What’s Up With Battman

On Wednesday October 10th I volunteered to take photos for the New York Chefs Celebrate Japan benefit event for the Gohan Society. It was a teriific event. Lots of Japanese food especially Sushi. Shin Takagii from Japan & Michael Anthony from Gramercy Tavern were honored.

It’s been 4 months since the Great Gathering of Chefs. It’s hard to believe it was that long ago, and I should have been halfway finished with the book for next year's Great Gathering and also for the new Toques in Black book. There are a total of 275 chefs that I...

My book, Street Eats, was probably the most interesting book that I’ve produced for the Great Gathering of Chefs.  Almost 200 chefs doing their take on street food, so what better place to take the photos than in the street?  The photo of me lying in the street was...

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.

My trip to Cancun was the first of two trips to work on a book about the Moon Palace Resort and Pastry Chef Antonio Bachour who is my good friend and partner on his books. He was commissioned to revamp their pastry department. The hotel’s story is wonderful and very...