Meera Sodha

Last updated
Meera Sodha
Born
Meera Vrajlal Sodha

January 1982 (age 43)
Scunthorpe, England
Alma mater London School of Economics
Years active2015–present
SpouseHugh de Winton
Children2
Website meerasodha.com

Meera Vrajlal Sodha (born January 1982) is an English columnist and cookbook author. Her second cookbook Fresh India (2016) won the Observer Food Monthly Award for Best New Cookbook, while her vegan column in The Guardian won a Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Award.

Contents

Early life

Sodha was born in Scunthorpe to Ugandan Indian parents of Gujarati heritage [1] and grew up in a farming village in rural Lincolnshire. [2] Sodha attended Hymers College in Hull. [3] She graduated from the London School of Economics in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Industrial Relations. [4]

Career

Sodha's debut cookbook Made in India, Cooked in Britain: Recipes from an Indian Family Kitchen was published in 2014. [5] Made in India was shortlisted for the André Simon Food & Drink Book Award. [6]

This was followed by Sodha's second cookbook and first vegetarian work Fresh India: 130 Quick, Easy and Delicious Vegetarian Recipes for Every Day in 2016. Fresh India won the Observer Food Monthly (OFM) Award for Best New Cookbook [1] and was shortlisted for the André Simon Food & Drink Book Award. [7]

In 2017, Sodha started writing a column in The Guardian titled The New Vegan. [8] For the column, Sodha won Best Cookery Writer at the 2018 Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards. [9] She was nominated in this category for a second time in 2021. [10]

Sodha's fourth cookbook East: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes from Beijing to Bangalore was published in 2019. [11] [12] East became a Bookstat e-book bestseller. [13]

In 2024, Fig Tree (a Penguin Books imprint) acquired the rights to publish Sodha's fourth cookbook Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the Most Important Meal of the Day. [14] [15] Dinner'' was shortlisted for the André Simon Food & Drink Book Award. [6]

Personal life

In 2016, Sodha married Hugh de Winton at Kew Gardens. [16] The couple live in Walthamstow, East London and have two daughters. [17] In 2025, Sodha opened up about her experiences with depression and burnout. [18]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 O'Neill, Holly (15 October 2017). "OFM Awards 2017: Best New Cookbook – Fresh India by Meera Sodha". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Meera Sodha Wants to Change the Way You Think About Indian Food". Food52. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "Meera Sodha". Old Hymerians. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  4. ↑ Dehn, Georgia (25 June 2014). "Meera Sodha shares her easy Indian recipes". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 November 2025.(subscription required)
  5. ↑ Hopkins, Jessica (12 July 2014). "Book review: Made in India, Cooked in Britain". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Recent Shortlists". André Simon Memorial Fund. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "In conversation with Meera Sodha – André Simon Book Awards". Ms Marmite Lover. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  8. ↑ Rao, Tejal (22 September 2017). "For Everyday Vegetable Dishes, Meera Sodha Is the Master". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2025.(subscription required)
  9. ↑ "The Guardian and The Observer win at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards". The Guardian. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  10. ↑ "Fortnum and Mason Food and Drink Awards Nominees & Winners 2021". Eat Your Books. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  11. ↑ Donnell, Ellie (17 September 2019). "Cookbook review: East by Meera Sodha". Delicious. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  12. ↑ Lawson, Nigella (8 August 2019). "East by Meera Sodha". Nigella. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  13. ↑ O'Brien, Kiera (15 June 2020). "Bookstat Chart: Queenie reigns supreme". The Bookseller. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "Fig Tree snaps up Meera Sodha's 'fresh and joyful celebration of the power of a good meal'". The Bookseller. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  15. ↑ Mellor, Maria (29 August 2024). "Meera Sodha celebrates vegetables in all their forms for Dinner". The Caterer. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "Wedding Photography Royal Botanic Gardens Kew". Jay Rowden. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  17. ↑ Strick, Katie (20 August 2019). "Meera Sodha on the London vegan odyssey behind her new cookbook". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  18. ↑ Yonan, Joe (6 April 2025). "Depression stole her drive to cook. Recipes like this brought it back". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
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