Magazine teaser

When we think of a memorable plate of food, we instinctively reach for words like taste and flavour. Yet much of what we believe we are tasting is shaped by scent. The olfactory system plays a central role in how flavour is perceived, how memories are formed and how emotions are triggered, often long before the first bite.

When we recall a great meal, what we’re often remembering is not just the food itself, but how aroma, atmosphere and sentiment worked together. And as restaurants increasingly focus on creating holistic dining experiences, many are turning to olfactory design as a powerful, if subtle, tool.

The impact of scent on taste

Smell plays a far greater role in flavour than we tend to realise. Hannerie Visser, who runs Studio H, an experiential food-design agency, explains that about 70 to 80% of what we perceive as taste actually comes from smell.

“The tongue only detects five basic tastes – sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami,” she says. “Aroma provides the remaining complexity, like spice, freshness or fruitiness.” What makes scent particularly powerful is its direct neurological link to memory and emotion. “Smell is famously tied to memory more than our other senses because the olfactory system is physically wired into the hippocampus, the memory centre of the brain,” she explains. Wessel Pieterse, a food scientist and co-founder of Gather Curated, echoes this. “The process of taste involves various checkpoints or senses from the tongue to the brain before you actually taste something,” he explains. “But smell is processed more directly through the limbic system, which controls your memory and emotion. That’s why when you smell something, it can trigger memories from the past.” Where flavour can fade quickly, scent embeds itself more deeply, making it an intentional and lasting tool in hospitality.

To read the full article, grab your copy of the 2026 Eat Out Magazine at Woolies or online!