Anthony Bourdain, host of ‘Parts Unknown,’ dies at 61
Chef, author’s apparent suicide follows career rich in food and culture
Anthony Bourdain, the outspoken celebrity chef, author and host of CNN’s “Parts Unknown,” has died at age 61.
CNN reported that Bourdain’s friend chef Eric Ripert found him unresponsive in his hotel room in eastern France and called his death a suicide. The news came just three days after fashion designer Kate Spade killed herself.
The New York Times and People reported Bourdain had been staying at Hotel le Chambard in Kaysersberg, in the Alsace region of France. CNN confirmed he was there shooting footage for “Parts Unknown.”
Christian de Rocquigny du Fayel, the public prosecutor in nearby Colmar, told both outlets that Bourdain’s cause of death was suicide by hanging. “At this stage, we have no reason to suspect foul play,” he said.
Bourdain, who was born in New York and raised in New Jersey, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and rose to nationwide prominence as executive chef at New York’s Brasserie Les Halles.
He then began transitioning into the second phase of his career, turning a 1999 New Yorker story called “Don’t Eat This” into the best-selling book “Kitchen Confidential,” offering foodies a glimpse at what goes on behind the doors of their favorite restaurants and insider tips like why they should never order fish on Monday. He was also frank about substance abuse.
“Kitchen Confidential” spawned two TV series: a Food Network travelogue called “A Cook’s Tour” and a short-lived Fox sitcom based on his career and personal foibles, starring a then up-and-coming Bradley Cooper.
He became a household name with his next series, the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations,” in which he traveled the world in search of life-changing culinary and cultural experiences.
The show also sometimes made him a witness to history, like in 2006 when he and his fixer found themselves trapped in Beirut as the IsraeliLebanese conflict broke out. A decade later, Bourdain and President Barack Obama supped together at a hole-inthe-wall restaurant in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi – a meal that became known as the “noodle summit.”
“He taught us about food – but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together,” Obama tweeted. “To make us a little less afraid of the unknown.”
In one of his final interviews with the Bergen Record’s (201) Magazine, Bourdain explained that he focused more on taking risks than pleasing the audience. It paid off: Those gambles led to a dozen Emmy nominations and four wins.
“In my opinion, if you start thinking about what people like about the show, or who’s watching, you repeat yourself,” he said in April.
Despite his success on TV, he continued cranking out magazine articles and books.
He was also outspoken on political and social-justice issues. When the immigration debate reached a full boil, he defended Mexican and Central American restaurant workers as “the backbone of the industry.” Through his girlfriend, actress Asia Argento, who has accused Harvey Weinstein of assault, he became a prominent male activist in the Me Too movement.
In a Twitter statement posted Friday, Argento wrote, “Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did. His brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds. He was my love, my rock, my protector.”
Bourdain was married twice before beginning his relationship with Argento. He became a father at 50 in 2007 when he and his second wife, Ottavia Busia, welcomed daughter Ariane.
In a 2008 interview with the Associated Press, Bourdain said his daughter’s birth had changed his outlook on life. “I feel obliged to at least do the best I can and not do anything really stupidly selfdestructive if I can avoid it,” he said.