British photographer wins World Food Photography Awards with Soviet sanatorium portrait

Jo Kearney, a British photographer, has been named Overall Winner of the World Food Photography Awards sponsored by Tenderstem®, receiving £5,000 for her work "A Woman Eats in the Canteen of the Soviet-era Sanatorium." The photograph, which also won the Fortnum & Mason Food at the Table category, was taken at the Khoja Obi Garm sanatorium in the mountains of Tajikistan.

The image depicts an elderly woman pouring tea in the dining hall of the concrete complex, built on radon-rich hot springs and dating to the Soviet era. The sanatorium, which charges approximately £25 per day for board, lodging and treatments including thermal bathing and steam therapy, remains one of the few such facilities still operating. Kearney's composition juxtaposes the woman's weathered features against the sanatorium's austere interior, with crimson chairs and paintings visible through windows framing the scene.

Caroline Kenyon, Founder of the World Food Photography Awards sponsored by Tenderstem®, praised the winning image: "There is so much to see and so much to feel in this image. An old woman pours herself tea - but it's so much more than just that. The expression on her crevassed face is beautiful, it moved me to tears." Kenyon noted the interplay between the woman's dignified bearing and the humble breakfast before her, which echoes fruit depicted in a painting on the wall.

Louhani Els, a South African photographer, received a Highly Commended distinction in the Cake Award category for "Food Altar - Sardines and my Dad." Els explained that the work translates poet Tori Derricotte's poem "My Dad and Sardines" through food photography, depicting reconciliation with her deceased father's memory. A damaged cake symbolizes brokenness within a healing food altar composed of sardines, crackers, and onions—elements from her father's ritual—uniting father and daughter through remembrance.

The competition attracted nearly 9,000 entries from over 50 countries across 27 categories. Winners were announced at the Mall Galleries, London, on Tuesday 2 June by Italian chef and food writer Gennaro Contaldo. The judging panel was chaired by food photographer David Loftus and included Jan Hendrick van der Westhuizen, Michelin Starred Chef and Restaurateur; Tom Athron, CEO of Fortnum & Mason; Rein Skullerud, Senior Photographer and Photo Editor at the World Food Programme; and Jamie Oliver, Chef, Restaurateur and Food Campaigner.

A free-to-entry exhibition of all 203 finalist images will run at the Mall Galleries from Wednesday 3 June to Sunday 7 June, with a curated selection displayed at Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly beginning Tuesday 9 June. Entries for the 2027 edition will open in September.