Season to Taste, How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way by Molly Birnbaum is the compelling story of a woman whose plan to become a chef was cut drastically short when she got hit by a car and lost her sense of smell. What I expected was a cooking memoir, and to some degree it is. Cooking is an undercurrent to her story about finding her way when her original dream was lost. The real story is about her journey to recover her sense of smell and to figure out what she would do instead of being a chef. Her curiosity and drive to figure it out leads her to fascinating people including writer Oliver Sachs, food chemist Ellie Grosinger and perfumer Christophe Laudameil. It covers a lot of technical ground which is mostly interesting but can drag on in spots. When that happened, I’d just put it down for a day and come back to it. I’m sniffing in and out and tasting more thoughtfully. Breathe deeply and enjoy.
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