Good morning, it’s Monday.
I have been working for close to four decades now. I started in my early teens – babysitting, like many people – until I was old enough to get my working papers. As soon as that happened, I applied for, and landed, my first real job serving afternoon tea at Mohonk Mountain House.
Many afternoons after school, (whenever I could get onto the schedule), I would make the trek up the mountain and put on my uniform – a high-necked white, Victorian-era-type blouse with a black skirt and a wide black belt – and set up tea and cookies in the Lake Lounge. For an hour (I think?) we poured tea, restocked the creamers and the lemon, picked up used cups and trash, and then broke the whole set-up down and restocked for the next day.
I think I earned minimum wage, which somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 an hour. I remember being aghast at how much the government took out of my weekly paycheck in taxes. But I was intensely proud of being able to earn my own money, which went toward gas, clothes, snacks, and entertainment (movies, mall excursions, skiing day trips etc).
I spent the next decade-plus – up until my mid-20s or so – working in food service. I worked fine dining, banquet, fast casual (at a diner and in a cafe) – pretty much the gamut. I also did prep work in the kitchen at Mohonk for a few years, and got an up close and personal look at the so-called “back of the house”, which was both terrifying and exhilarating.
In every job I ever had, the cooks were the beating heart of the kitchen, around whom everything else rotated. Theirs was a supreme reign that was sometimes a reign of terror. They were loud, profane, intense, and frenetic – sometimes all at once. They worked hard and often partied harder. I both loved and feared them.
My experience in food service made me a natural fan of pretty much anything written by Anthony Bourdain, who offered diners a glimpse into the secrets and scandals of chefs with his infamous breakout best seller “Kitchen Confidential“.
I subsequently followed Bourdain’s meteoric rise with mild interest, though was not a diehard fan of his shows – first on the Food Network, then on the Travel Channel, and finally on CNN (mostly because I am not a regular TV watcher). I did read many of his books – including his early dabbling with fiction – and his many articles. I loved his irreverence and his seemingly endless appetite, both for food and the people who made it.
Bourdain was infamously profane and irreverent, driving both himself and the people around him very hard. He also struggled with addiction, getting off the hard drugs (most notably, heroin) that he and his friends used with abandon in the 1980s, but never kicking his drinking habit. His personal life was also tumultuous, which was exacerbated by his long battle with clinical depression.
Bourdain was quoted as saying that he had the “best job in the world“, which took him around the globe, afforded him experiences that few others will ever have, and subsequently into the homes of millions of viewers. But the traveling – he was on the road 250 of 365 days a year – also had a down side, leaving him lonely and isolated and often burned out.
Bourdain shocked the world and shook the food community to its core when he committed suicide at the age of 61 on June 8, 2018, hanging himself at a provincial hotel in Strasbourg, France, where he was traveling with his close friend, the French chef Éric Ripert.
His rocky relationship with a much younger woman, Italian actress and filmmaker Asia Argento, was cited as the breaking point for Bourdain (photos of her embracing another man had been printed in the newspaper a few days before), but the truth his that he suffered and fought his inner demons for a long time.
A year after Bourdain’s death, Ripert and another chef friend of Bourdain, José Andrés, established a day in his honor and memory. They deliberately chose the day of his birth – June 25 – rather than the day of his death because they wanted to celebrate his life and accomplishments and not focus on the dark story of his passing. Today would have been Bourdain’s 70th birthday.
Another wet and unseasonably cool day is on tap, with showers in the morning developing into a steadier rain in the afternoon. Temperatures will struggle to break into the low 70s.
In the headlines…
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain announced his resignation this morning, bowing to a mutiny inside his party and the threat of a direct challenge to his leadership of the country.
Starmer said he would remain as prime minister until a new party leader is selected, by September, rather than fight to remain in the job he won almost two years ago. His decision clears the way for Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is seen as the frontrunner to take over for Starmer after resoundingly winning a special election in northwest England and securing his return to parliament.
Charismatic, northern and exuding a relaxed optimism, Burnham is a contrast to Starmer. His allies hope he could mend Labour’s relationship with voters.
US officials from the left and right voiced fresh objections to Donald Trump’s provisional deal with Iran – even as the US president made fresh threats while Vice President JD Vance hailed progress during the first round of direct peace talks in Switzerland.
Iranian negotiators stormed out of the highly anticipated peace talks with the US in Switzerland on Sunday after a fed-up and frustrated President Trump raged at the regime — threatening to seize the Strait of Hormuz and “blow the s–t out of them.”
Negotiators for Iran and the United States met in Switzerland for a little over an hour yesterday as they seek to turn a 60-day cease-fire into a lasting peace, but it was quickly apparent how far apart the two sides are.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he asked President Trump to proceed with U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton as his pick to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) after he said he would delay his nomination.
Trump poured out his frustrations with the problems plaguing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying multiple people had been arrested and that it would likely need to be drained for repairs.
Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn was among those arrested for allegedly vandalizing the Reflecting Pool during its $14 million-plus rehabilitation project President Trump launched for the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Hearn told BBC News that he had removed his cycling glove to simply touch a long strip of rubbery material that appeared to have “delaminated” from the bottom of the pool, when he was stopped by US Park Police and National Guard troops.
President Trump on Saturday took to his Truth Social platform to float an idea for rebranding ICE in a bid to make the agency seem just a little bit more friendly — and to troll the press, of course.
“The concept I have had for quite some time — A strong feeling that the name of these Patriots, ‘ICE,’ should be changed to, ‘NICE,’ in that it will totally discombobulate Crooked, Dishonest, and Unpatriotic Reporters and Journalists,” the president wrote.
Republican state lawmakers pushed Hochul to take a stand ahead of Father’s Day to veto a woke bill that would erase “mother” and “father” from child custody and parental laws.
Hochul has quietly extended a pilot program providing free healthcare to sex workers – with taxpayers footing the nearly $2.5 million bill.
Hochul announced that nearly three million residents will score some much-needed relief this summer through the School Tax Relief program (STAR), which provides property tax breaks to eligible homeowners and seniors on their primary residence.
Hochul in 2024 signed a bill letting ground ambulance services carry blood products and administer them to patients “in hemorrhagic shock.” Almost two years later, the DOH still hasn’t published draft regulations necessary to implement the law.
Hochul touted state funding, prosecution tools and prevention efforts during a Brooklyn roundtable on deed theft, but her office did not commit to the eviction pause that, advocates say, is needed to keep homeowners in place while fraud claims are resolved.
The state’s highest court has rejected a challenge to New York’s 157-year-old requirement that judges retire at the end of the year they turn age 70.
In a year of record revenues, the public authority running New York’s winter sports facilities – the state Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) – reported a record operating loss of $52.5 million.
Municipalities across the state are assessing how to adjust to a Tier 6 pension overhaul in Albany that will add hundreds of millions of dollars in extra expenses.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani cast his ballot Saturday as early voting continues ahead of New York City’s primary election tomorrow.
Eight New York City democratic socialists are looking to maintain momentum from Mamdani’s election and shift the balance of political power in Albany.
A left-wing political club in Manhattan that endorsed Mamdani has declined to do so for Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic Socialist challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat in NY-13, citing her refusal to condemn Hamas and the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
Mamdani continued to push for a radical Democrat running for Congress who once called the US “a f–ing disgrace,” describing her Saturday as a “perfect candidate.”
A broad coalition of city elected Latino officials issued a joint statement Sunday endorsing five-term Rep. Espaillat ahead of tomorrow’s bitter Democratic primary.
The strength of the mayor’s political brand will be tested tomorrow, when his slate of leftist congressional candidates takes aim at Democratic incumbents.
Billionaire Citadel founder Ken Griffin is encouraging New York’s business leaders to take on Mamdani, warning that the city’s future could be at risk if employers and investors stay quiet.
Mamdani has been blasted for fueling antisemitism and “inciting violence” against Jews after the socialist branded the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its pro-Israel supporters “monsters” at a campaign rally.
After spending much of the day celebrating with the New York Knicks, Mamdani shifted from sports to politics last Thursday night, joining Sen. Bernie Sanders at a rally in Brooklyn for three candidates he is backing ahead of next week’s primary election.
Frustrated Big Apple voters are fed up with Dem leaders, who they feel are failing to advocate for working people — and they want to clean house, according to a stunning new poll.
The City Council bill known as Ryder’s Law that aims to ban horse carriages in the Big Apple will now be called Romanch’s Law — after the 18-year-old tourist fatally tossed during a ride last week.
The union representing city school principals is ordering its members to keep quiet if investigators ask about school procurement practices, in the wake of The Post’s exposé on Chancellor Kamar Samuels’ alleged involvement in no-bid contracts.
A 51-year-old concertgoer fell to his death during rock band Goose’s concert inside Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, police said.
Eight people were charged with trespassing at the former IBM complex in this Westchester County town last Monday, bringing the number of trespassing arrests on the sprawling abandoned campus to 42 over the past four months, according to State Police.
A government transparency nonprofit claims its president’s recent arrest in Oswego County amounts to political retaliation stemming from a longstanding feud between her and a former town supervisor. It’s an allegation the former official denies.
City of Schenectady police are cracking down on so-called “pop-up parties” at properties that lack the proper permits or licenses as Mayor Gary McCarthy considers proposing new fees for violations.
A resident who sounded the alarm about tainted drinking water at a Duanesburg mobile home park has been served with an eviction notice.
The First Presbyterian Church of Ballston Spa has been nominated by state Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to be designated on the National Register of Historic Places and will seek grants to make the structure accessible to people of all abilities.
Highway patrol deputies are suing Rensselaer County over allegations that the sheriff’s office held back overtime compensation over the past three years.
Despite threats of lawsuits, the Town of Clifton Park approved a 180-day moratorium on concrete batch plants, effectively halting a controversial proposed Bonded Concrete facility on Route 9.
A proposed merger between St. Peter’s Health Partners and Ellis Medicine that was in the works for more than five years will no longer move forward, the health systems announced Friday.
The Museum of Political Corruption still only exists online, but its first-ever essay contest drew students from around the country.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
