US celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, host of CNN’s food-and-travel-focused ‘Parts Unknown’ television series, hanged himself in a French hotel room, CNN said on 8 June. He was 61.
His close friend Eric Ripert, the French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room on the morning of 8 June.
Bourdain was working on an upcoming episode of his program, a CNN representative said in a statement.
“It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain,” the network said in a statement.
“His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller. His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time.”
Bourdain was a master of his crafts - first in the kitchen and then in the media. Through his TV shows and books, he explored the human condition and helped audiences think differently about food, travel and themselves.
He advocated for marginalised populations and campaigned for safer working conditions for restaurant staffs.
Bourdain’s profile began to soar in 1999, when the New Yorker magazine published his article ‘Don't Eat Before Reading This’, which he developed into the 2000 book, ‘Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly’.
(With inputs from Reuters and IANS)
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