Austin Bush

Austin Bush is an American writer and photographer, based in Lisbon.^[1][2] Formerly based in Bangkok, Bush lived in Thailand for over 20 years and has been published in National Geographic, the BBC, Lucky Peach, and Lonely Planet.^[3][4]

Bush studied the Thai language at and graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in linguistics in 1999.^[3] He subsequently received a scholarship to study Thai at Chiang Mai University.^[5][6]

Bush has extensively documented regional Thai culinary culture, with a focus on the country's Northern and Southern cuisine.^[7][8][9] He published The Food of Northern Thailand in 2018.^{[10][11][12][13][14]} The Food of Northern Thailand was a 2019 James Beard Foundation Book Awards finalist and shortlisted for the 2019 Art of Eating Prize.^[15][16] Bush published The Food of Southern Thailand in 2024, the first English language cookbook on Southern Thai cuisine.^{[17][18][19][20]} The book additionally focuses on the farmers and fishers that produce the region's ingredients, including stink beans, palm sugar, and coconuts.^[21][22]

Bush and photographer Christopher Wise created Fantastic Food Search in 2019, an interactive series of food maps for Southeast Asian cities.^[23][24][25]

Bush has collaborated with chef Andy Ricker to photograph his Pok Pok books: Pok Pok, The Drinking Food of Thailand and Pok Pok Noodles.^[26][27][3]

• The Food of Northern Thailand (2018)^[28]
• The Food of Southern Thailand (2024)^[29]