingered, plunging her into a disorienting reality. "My taste was gone completely," she recounts, the memory still tinged with disbelief. "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 inability to smell, coupled with ageusia, the inability to taste. For a cheese professional, such a loss is akin to a musician losing their hearing or an artist their sight. It’s a direct assault on their professional identity and a profound threat to their livelihood. The immediate fear was not just personal discomfort but the potential cessation of a career built on sensory discernment. The prospect of deferring the American Cheese Society’s Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator (CCSE) Exam, a crucial benchmark in her field, became a stark reminder of the gravity of her condition.

Unraveling the Mystery of Scent: A Scientific Perspective

For millennia, the sense of smell has been the least understood and arguably most underestimated of our five primary senses. Yet, its profound impact on our experience of the world is undeniable. Olfaction serves as an ancient alarm system, safeguarding us from immediate dangers like fire, gas leaks, and spoiled food. More subtly, it profoundly shapes our perception of flavor, transforming mere sustenance into a rich, nuanced experience.

Dr. Hong Wang, a distinguished molecular biologist and member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, elucidates the intricate interplay between taste and smell in creating flavor. "Taste is sensed by the taste buds on the tongue and soft palate," Dr. Wang explains. "Olfaction is sensed by the olfactory sensory neurons up in the nose, then integrated in the brain together with taste as flavor." This integration is critical; without smell, taste is reduced to its most basic elements – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami – losing the aromatic complexities that define true flavor. The delicate olfactory nerves, located in a small patch of tissue high inside the nose, are highly susceptible to damage, leading to a spectrum of chemosensory disorders.

Anosmia, hyposmia (decreased sense of smell), parosmia (distorted sense of smell, where familiar smells become unpleasant), or phantosmia (smelling things that aren’t there) all stem from damage to these sensitive nerve pathways. This damage can result from a variety of factors, including viral infections, head trauma, neurological disorders, or even environmental toxins.

The COVID-19 Catalyst: Heightened Awareness

While chemosensory disorders are not new, they gained unprecedented public attention starting in 2020, as COVID-19 emerged as a significant cause of widespread smell and taste loss. This global health crisis inadvertently propelled anosmia and related conditions into the mainstream medical discourse, fostering a surge in research and public awareness. A compelling 2025 study published in JAMA Network Open underscored the prevalence and persistence of these issues, revealing that a staggering 80 percent of subjects who reported smell loss after COVID-19 infection exhibited hyposmia based on clinical tests, with a significant 23 percent experiencing severe or total loss of smell.

For many, the post-viral loss of smell and taste is temporary, gradually resolving as the body recovers. However, for a substantial number, these sensory deficits can linger for months, years, or even become a permanent fixture of their lives. This enduring impact can be particularly devastating for professionals whose livelihoods depend on their finely tuned senses.

Steve Millard, a veteran of the food industry with a decade-long tenure as senior vice president of merchandising and operations at Murray’s Cheese, found his career abruptly threatened when COVID-19 completely eradicated his sense of smell 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 reflects, recalling the shock. "To suddenly have that gone, I was like, ‘Is this the end of my career?’" Now serving as general manager at Acme Smoked Fish, Millard estimates his sense of smell has recovered to about 80 percent of its former capacity. Yet, the subtle shifts persist: his ability to detect the heat from spicy foods is entirely gone, and he occasionally experiences disorienting "phantom smells" like garlic and chicken broth, odors that exist only in his perception. The prospect of returning to his previous role in the cheese industry feels daunting. "I would definitely have to recalibrate," he states. "I don’t think I would ever get back to where I was before."

Occupational Hazards and Enduring Loss

Viruses are not the sole culprits behind chemosensory damage. The delicate mechanisms of smell and taste can be compromised by a range of conditions and external factors. Natural aging, for instance, leads to a gradual deterioration of olfaction, typically becoming noticeable as individuals reach their 70s. Beyond this, a myriad of health issues can temporarily or permanently impair the nerves that transmit sensory signals from the nose to the brain. These include neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases, and certain medical treatments like chemotherapy. Physical trauma, particularly head injuries, can also sever the crucial olfactory nerves, leading to irreversible damage.

A Quarter-Century Without Scent: Linda Luke’s Resilience

Linda Luke, a now-retired cheese broker, faced such a catastrophic loss 25 years ago under ironically poetic circumstances. While en route to the Summer Fancy Food Show, a critical event in the food industry, she suffered a near-fatal allergic reaction that caused her to lose consciousness. Striking her head on the sidewalk, she sustained permanent damage to the olfactory nerves, which traverse a bony plate situated between the sinuses and the brain. The result was a complete and permanent loss of her senses of smell and taste.

"I was absolutely not prepared for what happens when you lose your sense of smell," Luke shares, her voice carrying the weight of years of adaptation. "We take it for granted because it works on this subliminal level that we’re not even aware of." The initial years were marked by profound 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."

Luke’s career, fortunately, had already been well-established, built on her formidable communication skills and deep knowledge of fine cheese. Faced with this insurmountable sensory deficit, she leaned heavily on her network of friends and colleagues, relying on their sensory descriptions to fill the void. More importantly, she innovated her professional approach, developing sophisticated storytelling strategies. "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 pivot allowed her to continue communicating the value and artistry of cheese, demonstrating remarkable resilience and adaptability. "It could have really affected my job if I hadn’t figured out a way to do it."

The Cost of the Cave: Liz Steeves and Ammonia Exposure

While cheesemaking might not typically be considered a hazardous profession, certain working conditions can lead to insidious, long-term damage to the sense of smell. Liz Steeves, a freelance cheesemonger based in Connecticut, believes her years working in a cheese cave system around high levels of ammonia significantly impaired her olfaction. "I believe my sense of smell was really affected from working in a cave system around high levels of ammonia for 32 hours a week," Steeves states.

Cheese caves, or aging facilities, are carefully controlled environments where microbial activity transforms fresh curds into complex, flavorful cheeses. During this aging process, microbes break down fats and proteins, releasing various waste products, including ammonia. Adequate ventilation is crucial to introduce fresh air and remove these potentially harmful gases. While modern caves often employ state-of-the-art fan and filter systems, older or less sophisticated facilities might rely on simpler, less effective methods like manually opening and closing doors.

During Steeves’ tenure, meticulously flipping wheels and scrubbing rinds in a relatively low-tech aging cave, it is probable that the ventilation was insufficient to disperse the ammonia buildup effectively. She realized the extent of the change when she no longer registered the characteristic biting aroma upon entering the space. "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."

Although her sense of taste remains intact, Steeves’ sense of smell has become significantly less sensitive. The stark reality of this became apparent when she attempted to identify smells in a wine aroma kit, getting every answer wrong. Despite over a decade in the industry, she remains confident in her abilities, yet acknowledges that certain professional challenges, such as the rigorous American Cheese Society’s Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator (CCSE) Exam, will be considerably more difficult. "It’s like a professional sports star who has bad knees because they played football," Steeves muses, accepting the occupational cost. "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." Her experience highlights the often-overlooked occupational health considerations in specialized food industries, where the very environment that fosters culinary excellence can subtly erode the senses.

The Path to Recalibration: Hope and Hard Work

For Tracey Johnson, the initial six months post-illness were a period of deep despair. Her inability to smell persisted, her mental health suffered, and the fear for her career intensified. She deferred the CCSE Exam, embarking instead on a series of specialist visits and scans. Doctors initially offered hope of a simple sinus operation, but subsequent scans revealed her sinuses had cleared spontaneously, leaving medical professionals with no further conventional treatments. The prognosis was bleak: "The doctors told her there was nothing else they could do."

Smell Training and Mental Wellness: A Holistic Approach

However, the human olfactory system possesses a remarkable capacity for regeneration, offering a glimmer of hope. "The olfactory system has the ability to regenerate, so a lot of times, we can recover from smell loss," Dr. Wang confirms. "Smell training is one of the things people can do at home." While specific FDA-approved treatments for smell disorders are still lacking, small clinical trials investigating corticosteroids and platelet-rich plasma have shown promising results, hinting at future therapeutic possibilities.

Undeterred by the medical dead-end, Johnson resolved to reclaim her sense of smell through self-guided efforts. Friends diligently compiled research on smell training protocols, while colleagues connected her with others who had successfully navigated the challenging path of anosmia recovery. Her regimen is disciplined and consistent: three times a day, she dedicates time to smelling a rotation of pungent essential oils. She began with a core set of juniper, lemon, clove, and eucalyptus, rotating to new sets after a few months to stimulate a wider range of olfactory receptors.

Beyond the physical training, Johnson also embraced a holistic approach to recovery, integrating nutritional supplements recommended by her doctor to support both nerve regrowth and mental well-being. These included Vitamin A for neuroplasticity and nerve regeneration, a Vitamin B complex to aid overall recovery and reduce mucus, and Vitamin D, saffron, and magnesium for their documented benefits in supporting mental health and combating depression.

Johnson’s journey underscores the critical link between physical recovery and mental fortitude. "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," she advises, highlighting the often-overlooked psychological toll of sensory loss. The value of community and shared experience in this process is immeasurable. "You probably know somebody who’s gone through something similar, and they might have a roadmap that can help you get back to where you want to be."

Beyond the Senses: Broader Implications and Future Outlook

After approximately three months of her dedicated essential oil regimen – nearly a year after her initial illness – Tracey Johnson estimates she has recovered roughly three-quarters of her normal sense of smell. Her olfactory sensitivity continues to improve, she can once again identify the five basic tastes, and, perhaps most joyously, she has begun to enjoy cheese again. Her beloved Chällerhocker, a Swiss cheese renowned for its rich, complex flavor, was the first she recognized since her sensory loss, a profound moment of reconnection with her passion.

Buoyed by this progress, Johnson has bravely decided to take the CCSE Exam this July. If she passes, it will be a significant step towards rejoining the judging circuit, a testament to her unwavering dedication and the remarkable plasticity of the human body. Her experience serves as a powerful reminder of the profound privilege inherent in our senses. "I feel like having any of your senses is such a privilege," Johnson says, reflecting on her ordeal. "It’s probably one of the most basic things we take for granted."

A Renewed Appreciation

The stories of Tracey Johnson, Steve Millard, Linda Luke, and Liz Steeves collectively paint a vivid picture of the profound impact of chemosensory disorders on individuals whose lives and careers are inextricably linked to their senses. They highlight the often-invisible struggles faced by those who lose these fundamental abilities, from the immediate threat to their livelihoods to the deeper psychological challenges of isolation and grief.

However, these narratives are also powerful testaments to human resilience, adaptability, and the enduring power of hope. They underscore the importance of ongoing scientific research into the mechanisms of smell and taste, the development of effective treatments, and the critical need for robust support systems for those affected. As awareness grows, driven in part by global health crises like COVID-19, the once "misunderstood" senses are finally receiving the attention they deserve. For cheese professionals and individuals alike, the journey through sensory loss offers a profound lesson: a renewed appreciation for the delicate, complex, and often overlooked miracles of perception that shape our world. The privilege of smell and taste, once taken for granted, emerges as a precious gift, to be cherished and, when lost, fought for with unwavering determination.