Irina Janakievska is an award-winning Macedonian-British food writer and author of The Balkan Kitchen which won a James Beard Award (International, 2025), the British Library Narrative Cookery Book Award (2025), a Special Jury Award and ‘Best of the Best’ at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards (2024, 2025) and was shortlisted for multiple awards, including multiple awards, including the Jane Grigson Trust Award (2023) and the Fortnum & Mason Debut Cookery Book Award (2025). Her writing has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including The Guardian, Whetstone Magazine, and Olive Magazine. She has featured on BBC Woman’s Hour and other international radio and podcast programmes, and speaks internationally on Balkan food, history and cultural identity.