Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain found dead in France hotel room: CNN

PARIS

Emmy-Award winning celebrity chef and food critic Anthony Bourdain was found dead in a France hotel room, CNN reported on June 8. He was 61. 

Bourdain’s cause of death is suicide, CNN confirmed.

“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,” the statement said.

Bourdain was in France, working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series, “Parts Unknown.”

His close friend, Eric Ripert, a French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room Friday morning, CNN’s report read.

In 2013, both Bourdain and CNN took a risk by bringing him to the news network still best known for breaking news and headlines.

Bourdain quickly became one of the principal faces of the network and one of the linchpins of the primetime schedule.

Season 11 of “Parts Unknown” premiered on CNN last month.

In 2013, Bourdain took the Peabody Award home for “expanding palates and horizons in equal measures.”

The Smithsonian once called him “the original rock star” of the culinary world, “the Elvis of bad boy chefs.”