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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.

Culture

One Night. One Amazing Chef. One Very Unfamiliar Kitchen.

East Bay All the Way: 11 Reasons to Eat and Drink in Oakland Right Now

It’s got laid-back, destination-worthy restaurants, a vibrant ethnic food scene (Burmese!), and a homegrown booze movement. All with fewer tourists and tech moguls than that city across the bay. Welcome to Oakland.
Restaurants

Dig Into Sundaes, Sodas, and Floats at the Country's Charming New Ice Cream Parlors

There’s nothing old-fashioned about today’s throwback ice cream parlors, where sprinkles make way for Aleppo pecans, floats get a splash of house-made lemongrass soda, and that cherry on top is pickled.
Recipes

Grilled Cauliflower Steaks and Scallions

Slicing the cauliflower into steaks from the middle helps the head stay intact as you cut.
Recipes

Grilled Tofu with Chimichurri

No offense to all the vegetarians, but the chimichurri is also pretty fantastic on your favorite steak.
Recipes

Grilled Eggplant and Lemons With Garlic Labneh

Use whatever type of eggplant looks most appealing at the market; they should be firm to the touch, with glossy skin. Small globe eggplants are easy to find, but this is also a terrific time to use long Asian types, small round white ones, or any of the cool-looking striped varieties.
techniques

How to Have a Not-Lame Vegetarian Cookout (With Recipes!)

Grilled vegetables shouldn't be stuck as steak's summertime sidekick. These 4 tips will change your 'tude about vegetarian cookouts forever.
Recipes

BA's Best Sandwich Bread

For BLTs, French toast, grilled cheeses, bread and jam, the daily lunchbox sandwich, or whenever an absolutely perfect loaf of white bread is required. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.
techniques

How to Make a Perfect (Old-School) Chicken, Tuna, or Egg Salad Sandwich

A classic chicken, tuna, or egg salad sandwich is always the right choice. We've got no-fail recipes for all three.
Recipes

Herbed Egg Salad

Best with a vinegar-y hot sauce, like Tabasco or Crystal.
Recipes

Apple-Fennel Chicken Salad

You know what most chicken salads are missing? Crunch. Not this one!
Cooking

By Reader Request: Recipes From Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Oakland's Pizzaiolo, and More

Pistachio-cream sandwich cookies and a meaty pork scaloppine are among the restaurant recipes our readers want to cook at home this month.
Culture

This Artist Is Sculpting 2,000 Cups Made Out of Sugar

Margaret Braun is hand-sculpting cups with intricate embellishments fit for a royal dinner table. Except Braun's cups are made out of sugar. So we visited her at the studio to learn more.
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Gallery
Culture

Behind the Scenes With an Artist Fashioning Sugar Into Ornate Cups

We go behind the scenes with an artist making 2,000 stunning cups made entirely out of sugar.
Recipes

Coffee Cake with Chocolate Streusel

Crumble-y, chocolate-y goodness makes this a treat worth getting out of bed for.
Recipes

Smoked Tomato Soup

Skillet smoking is a chef’s trick that’s easy to do at home.
Recipes

Pork Scaloppine with Fennel Salsa Verde

The surface scoring used here helps to create a cutlet that will be evenly thin when pounded out. Try it on beef or veal, too.
Recipes

Pistachio-Cream Sandwich Cookies

These cookies would also make for an awesome ice cream sandwich: Skip the pistachio filling and use softened store-bought gelato or ice cream instead.
Recipes

Butter Bean Ragout

Customize it: Use carrot instead of celery root and any other white bean (gigante, cannellini) you like.
Recipes

Salad Sandwiches with Ranch Spread

This recipe is adapted from April Bloomfield’s version in A Girl and Her Greens. For a dippable version of the ranch spread, sub sour cream for the buttermilk and serve with crudités.
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