Cairo-born food writer, culinary anthropologist and Grande Dame of Jewish food, Claudia Roden CBE, has been named by Waitrose as one of the ten most influential women in the UK food scene.

The list, which appears in the March edition of Waitrose magazine, was judged by an all-female, panel of expert judges including food writer Mallika Basu, restaurateur Thomasina Miers and food and wine writer Fiona Beckett.

The reasons cited for choosing Roden included her contribution to ‘helping to revolutionise Western attitudes to Middle Eastern cuisine’. The 85-year-old was also praised for her ability to have remained current during her many decades of food writing.

Her first book — The Book of Middle Eastern Food — which started as a project to preserve the recipes of her family and friends after they left Egypt — was published in 1968.

Her encyclopaedic Book of Jewish Food (first published in 1997) had taken her 15 years to compile and was reprinted, with her own updates, this year to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

“Claudia is still educating the UK about Middle Eastern food in an inclusive way” said Waitrose food and drink editor, Alison Oakervee, with fellow judge, Elly Curshen explaining “She continues to have an undeniable influence on the way we eat in this country, via her books and the sway she holds with chefs.”

Recipes like her orange and almond cake — which originated in Spain — have become classics. Nigella Lawson credited Roden in her adaptation of the recipe in her book How to Eat and it has appeared on the shelves at Pret a Manger.

Other influential women named by the supermarket included cook and broadcaster, Andi Oliver and the first female president of the National Farmer’s Union, Minette Batters.