As a follow-up to my review of two Hilde Soliani fragrances, Una Tira l’Altra and Conaffetto, I’ve been sampling two more offerings from this line: Sweet Home and Il Tempo delle Mele. Both are gourmand perfumes, and both were inspired by specific chefs and dishes that left lasting impressions on Soliani’s palate and nose.

Sweet Home is an olfactory tribute to a dessert Soliani enjoyed at Lido 84, Riccaro Camanini’s restaurant overlooking Lake Garda in northern Italy…

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You know the whole “scent-is-memory” thing? Sometimes I get a little tired of hearing about it, science notwithstanding. I don’t even know whether it affects me, when we’re talking strictly about perfume. A specific fragrance can remind me of people and prior scenarios involving that same fragrance, of course — Guerlain Shalimar will always remind me of a certain eccentric aunt, and patchouli oil of a dear college friend — but there’s no memory to account for my love of roses and violets or my distaste for pear or indolic jasmine notes, for example.

Food and scent and memory, on the other hand — there you’ve got me. I realized again how susceptible I am to the combination of smell, taste and storytelling when I recently sampled a few scents from niche perfumer Hilde Soliani…

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I’m usually not a fan of full-on gourmand perfumes, but when I smell a good one, I can appreciate it. Hilde Soliani’s Hot Milk provides a two-course meal: a savory entree followed by dessert.

On first sniff, Hot Milk reminded me of Asian cooking, especially Thai and Indian cuisines. With its vibrant blend of delicious-smelling notes — coconut milk, chili oil and grated galangal — Hot Milk’s aromatic opening smells like the base for many wonderful Thai dishes…

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