It’s been 4 months since the Great Gathering of Chefs. It’s hard to believe it was that long ago,...

On July 18th I was at the Madison Square Park for the Celebrating Madison Square Chefs 2018 event. I donate my time every year to help raise money to maintain the park. There were 29 of the best restaurants in the neighborhood. The event was great. The weather was not.

I spent two weeks in Cancun working with Antonio Bachour on a new book in partnership with Palace Resorts. It was such a culture shock watching the Mexican workers. They are extremely hard working, very fast and seemingly always smiling – all for $4.00 a day. They couldn’t believe that my rent is $160.00 a day. The commissary was constantly being cleaned and a lot of hand work.

My mission for the day was to deliver the check for a $5,000 donation to the Burn Center at Staten Island University Hospital from the sale of the NYC Firefighters Calendar. So I took the ferry to Staten Island, and then a train to get to the hospital. I’ve been making the calendar for 24 years, and so far have raised nearly $750,000 for the Burn Center and also the Fire Safety Education Fund.

“I’m not a foodie,” insists Alan Batt, or Battman, as he is known in culinary circles. However, anyone looking at his oeuvre of food photography might be surprised that he counts a Quarter Pounder with cheese and fries as one of his favorite meals. Batt, who began taking photographs professionally in 1981, boasts a varied career, with stints at his father’s sweater manufacturing company in Brooklyn and as a toy salesman in California.