Laura Manzano

Laura grew up in the restaurant industry - her father is a chef and restaurant owner in Florida, so she was working the line of his 160-seat restaurant from the time she was thirteen (her first shift was a Friday night in peak season - literal baptism by fire). She studied writing and film at The College of William and Mary in Virginia, and moved to New York immediately afterward to attend NYU's Summer Publishing Institute.

She quickly found herself back in food again, working for iconic NY-based pizza chain Two Boots (another family-owned business!), in their East Village headquarters. Soon after, she joined meal kit Marley Spoon, right on the brink of launching their partnership with Martha Stewart. There, she managed the test kitchen, produced photoshoots, styled food and props, and tested recipes. After a few years there, she left to work at an agriturismo in Tuscany for a few months and returned to New York to begin a career that keeps her excited about and engaged with food every single day.

Currently, Laura styles food for photography and video, develops and tests recipes for various publications and cookbook authors, and writes about food and cooking, both for work and for fun. In her free time, she cooks for herself nearly every day because she really does love it that much.