Luca had a small restaurant with ten tables, and it was losing money. One Thursday an inspector from the food guide was coming for the first time in ten years. That morning Luca woke up with a blocked nose. He could not smell his coffee, and at noon he could not taste his own soup.
Bea, a girl of fifteen, washed pots at the weekends and always sniffed the pans. "Taste this," Luca said. "It needs more salt," said Bea. "And the sauce is too sharp." All afternoon she tasted everything for him.
At eight o'clock the inspector, a small quiet man, ate every dish. Then he asked for the cook. "I could not taste anything today," Luca said. "My dishwasher did it." The inspector smiled. "I know. I saw her through the kitchen door." The restaurant got its star.
