Jo Kearney Wins World Food Photography Awards for Soviet Sanatorium Image

British photographer Jo Kearney won the World Food Photography Awards overall prize of £5,000 for her image 'A Woman Eats in the Canteen of the Soviet-era Sanatorium', taken at the Khoja Obi Garm sanatorium in Tajikistan. The image also won the Fortnum & Mason Food at the Table category. The sanatorium, built on radon-rich hot springs and dating to the Soviet era, remains operational, offering thermal bathing and steam therapy with meals of soups, fruit, tea, and traditional Tajik fare at about £33 per day. Caroline Kenyon, founder of the awards, described the image as moving, noting the woman's dignified bearing. The winners of 27 categories were announced by chef Gennaro Contaldo at the Mall Galleries in London on June 2. The competition received nearly 9,000 entries from over 50 countries. A free exhibition of all 203 finalist images runs at the Mall Galleries from June 3 to June 7, with a selection displayed at Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly from June 9. Entries for the 2027 edition open in September.