Karen Craig

Karen Craig spent her childhood travelling throughout Britain — her father was Squadronaires' jazz trumpeter Archie Craig. Her early interest in food was developed further when she went to study drama in Cannes. The Provencal cuisine caught her imagination and at the same time she was introduced to the Russian community in the south of France and the delights of Russian cuisine. She returned to England and became a professional actress and voice artist, specialising in dialects, accents, languages and comedy roles. In 1981 she met Seva Novgorodsev whilst filming for the BBC, and they have been together ever since. Sharing a passion for Russian food with Seva, Karen spent years gathering recipes from family and friends from across the Soviet Union.