Joyce Westrip was born in southern India in 1929, moved to England in 1947, and from 1955 lived in Perth, Western Australia, where she completed her education at the University of Western Australia. Indian history and culture hold her fascinated, and she regularly visits the subcontinent to continue her research. She has the largest known collection of books on Indian cooking including rare and out of print cookbooks. She has presented radio and television programs on Indian culture and cooking and regularly gives talks and classes on the subject. She is the author of Moghul Cooking: India's courtly cuisine, Fire and Spice: Parsi cookery, and An ABC of Indian Food. Joyce was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2000 for her work promoting cultural links between Australia and India.