Ryan Riley &

Kimberley Duke

Taste&Flavour
Ryan Riley and Kimberley Duke
www.lifekitchen.co.uk
Taste&
Flavour
A cook book to inspire those
experiencing changes in taste
and smell as a result of Covid

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
FUNDED BY SUNDERLAND CITY COUNCIL
 Ryan Riley &
Kimberley Duke

Taste&
Flavour
A cook book to inspire those
experiencing changes in taste
and smell as a result of Covid

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Photography by Craig Robertson

Introduction by Ryan & Kim 8
The pleasure and perception of
flavour by Professor Barry Smith 10
Snacks 10
Everything dressing 14
Cracked cucumbers 16
Veggie pineapple tacos 18
Umami biscuits 20
Preserved lemon, feta and za’atar
twists 22
A little more substantial 24
Fiery tomato soup with sesame-
seed butter toast 26
Miso butter potatoes with green
herb vinegar 28
Zesty corn soup and spicy beans 30
Longstem broccoli with sesame
and almond dipping salt 32
Mushroom and blue cheese
mac ’n’ cheese 34
Tarragon fried rice with pickled
pineapple 36
Sambal butter noodles 38
Sweet vinegar aubergines 40
Sweets 42
Baked vanilla and oats with cardamom,
raspberry and rose syrup 44
Apple and ginger lollies with shichimi
togarashi dip 46
Cherry and almond tarts 48
Fruit and coconut with vanilla yuzu
honey 50
About Life Kitchen: Life Kitchen is a cookery school
for people with cancer. Its focus is on taste and
flavour. Sadly, cancer and cancer treatment can
affect people’s ability to taste and enjoy food, but we
can help. At Life Kitchen we create recipes to revive
your sense of taste, so you can enjoy food again.
www.lifekitchen.co.uk
Cook’s note: If you have low immunity, take care with
your ingredients and ensure all recipes containing
meat, eggs and unpasteurised, soft or blue cheeses
are properly cooked through. Consult your doctor if
you are unsure as to the suitability of any recipe.
 Introduction
When it first came to light that many people with Covid-19
were experiencing loss of taste and smell, our first thought
was – what can we do to help?
Life Kitchen is a free cookery school for people who have
lost their sense of taste and sense of smell because of cancer
or cancer treatment. Using five elements – aroma, umami,
texture, layering, and trigeminal food sensations (the tingling,
burning and cooling we get from spices) – we have taught more
than 1,000 people with cancer to enjoy food again.
We wanted to apply these principles to create recipes for
those people who have lost their senses of taste and smell as a
result of Covid. We undertook some research and discovered
that Covid-related changes in our taste and smell have some
distinctive features. Sufferers found they didn’t want to eat
certain, quite common ingredients, including onions, garlic,
meat and eggs.
Any of these olfactory conditions can have a profound
knock-on effect for physical and mental health. At Life Kitchen,
we want to help as many people as possible to enjoy food again,
and in doing so, take further steps, however small, towards
recovering their overall well-being.
8 9
So welcome to our Taste & Flavour book. In it you’ll find a range
of recipes that use ingredient combinations, along with textures
and other sensory factors, that we hope will help you derive
pleasure from food. We’ve excluded the ingredients we now know
most people with Covid don’t fancy. There are delicious snacks,
such as Preserved Lemon, Feta & Za’atar Twists, for the days
when you don’t feel like a full meal, and dishes such as Sambal
Butter Noodles and Mushroom & Blue Cheese Mac ’n’ Cheese for
when you do. And because sometimes pleasure comes from sweet
things, we’ve finished with treats, such as Apple & Ginger Ice
Lollies with Shichimi Togarashi Dip.
Living with loss of smell or taste is an individual experience,
with no single, typical path. We’ve worked with Dr Duika
Watson Burges from Altered Eating, and the founder of AbScent,
Chrissi Kelly, who have provided us with the knowledge and
research to make this book possible. The recipes aim to provide
breadth and scope in the hope that most – if not all – will appeal
to you. Please feel free to adjust any recipe to your own taste
preferences. The book is a beginning – a collection of ideas
and expertise to help you on your journey towards rediscovering
the enjoyment of food.
Lots of love
Ryan & Kim
 The pleasure and perception
of flavour
Professor Barry Smith
The pleasure of eating depends on many things: our mood, our
surroundings, the company we are in. But, at the heart of the
pleasure we take in food is its flavour. Talented chefs know how to
combine ingredients and use cooking techniques that show food
at its best. When they serve up a delicious plate of food, it is over
to us – the tasters – to discover the flavours they’ve created.
To many, this is the easy part. We pop the food in our mouths,
we chew, we swallow and the flavour is all there. But what we don’t
often recognize in those moments is that tasting flavours is one of
the most complicated, multisensory experiences we have, and
depends on how the brain combines the signals from our taste,
touch and smell, along with contributions from sight and sound.
The taste receptors on our tongue provide us with only the
basic tastes of salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami (the savoury
taste of mushrooms or miso soup). All the flavours of our food
– meaty or fruity; the taste of carrot or onion, olives or tomatoes
– are down to smell. A tomato has sweetness and sourness and an
umami taste, but combine those tastes and you still don’t have
tomato flavour. Most of that comes from the nose – not when you
sniff, but when the aromas released from food in your mouth drift
up from the back of your throat to your nose. That’s why flavour is
intensified when we swallow and pulse those aromas to the nose.
Sadly, it is also why, when people suddenly lose their sense of
smell, as they did in the recent coronavirus pandemic, they will
also lose the pleasure in eating. Many people who caught
coronavirus had anosmia – complete lack of smell – and found
their food dull and tasteless. With investigation, scientists
10
realized that, in fact, many were still able to taste sugar, salt,
lemon juice or the bitterness of coffee – but that was all.
When flavour is dulled in this way, we have to turn to other
senses to help, especially our sense of touch. Textures – sticky
or chewy, creamy or crunchy – can make foods interesting.
As Ryan and Kim showed in their Life Kitchen cook book,
using umami in dishes can intensify taste and stimulate saliva.
Soy and vinegar with sesame oil and sugar provide lots of taste
when smell is absent. Through their cooking, Ryan and Kim also
stimulate the trigeminal nerve, which serves the eyes, the nose
and the mouth and produces the stinging, cooling or burning
sensations we have when we eat spice.
As well as using many senses to add to the pleasure of eating,
there may be ingredients Covid sufferers need to avoid because,
in regaining their sense of smell, many have developed parosmia
– a distorted perception of familiar smells. Through the work of
my collaborators, patient advocate Chrissi Kelly (who founded the
charity AbScent) and food scientist Dr Jane Parker, we are
learning why, at a molecular level, parosmia sufferers experience
coffee, roasted meats and vegetables, onions, garlic and eggs,
among others, as tasting disgusting. Ryan and Kim have managed
to create recipes in this book that show you how to cook lots of
great food without using these now strange-smelling ingredients.
We have reason to think that the symptoms of parosmia will fade
with time, but the period of recovery may be long. These recipes
hope to show that you can still eat well – and with pleasure –
whatever the stage of your journey.
11
Snacks
Our work has shown us that eating a full meal while experiencing
changes in sense of taste and smell can be daunting. So, we’ve
started the book with snacks that are perfect for any time of day.
To help broaden the scope of what’s both snackable and

can sprinkle over all manner of snackable salad vegetables (we’ve

suggested cucumber as a start). It provides a savoury umami hit
from the rich miso, while the vinegar is intended to tantalize your
sense of smell. But, if vinegar isn't enjoyable for you, try lemon or
orange juice instead.
This chapter is home to our signature pineapple tacos, which
have proved such a revelation for so many of our Life Kitchen
guests. The tacos are usually made in our classes with prawns
and spring onions, but here we make them with feta cheese. The
chapter also features Kim’s favourite recipe – the feta and za’atar
twists. The chilli paste in them is a great ingredient for stimulating
the trigeminal nerve and providing that much-needed sensory

As always, though, feel free to adapt and experiment: if you’re

struggling with chilli, for example, simply leave it out.
Everything dressing
1 tablespoon dark miso
zest and juice of 1 lime
2.5cm (1in) piece of fresh ginger,
peeled and grated
2 teaspoons English mustard
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
6 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
(or malt if you prefer)
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
(optional)
4 tablespoons Odysea extra-virgin
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper

Mix all the ingredients except the oil and seasoning together in
a bowl. Then, little by little, add the oil until fully combined – the
mixture should be dark caramel in colour and the consistency of
double cream. Season generously with sea salt and pepper and stir
to combine.

Use this dressing sprinkled over salad vegetables, or to brush over

fish before baking. You’ll need 6 tablespoons to make the Cracked
Cucumbers (see page 14).

SNACKS 15
Cracked cucumbers
6 tablespoons Everything Dressing
(see page 12)
1 cucumber, sliced into thick rounds
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1 tablespoon Odysea balsamic or toasted pumpkin seeds
vinegar of Modena
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Tip the sliced cucumber into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle over
the vinegar and salt. Leave the cucumber to marinate for 5 minutes,
until it has slightly softened.
Add the Everything Dressing to the bowl and toss the cucumber
slices until fully coated, then spoon them on to a serving plate.
Sprinkle over the black sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds, and the
chilli flakes if you’re using them.

We like to serve these as a punchy snack, but we also enjoy them with
fragrant jasmine rice, or as a side to any meal that needs a bit of crunch.
Feel free to swap out the cucumber for slices of carrot, radish or other
crunchy vegetable, if you prefer.

SNACKS 17
Veggie pineapple tacos
a small handful of coriander
(cilantro), leaves picked and
dice
extra to serve
pepper (from a jar), cut into 1cm zest and juice of 1 lime, plus extra
wedges (optional) for squeezing
halved
1 pineapple

Place the diced cucumber and pepper or tomatoes into a large mixing
bowl, then crumble in the feta. Add the coriander and lime zest and
juice. Fold everything together until loosely combined, then set aside
while you slice the pineapple.
Using a very sharp knife, remove the top and the bottom of the
pineapple. Sit it upright on a chopping board and use the knife
to slice downward and remove the outer skin. Turn the pineapple
on to its side and, taking your time, slice it into very thin rounds
(you can cut the rounds using a mandoline, if you have one).
Lay out the pineapple slices on a serving plate and add a spoonful
of the feta mixture into the middle of each. Finish with a final flourish
of coriander, if you like.
To eat, carefully fold up each pineapple slice around the filling, just
like a taco. Squeeze over some lime, if you like, before tucking in.

If you can’t tolerate cucumbers (as some people with parosmia find),
feel free to swap them out for something like diced radish or sliced
baby gem lettuce, which offer a similarly refreshing crunch.

SNACKS 19
Umami biscuits

4 tablespoons mixed sesame seeds

1 sheet dried seaweed, blitzed to
small pieces
4 teaspoons Odysea pine and

25g (1oz) parmesan, grated

5 tablespoons Japanese furikake
2 tablespoons light soy sauce seasoning

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4. Line 2 baking

trays with baking paper.
Make the biscuit dough. Mix all the dough ingredients together
in a medium mixing bowl, until smooth. Divide the mixture into
12 equal-sized balls and place the balls, spaced well apart, on the
lined baking trays. Set aside.
Make the coating. In a second bowl, either mix together the sesame
seeds and the seaweed or tip in the furikake.
One by one, place each of the balls into the coating, rolling to coat.
Place the coated balls back on to the baking tray, spacing them well
apart, and refrigerate for 10 minutes to firm up.
Bake the chilled balls in the centre of the oven for 6–8 minutes,
until golden brown (watch them carefully so that they don’t get too
dark). Remove from the oven – they will be very soft at this point,
so leave them on the tray for 10 minutes to firm up before transferring
to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up
to 5 days.

SNACKS
Preserved lemon, feta and
za’atar twists
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons za’atar, plus extra
ready-rolled puff pastry

crumbled
3 tablespoons full-fat natural
yoghurt
2 teaspoons chilli paste
1 tablespoon chilli paste

2 Odysea preserved lemons, blitzed

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6.

Unroll your pastry on to a baking tray, leaving the baking paper it’s
wrapped in underneath. With a longest edge closest to you, use
a sharp knife to slice the pastry sheet in half top to bottom.
In a bowl whisk together the feta, crème fraîche, chilli paste, chilli
flakes and blitzed preserved lemons until combined. Spoon the
mixture on to one of the cut pastry sheets and spread it out evenly
using the back of the spoon. Place the other half of the pastry on top,
and cut the pastry sandwich, top to bottom, into approximately
2.5cm (1in) strips to give 4–6 strips altogether.
Holding both the top and bottom of each filled pastry strip, turn one
end a couple of times, until you get the signature twist. Return each
twisted strip to the lined baking tray.
Combine the beaten egg and the za’atar in a bowl to create a wash.
Brush the strips with the wash, then bake for 25–30 minutes, until
crisp and golden brown.
While the twists are baking, make the dip by simply mixing together
the yoghurt and chilli paste in a bowl.
Remove the twists from the oven, then finish with an extra dusting
of za’atar. Serve with the dip alongside.

SNACKS
A little more
substantial
umami-rich, making them a great foundation for a meal. We’ve
packed in yet more umami with the miso – fermented soybean

the world and this recipe marries the two with a wonderfully
aromatic herb vinegar.

saliva production, making it – quite literally – mouthwatering.

multiple umami-rich ingredients come together to create a deep,

(or regular) basil are notoriously tempting, but if you’re having

this dish that help to make up the difference.

any other chilli paste, or omit it altogether. This recipe is a spin

on the classic Italian dish cacio e pepe
most potent cheese sources of umami and makes for sensory joy
when mixed with the trigeminal-stimulating black pepper.
Fiery tomato soup
with sesame-seed butter toast
2 slices of sourdough bread
3 tablespoons Odysea extra-virgin 1 tablespoon salted butter, softened
olive oil
1 teaspoon roasted black and white
3 teaspoons chilli paste sesame seeds, plus extra for
sprinkling
10 large tomatoes, quartered
sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper
from a kettle
2 tablespoons malt vinegar

Preheat the oven to 250°C/230°C fan/500°F/Gas 9.

Whisk together the olive oil and chilli paste in a bowl and add
the tomatoes. Toss them to coat, then tip them into a baking tray
in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper and roast for
35–40 minutes, until charred and collapsed.
Set aside a few of the tomatoes for garnish, then transfer the
remainder and all their juices to a saucepan. Place the pan over
a low–medium heat and use a hand-held stick blender to blitz
until smooth. Pour in the boiling water and vinegar and season
with salt. Bring to the boil and boil for 2–3 minutes, until piping
hot and reduced a little. Taste the soup and adjust with salt and
pepper, if you wish.
Toast the bread to your liking.
Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together the softened butter and sesame
seeds, then spread this over the hot toast.
Divide the soup between 2 bowls, sprinkle with a few extra sesame
seeds, and serve with the toast.
Miso butter potatoes
with green herb vinegar
350g (12oz) new potatoes 1 tablespoon brown miso

½ teaspoon white pepper

a large handful of coriander
(cilantro), leaves picked 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
a large handful of parsley, leaves
picked
a large handful of mint, leaves
picked
1 green chilli

1 tablespoon Odysea extra-virgin

olive oil

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Tip in the potatoes
and gently boil them for 15–20 minutes, until tender, then drain and
allow to cool slightly.
While the potatoes are boiling, make the herb vinegar. Whizz all the
ingredients together in a food processor until finely chopped. (Or,
very finely chop up the herbs and chilli and mix them in a bowl with
the vinegar and oil.) Set aside.
Just before the potatoes are ready, make the miso butter. Place a
large frying pan over a medium heat and add the miso, butter, pepper
and soy sauce. Allow to melt, then whisk vigorously to combine. Once
you have drained the potatoes, add them to the miso butter in the
pan, smashing them down lightly with a spatula and cooking and
turning them for a couple of minutes to coat.
Spoon the potatoes into a serving dish and drizzle with the herb
vinegar to serve.

A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANTIAL

Zesty corn soup and spicy beans
zest and juice of 1 lime

sea salt
2 ripe peaches, pitted and cut into a handful of coriander (cilantro),
leaves picked, to serve
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
10 slices of pickled jalapeño,
1 x 400g (14oz) tin of black beans,
roughly chopped
drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons jalapeño pickle liquid
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
a small handful of coriander
3 tablespoons Odysea balsamic
(cilantro), roughly chopped
vinegar of Modena
a pinch of sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon Tabasco (or to taste)

1 x 425g (15oz) tin of creamed

200g (7oz) bag of plain tortilla
corn (or 1 x 400g/14oz tin of
chips
sweetcorn, drained, then blitzed
with 3 tablespoons of water)
grated
1 x 400g (14oz) tin of butter (lima)
beans, drained and rinsed

Make the salsa, if using. Tip all the salsa ingredients into a large
mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside while you make the soup.
Place the corn and butter beans into a blender and blitz until smooth.
Stir in the lime zest and juice. If the mixture is too thick (you want it
soupy), add 3 tablespoons of water . Stir in the pepper, pour into a
saucepan and place over a medium heat. Season with salt, bring to
the boil and boil for 5 minutes, until hot. Heat the grill to high.
Make the tabasco beans. Place a large frying pan over medium heat.
Add all the ingredients for the beans and stir to combine. Cook for
4–5 minutes, until thick and glossy. Keep warm. Make the nachos.
Tip the tortilla chips on to a baking tray and scatter over the cheese.
Grill for 1–2 minutes to melt, then remove and spoon over the salsa.
Divide the soup between 4 bowls and top with a spoonful of the beans
and a few coriander leaves. Serve with the nachos.
A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANTIAL
Longstem broccoli with sesame
and almond dipping salt
200g (7oz) longstem broccoli
(about 10 stems)
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1½ teaspoons ponzu soy sauce
(or regular light soy sauce)
juice of 1 lemon, plus extra if
needed and optional zest

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Three-quarters fill a large saucepan with water and season it

generously. Bring the water to the boil over a medium heat, then
add the longstem broccoli and cook for 2–3 minutes to parboil.
Drain in a colander, then run the broccoli under cold water to
stop it cooking. Set aside.
Tip the sesame seeds, almonds and chilli flakes into a mortar and
mix to combine. Add the salt, then grind with the pestle to a coarse
texture. Transfer to a serving bowl. (The mixture will keep in an
airtight container for up to 1 month.)
Make the mayo. In small a mixing bowl, whisk together the
mayonnaise, ponzu and lemon juice to combine. Taste, and adjust
with more lemon if you need more citrus punch. Sprinkle over the
lemon zest, if using, and transfer to a serving bowl.
To serve, arrange the broccoli stems on a serving plate with the seed
mixture and the mayo. To eat, dip the broccoli heads into the seeds,
then the mayo and enjoy!

A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANTIAL

Mushroom and blue cheese
mac ’n’ cheese
crumbled
400g (7oz) dried pasta of choice
(we used chifferi rigati)
grated, to serve (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

sliced
2 slices of your choice of bread
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
a large handful of basil, leaves
zest and juice of 1 lemon picked
470g (1lb 1oz) jar of béchamel
(white) sauce

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6.

First, make the breadcrumbs. Place the bread and the basil leaves
in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs. Tip the crumbs on to
a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes,
until golden.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and add
the pasta. Boil according to the packet instructions until al dente.
Reserve a cupful of the cooking water.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a
high heat. When hot, add the mushrooms and pepper and fry for
5–6 minutes, until the mushrooms are golden brown. Add the lemon
zest and juice and cook for a further 1 minute to allow the mushrooms
to absorb some of the juice. Add the béchamel sauce and cheese,
then stir occasionally, until the cheese has melted.
Drain the cooked pasta and tip it into the pan with the sauce. Stir
well, cook for 2–3 minutes, until the sauce has thickened around
the pasta (add some reserved pasta water, if it’s looking dry), then
serve sprinkled with the breadcrumbs for texture, and a little
parmesan, if you wish.

A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANTIAL

Tarragon fried rice
with pickled pineapple
6 tablespoons dark soy sauce
6–8 tarragon stalks, leaves picked
and thinly sliced
1 x 250g (9oz) pouch of cooked
jasmine rice

peeled and grated

2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
a large handful of shiitake 4 star anise, crushed
mushrooms
sugar

4 cherry tomatoes, halved

(fresh, not canned)
1 green chilli, sliced
a large handful Thai basil (or regular
basil), leaves picked

Pour the pineapple juice, soy sauce, ginger and rice vinegar into
a jug, stir to combine and set aside for later.
Make the pickled pineapple. Place the rice vinegar, star anise and
caster sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a
rolling boil and leave to boil for 1 minute, then turn off the heat and
add the pineapple chunks. Set aside for later.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When hot, add the
mushrooms and cook for 6–8 minutes, until deeply golden. Add the
peppers or tomatoes, chilli, basil and tarragon and cook for a further
2 minutes, until the herbs are wilted, then add the rice, stir, and fry
gently for 1 minute. Pour in the pineapple and soy mixture, add the
peas and mix everything together well. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
To serve, spoon out each portion on to large serving plates with
the pickled pineapple alongside.

Try adding some fresh prawns (shrimp) to this recipe – tip them in at
the same time as the mushrooms and fry until fully cooked through.

A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANTIAL

Sambal butter noodles
noodles

2 teaspoons sambal oelek (we like grated

the brand Lucullus) or chilli paste
1 lemon, halved
a large handful of basil, leaves and
stems roughly torn, plus optional freshly ground black pepper
extra leaves to serve

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a high heat until foaming.
Whisk in the sambal paste and add the torn basil leaves.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the noodles
and cook according to the packet instructions, until tender.
Meanwhile, add a ladleful of the noodle water to the pan with the
sambal butter, and allow to bubble away to reduce for 10 seconds or
so. Add half the parmesan and stir to combine. Once the parmesan
has melted, add another ladleful of noodle water and the remaining
parmesan, stirring until the cheese has melted and the sauce is the
consistency of double cream. Season with black pepper.
Drain the cooked noodles and add them to the pan with the sauce,
tossing vigorously to coat.
Divide the noodles between 2 serving plates. Spritz with the lemon
halves, and sprinkle over a few more basil leaves, if you like.

A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANTIAL

Sweet vinegar aubergines
2 aubergines (eggplants)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons of the oil, blitzed
5 tablespoons Odysea balsamic in a blender until smooth
vinegar of Modena
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup or
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
a few basil leaves, torn
drizzle of Odysea pomegranate
sea salt and freshly ground black
molasses
pepper

basmati rice

Top and tail the aubergines and slice them lengthways in half.
Slice each half into 3 long strips. Score shallow cuts at 3cm (11⁄4in)
intervals along the length to allow the flavour to find its way in.
Make the flavoured yoghurt. Mix together the artichoke purée and
yoghurt in a large mixing bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When hot, place
the aubergines flesh downwards in the pan and cook for 5–6 minutes,
until the flesh side is golden brown.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together the vinegar, soy sauce and maple
syrup or honey and set aside.
Carefully flip the aubergines and cook for a further 5–6 minutes to
brown the other side. Take care not to burn them – if the pan is too
hot, reduce the heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper. Pour
the vinegar mixture over the aubergines and cook for 1–2 minutes.
Add the cornflour paste and allow the mixture to thicken and become
rich and sticky (2–3 minutes). Remove from the heat.
Divide the flavoured yoghurt equally between 2 serving plates,
spreading it out into a layer. Top with equal amounts of the hot
aubergines, then serve sprinkled with the pomegranate seeds,
basil and molasses, and with warmed flat breads or basmati rice.
A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANTIAL
Sweets
Many people experiencing taste and smell changes as a result

sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. We’ve tried to make sweet
dishes that are stimulating to all of the tastes, while still giving
you the feeling of having a sweet treat.

to put together and is served with raspberry and rose syrup. For
those whose sense of smell is returning, deeply fragrant and
aromatic, raspberries contain compounds called ketones, which

Kim’s favourite treat is the Cherry and Almond Tarts, which

are an absolute breeze to make – and utterly gorgeous to look

of a well-known cherry soda brand, which lots of people told us

they had come to especially enjoy while they were recovering from
Covid. Combining citrus, almond, cherry and vanilla, these tarts

Our testers certainly loved them!

Feel free to change up our special fruit salad with the fruits
you’re enjoying the most. We’ve suggested serving it with a

stocked in several supermarkets, as well as online – we urge you

to seek it out. The crunch of almonds and pistachios sprinkled over

you choose to include, there is texture in abundance, too.

Baked vanilla oats with
cardamom, raspberry
and rose syrup
200g (7oz) rolled oats 200g (7oz) raspberries
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
sugar
2 tablespoons golden caster
4 cardamom pods, cracked
1 teaspoon dried rose petals
or ½ teaspoon rose water

1 teaspoon demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/475°F/Gas 8.

Tip the oats, cinnamon and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl
and mix well to coat the oats. Gradually drizzle in the milk and fold
through the vanilla custard, mixing well to combine. Pour the oat
mixture into a baking dish, sprinkle over the demerara sugar and
bake for 25–30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the raspberry rose syrup. Place the raspberries
in a small saucepan with the sugar, cardamom pods and rose petals
or rose water. Add 4 tablespoons of water, then place the pan over
a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries begin
to burst. (You can serve the syrup warm or cold.)
To serve, spoon the oat mixture equally into serving bowls and
drizzle over the raspberry syrup, discarding the cardamom pods.
(Keep any leftover syrup in a sterilized container in the fridge for
up to 7 days.)

SWEETS
Apple and ginger lollies
with shichimi togarashi dip
peeled and grated
juice shichimi togarashi, for dipping

Pour the apple juice into a small saucepan over medium heat and
add the sugar and grated ginger. Stir well for about 3–4 minutes, until
the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, allow to cool completely
(about 30 minutes), then pour the mixture into ice-lolly moulds.
Transfer the lollies to the freezer to set (about 3–4 hours).
To serve, run the moulds briefly under a hot tap, then remove the
lollies. Dip the ends into a bowl of the shichimi togarashi (or sprinkle
it over) for an extra flavour hit.

SWEETS
Cherry and almond tarts
2 teaspoons almond extract
200g (7oz) cherries, pitted
melted
zest and juice of 1 orange
4 individual sweet pastry tart cases

sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
2 tablespoons freeze-dried
raspberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6.

Place the cherries in a small saucepan along with the orange zest
and juice, the caster sugar and the vanilla. Set the pan over a
medium–low heat and heat through for 5–6 minutes, until the
cherries are beginning to soften and the sugar has dissolved to
form a syrup.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir the ground almonds and almond extract
into the melted butter to form a paste.
Place the pastry cases on a baking tray and spoon an equal amount
of softened cherries into each case, trying not to spoon in too much
of the cooking syrup at the same time. Reserve the syrup.
Spoon 1 tablespoonful of the almond mixture on top of the cherries,
using the back of the spoon to spread it out into a mound. Bake the
tarts for 15–20 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden. Remove
from the oven and leave in the baking tray until completely cool
(about 15–20 minutes).
Make the icing. Tip the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and spoon
in 6 tablespoons of the reserve cherry syrup. Stir to a smooth paste
and even pink colour. Using a teaspoon, drizzle the icing back and
forth over the tarts. Finally, sprinkle with the freeze-dried
raspberries, if using.

SWEETS
Fruit and coconut in vanilla
yuzu honey
1 large orange, peeled and
segmented
3 apples, cored and sliced
2 passionfruit, chopped (discard pistachios, to serve
the rind before you eat)
a handful of raspberries to serve
a handful of hulled strawberries,
halved
2 ripe kiwis, peeled and sliced 4 tablespoons Odysea pine
1 mango, peeled, destoned and
cubed 3 tablespoons yuzu
1 tablespoon vanilla paste
chopped into chunks
a tiny pinch of sea salt

chopped into chunks

Make the dressing. In a bowl, whisk together the honey, yuzu, vanilla
and salt. Set aside.
Combine all the fruit pieces on a large serving platter until everything
is evenly distributed. Pour the dressing over the salad, turning the
fruit gently to coat. Leave the fruit to marinate for 10 minutes at room
temperature, then sprinkle over the nuts to serve.

Feel free to swap in your favourite fruits to make this salad your own
– anything goes.

SWEETS 51
Odysea feeding conversation

The teams at Odysea and Life Kitchen have come together

through a shared love of food and desire to bring people together.
In this book, the Odysea products complement the recipes
beautifully – showing the products and dishes at their most
delicious. The best quality goes hand in hand with the best
flavour and for that reason, our collaboration with Life Kitchen
makes perfect sense.
For the past 30 years, Odysea has worked with specialist
suppliers to bring the finest Greek and Mediterranean products
to the UK, and we have grown the range around the awareness of
the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Life evolves around
the kitchen table in Greece and our products reflect that – we sell
only food that we would happily share with our own family. Every
product we supply has a story or something special about it –
perhaps because it comes from a producer who serenades their
goats with classical music, painstakingly transports their
beehives by boat, or hand picks perfectly ripe olives. You can
really taste the passion and dedication in every end product.
The pace of modern life can make us feel like we’re always
on the go. At Odysea we believe that slow food is the necessary
antidote to that restlessness. It brings us together, feeds
conversation, and creates new traditions, new rituals and new
stories. Food is a way to get back in touch with the things that
matter most – that’s why we curate food worth your time.
We hope you’re able to use our ingredients in these wonderful
recipes to put the enjoyment of food back on the menu. You can
find us at Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, specialist delis and odysea.com.
AbScent help for people who have lost their sense of smell
AbScent has been offering advice and practical support to those
suffering from a loss of taste and smell since 2019 – even before
Covid. At AbScent we aim to support those with olfactory loss in
three ways: knowledge, self-care and smell training.
helps the affected person or their care-giver to
understand the condition. This includes knowing more about
adapting food strategies for the greatest benefit.
comprises all the coping strategies we can use at
home to help ourselves, including learning how to notice even
minor improvements – or deteriorations – in our senses.
, using small jars containing an absorbent pad
saturated with essential oil, is an evidence-based technique to
help those suffering from olfactory loss. The aim is to create new
neural pathways to stimulate the sense of smell – even in cases
where there seems to be no ability to smell at all. It is a sort of
physiotherapy for the nose.
For more information on AbScent, smell disorders, self-care and smell
training, please visit AbScent.org/NoseWell. NoseWell was prepared
with the assistance of the British Rhinological Society.
AbScent is a charity registered in England and Wales, No 1183468
Altered Eating building community and expertise
“It was like a light switch: from 100% to 0% in a couple of hours… .
It’s like my nose is switched off.” Covid-19 patient
While most patients recover from Covid-19 within a few weeks,
many are left with ongoing distorted smell, changed taste and
loss of joy in food. Those living with or beyond cancer, brain
injury, Parkinson’s disease, ME/CFS, ageing, among others,
can all suffer in a similar way.
Losing the ability to eat well – “altered eating” – can impact
life far beyond nutritional and physical health, affecting social
and emotional well-being, too. Altered Eating began working with
cancer patients, carers, health professionals and cooks in 2012.
Now we comprise an interdisciplinary research group (the AE
Research Network) and a support portal (the AE Mighty Network)
for people working with, living with and cooking for anyone who
has a changed relationship with food. We educate health
professionals and chefs; we teach those living with olfactory
loss how to manage their mental health and find support; and
we look for creative ways to bring back the joy in food.
If you are interested in exploring how to live with altered eating,
or interested in research, please visit us:
Research Network: research.ncl.ac/alteredeating
Mighty Network: altered-eating.mn.co/
55
 With thanks to Odysea and Sunderland City Council
for making this book delicious and possible!

Photography by Craig Robertson

Food styling by Angela Boggiano
Design by Lawrence Morton
Edited by Judy Barratt
Project management by Dayna Brackley and Shaun Riley
Printed by Hardback Books

Taste&Flavour
Ryan Riley and Kimberley Duke
www.lifekitchen.co.uk
Ryan Riley &
Kimberley Duke
Taste&
Flavour
A cook book to inspire those
experiencing changes in taste
and smell as a result of Covid
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
FUNDED BY SUNDERLAND CITY COUNCIL