MEENA Pathak, the creative force behind the successful Leigh-based Patak's authentic Indian food brand, has been internationally acclaimed for her second work as an author in the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2003.

Meena's latest title, Indian Cooking for Family and Friends, has won 'Best Foreign Cookery Book' in the English language award category.

The book will now be judged against the winners of other language categories to compete for the 'Best in World' award, to be announced at a gala dinner in Barcelona next month.

Meena said: "I'm delighted to have won the award as I'm a relative newcomer to the world of publishing, having concentrated until recently on building a successful food business."

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, founded by Edouard Cointreau, the owner of international cookery and wine book distributor Gourmand Books, set out to discover the best of the 20,000 food and wine books produced worldwide every year.