Citizen of the world
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain found dead in France at 61
Anthony Bourdain, the celebrity chef and citizen of the world who inspired millions to share his delight in food and the bonds it created, was found dead in his hotel room Friday in France while working on his CNN series on culinary traditions. He was 61.
CNN confirmed the death, saying that Bourdain was found unresponsive Friday morning by friend and chef Eric Ripert in the French city of Haut-Rhin. It called his death a suicide. Bourdain’s assistant Laurie Woolever would not comment when reached by The Associated Press.
Widely loved and rarely afraid to speak his mind, Bourdain achieved celebrity status after the publication in 2000 of his bestselling “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.” The book created a sensation by combining frank details of his life and career with behind-the-scenes observations on the culinary industry. Bourdain’s fame rose higher thanks to his CNN series “Parts Unknown.”
Colleagues, friends and admirers shared their grief Friday. CNN chief executive Jeff Zucker sent a company letter calling Bourdain “an exceptional talent. A storyteller. A gifted writer. A world traveller. An adventurer.”
President Donald Trump tweeted his “heartfelt condolences” to Bourdain’s family, which includes his 11-year-old daughter, Ariane. Jamie Oliver wrote on Instagram that Bourdain “really broke the mould ... he leaves chefs and fans around the world with a massive foodie hole that simply can’t be replaced.” Chef Yotam Ottolenghi tweeted “Shocking and sad!” while Nigella Lawson tweeted she was “Heartbroken.”
“Bourdain’s exceptional writing made this one formerly picky, fearful eater very brave and want to try everything and I’ll always be grateful for him and the worlds he opened,” tweeted “Hamilton” playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Bourdain’s death came three days after fashion designer Kate Spade committed suicide in her Park Avenue apartment in New York. Spade’s husband and business partner said the 55-yearold business mogul had suffered from depression and anxiety for many years.
Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” seemed like an odd choice for CNN when it started in 2013 — part travelogue, part history lesson, part love letter to exotic foods. Each trip was an adventure. There had been nothing quite like it on the staid news network, and it became an immediate hit.
He mixed a coarseness and whimsical sense of adventurousness, true to the rock ‘n’ roll music he loved.
“We are constantly asking ourselves, first and foremost, what is the most (messed) up thing we can do next week?” he said in a 2014 interview with the AP.
Besides showcasing food, a “Parts Unknown” trip to Japan in the series’ first season included an odd show with robots and scantily clad women, a visit with a death metal band and a meal shared with a woman involved in the city’s sadomasochistic community.
In 2016, he sat down for some bun cha in Hanoi, Vietnam, with President Barack Obama.