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Alex Lau head shot - Bon Appétit

Alex Lau

Staff Photographer Emeritus

Alex Lau is a freelance photographer based in New York City. Originally from Queens, New York, Alex moved to San Francisco when he was 12 before returning to the East Coast to attend a journalism program at Emerson College. A true muti-hyphenate, Alex has at times studied jazz, trained in competitive swimming and weight lifting, and worked as a celebrity dog-sitter. It was by chance, after a Hail Mary application for a summer internship to work with Bon Appétit’s visuals team, that Alex solidified food photography as his primary source of interest.

He followed that internship with one at Boston Magazine, working as a digital writer and photographer. Upon returning to New York, he was offered staff roles at both Food & Wine and BA, and we eventually welcomed him back as our new staff photographer. Alex left BA in 2020 to pursue a broader scope of projects; check out his most recent work at 2dcreative.com.

Recipes

Chicory-Apple Salad with Brown Butter Dressing

Even if you’re not a huge fan of bitter greens, don’t substitute regular lettuce here; the slightly sweet dressing will taste cloying without some sharp contrast.
Recipes

Ricotta Pancakes with Honeycomb-Candy Butter

The airy brittle known as honeycomb just may be our new favorite confection; mixed into butter it’s a sumptuous add to frostings and a sweet topper for biscuits.
Recipes

Charmed and Dangerous

This riff off the classic sazerac features wine instead of rye whiskey.
Recipes

Herbed Fresh Pasta with Market Tomatoes and Peppers

For the best results, use San Marzano plum and mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes if you can find 'em.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: What You Should Be Cooking From Your Farmers' Market Right Now

Late summer means a true bounty of fresh fruits and veggies at your farmers' market. Here are three seasonal recipes to inspire you to make the most of it.
Recipes

Shelled Bean and Swiss Chard Panzanella

Use just one type of bean to ensure even cooking.
Recipes

Italian Plum and Almond Cake

Though it can be made with other small plums, this cake is the tastiest with the Italian variety—but keep in mind that they are in their peak season only a few weeks a year, in late summer to early fall.
Cooking

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Chiles

Culture

Tie One On: How to Style a Bandana Like the Chefs Do

Gone are the days of the tall toques—these days, chefs are covering their heads with rockstar-esque bandanas. Here's how to tie one on.
Restaurants

Mission Chinese Just Reinvented the Tiki Cocktail (Hint: It Changes Colors)

Sam Anderson of New York's Mission Chinese Food set out to make a blue tiki cocktail with natural ingredients. He ended up creating one of the coolest cocktails we've ever seen: the Mood Ring.
Restaurants

This Is the Absolute Best Way to Serve Crudités

When done right, a crudité platter can be so much more than sad, limp carrots and celery sticks. This is how it's done.
Recipes

Tex-Mex-Style Beef Enchiladas

These are the beef enchiladas that the entire Bon Appétit Test Kitchen fought each other for. Let’s just say there won’t be leftovers with this recipe. 
techniques

These 3 Enchiladas Recipes Are All You Ever Wanted

These three enchiladas are, well, perfect. Here's how to make them.
Recipes

Pork Enchiladas Rojas

If you can’t find guajillo chiles, use New Mexico or Californian chiles, and for moritas, try chipotle chiles in adobo. 
Cooking

4 Creative (and Easy!) Back-to-School Breakfasts You'll Want to Eat All Year Long

You're so busy packing back-to-school lunches, you almost forgot about breakfast! Never fear, these four recipes are fast, nutritious, and kid-friendly.
Recipes

Chicken Sausage Omelet with Greens and Cheese

Make sure the leftover greens, especially if you’re using kale, are totally softened—you should be able to cut through them easily.
Recipes

Maple, Pecan, and Sour Cherry Granola Bars

If you want to change up the mix of nuts and seeds in these bars, go for it. Just make sure the total quantity adds up to 3 cups total (you could use sunflower seeds in place of the pumpkin seeds, sesame for flaxseed, peanuts for pecans, etc.).
Recipes

Ricotta Toast with Pears and Honey

This is also great with maple syrup; you can use any kind of pear or apple, too.
Recipes

Maple, Pecan, and Sour Cherry Granola

If you chop up the granola in a food processor, you can sprinkle it on fruit or ice cream or dip ice pops into it.
Recipes

Strawberry Milk

The strawberry syrup is perfect for topping ice cream and yogurt or mixing into butter for spreading onto biscuits, pancakes, and French toast.
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