CINNAMON, CHOCOLATE, vanilla. Mmmm. For me, the words alone evoke the fragrances, flavours and textures of delicious desserts. And that's not surprising, since most of us have pleasant memories of sweet treats enjoyed with family and friends. Think of birthday cake, Mom's apple pie, a friend's melt-in-the-mouth cheesecake. Dessert is an indulgence, a delightful extravagance to end a meal on a high note. Researchers tell us that tastes and aromas are intimately linked. Comparatively speaking, the taste buds are crude sensors, equipping us to distinguish salty and bitter, sour and sweet. The nuances of food enjoyment are contributed by the sense of smell: the average person can perceive thousands of different odour molecules. The senses of taste and smell are tied closely to long-term memory, perhaps because the olfactory bulb in the brain is connected to the limbic system, which deals with emotions. Thus scent, in particular, is a compelling memory cue. Dr. Alan Hirsch, an American neurologist, has studied the interaction of memory and the senses at his Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. One of his research studies involved polling 1,000 people on the streets of Chicago about "nostalgic smells." These are the scents that stimulate childhood memories. The study indicated baked goods such as cakes and bread were especially effective in this regard. When Donna Cram, our new food columnist, tastes or smells chocolate chip cookies, she is transported back to 1980. Her husband was a graduate student in London, and they were both a bit homesick. He asked her to make chocolate chip cookies, but she had no recipe books with her, and didn't know a soul. She enrolled in a cooking class in her neighbourhood, in hopes of getting some recipes and making some friends. "It was a wonderful class," Cram recalls. "It was taught by the executive chef of the Ritz Hotel, and it was a real eye-opener. He took us to a culinary show; it was my first. And he would challenge us with little kitchen contests. We all had electric beaters and he'd take his little piano-wire whisk, and we'd see who could whip cream faster. He always won." Cram went on to take cordon bleu classes, and became a dedicated foodie. Back in Canada, she marketed desserts, catered events, and completed a professional cooking course. When friends asked her to make the cake for their wedding, 17 years ago, another door opened. She delivered the confection to the University of Saskatchewan Faculty Club, where the reception was to be held. It must have been some cake, because the manager hired her on the spot as special events chef. A mere six months later, she was managing the place. Oh, and the chocolate chip cookies? Cram didn't get a recipe for them from her classes in England, but she clipped one that she still loves from The Guardian. In fact, it's among the cookie recipes she shares with us on page 30. As the kids say, Sweet.