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), and received a Special Jury Award and ‘Best of the Best’ distinction at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards (2024, 2025). It was also shortlisted for the Jane Grigson Trust Award and the Fortnum & Mason Debut Cookery Book Award. Her writing has appeared widely, including in The Guardian and National Geographic and she has featured on BBC Woman’s Hour and international radio and podcasts. Her work centres on Balkan cuisine, history and cultural identity.