I was four bites into my bagel when the COVID kicked in.
It had been three days since I was diagnosed with the insidious virus, and, having absolutely no desire to eat nor energy to fight back, I gave in to my seven-year-old s insatiable appetite for St. Louis Bread Co. delivery. She thinks their mac and cheese is manna from heaven; I m less impressed which is why I wasn t quite sure whether my trouble tasting the bagel was my palate or just the food.
As an empathetic human, I d watched with sadness over the course of the pandemic as COVID-19 long-haulers detailed what it was like to lose their senses of taste and smell without any clue as to if, or when, they would return. My uncle is one of them. A passionate home cook whose backyard pork steaks are the flavor of my youth, he lost his ability to enjoy food shortly after testing positive for the virus this past July. He hasn t tasted a thing since.