Caroline Eden is a writer, book critic and multi-award winner. Before moving to journalism she completed an MA in Jewish Studies and Diaspora at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London. She has travelled extensively to countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and Bangladesh, documenting her experiences across multiple publications, as well as on BBC Radio 4's 'From Our Own Correspondent'. She has contributed to the Financial Times , the Guardian and the Times Literary Supplement . Her first book, Samarkand: Recipes and Stories from Central Asia & the Caucasus , was a Guardian Book of the Year in 2016 and won the Guild of Food Writers Food and Travel Award in 2017. Black Sea: Dispatches and Recipes - Through Darkness and Light , Caroline's second book, has won numerous awards, including the John Avery Award in 2018 and the Art of Eating Prize in 2020. Her most recent publication, Red Sands: Reportage and Recipes through Central Asia, from Hinterland to Heartland , was a 'book of the year' for The New Yorker and won the prestigious André Simon Award in 2020. Caroline has also written forewords and introductory essays to several books, including They Went To Portugal by Rose Macaulay and Through Khiva to Golden Samarkand by Ella Christie.