and once it's lost all its flavor, you have just a piece of rubber

that you chew over and over again.

That is essentially what food is like for me

when I put food into my mouth.

My name is Adrian Wellock,

and I have lost my sense of taste.

I suffered a cold,

and I started getting a metallic taste in my mouth.

Once that finally left, took my sense of taste with it.

It took me a few weeks to actually identify

that it was my taste because I could smell perfectly.

I only eat foods now which spend very little time in the mouth.

Because I don't extract any flavor,

the idea of a chocolate bar or a steak,

the way you chew it in order to bring out the juices

and the flavors of it, there's no enjoyment from it.

So I find myself eating very light foods

like salads and rice.

And also, I use the advantage of adding herbs

in order to make the smell sensation quite enjoyable.

I also find the spice very important.

Spice is not actually something you taste.

It's something you feel.

It gives it that sort of tingle in my mouth.

You end up with a rather peculiar eating pattern

that people look at you funny

because you're putting chilies on your breakfast cereal

and you've put a mustard sauce on pretty much a lot

of the food you eat.

And almost three years now, we're still none of the wiser

as to why it's gone or getting my sense of taste back.