Winner of the André Simon Food Award 2020

‘Caroline Eden is an extraordinarily creative and gifted writer. Red Sands captures the sights, tastes and feel of Central Asia so well that when reading this book I was sometimes convinced I was there in person. A wonderful book from start to finish.’ Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

‘Caroline Eden, whose book Black Sea was showered with awards, is on the road again, this time travelling through the heart of Asia. It s not your usual cookbook, it s more a travel book with recipes, the recipes acting as postcards which she sends as she meets new characters, most of them involved with food… Eden travels quietly and lets you in on every encounter and every bite. A moving… as well as a fascinating read.’ Diana Henry, Telegraph

‘Red Sands follows in the footsteps of Caroline Eden’s previous volume Black Sea. Both are pleasures to read, triangulating journalism, literary writing, and cookbookery. The recipes are part of the reporting, and Eden describes them as edible snapshots.’ Devra First, Boston Globe

Red Sands, the follow-up to Caroline Eden s multi-award-winning Black Sea, is a reimagining of traditional travel writing using food as the jumping-off point to explore Central Asia. In a quest to better understand this vast heartland of Asia, Caroline navigates a course from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the sun-ripened orchards of the Fergana Valley.

A book filled with human stories, forgotten histories and tales of adventure, Caroline is a reliable guide using food as her passport to enter lives, cities and landscapes rarely written about. Lit up by emblematic recipes, Red Sands is an utterly unique book, bringing in universal themes that relate to us all: hope, hunger, longing, love and the joys of eating well on the road.

“Red Sands” follows in the footsteps of Caroline Eden’s previous volume “Black Sea.” Both are pleasures to read, triangulating journalism, literary writing, and cookbookery: The recipes are part of the reporting, and Eden describes them as “edible snapshots.” Devra First, Boston Globe

“Eden writes beautifully, not just about food. but about what it means to live an unchanging way of life in a fast-changing world” – The Sunday Times Culture

“a fascinating fusion of travel and food writing” – The Herald

“Caroline Eden’s prior work, The Black Sea, was one of the most awarded cookbooks of 2019, a sweeping travelogue told through the lens of food. This book moves east, roughly from the Caspian Sea to the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan, again telling stories of Edens travels and histories of the region, studded with recipes. ” -Stained Page News

Caroline Eden is an extraordinarily creative and gifted writer. Red Sands captures the sights, tastes and feel of Central Asia so well that when reading this book I was sometimes convinced I was there in person. A wonderful book from start to finish.’ Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads.

“Gripping culinary travels”- The New York Times

“captures both the beauty and unease of travel with uncanny precision, accounting for small moments, great histories, and political tensions with a literary voice that often brushes against the sublime.”- The New Yorker

Caroline Eden, whose book Black Sea was showered with awards, is on the road again, this time traveling through the heart of Asia. It’s not your usual cookbook, it’s more a travel book with recipes, the recipes acting as postcards which she sends as she meets new characters, most of them involved with food… Eden travels quietly and lets you in on every encounter and every bite. A moving… as well as a fascinating read.’ – Diana Henry, Daily Telegraph

“Eden’s beautifully observed travelogue includes essays on the connections she made and thorough examinations of the food she tried. It is as much a book for the bedside or coffee table as the kitchen counter.” – The Sunday Times Magazine

“There is nobody writing about food at the moment who’s committed to this level of immersion and it rings out in every line.” – Financial Times