Cnn's Anthony Bourdain Dead At 61

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It is with a heavy heart that the editor at Go-wine.com posts this release from CNN. A. Bourdain was an inspiration to so many in the hospitality industry. He raised the level of food culture, equality, humanity, and indeed culture itself.

New York (CNN)Anthony Bourdain, the chef and gifted storyteller who took TV viewers around the world to explore culture, cuisine and the human condition for nearly two decades, has died. He was 61.

CNN confirmed Bourdain's death on Friday and said the cause of death was suicide.
Bourdain was in France working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series, "Parts Unknown." His close friend Eric Ripert, the French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room Friday morning.

 

Anthony Bourdain on January 4, 2017, in Port of Spain, Trinidad

"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," the network said in a statement Friday morning. "His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller.

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Christiane Amanpour

 

?@camanpour

 

 

My heart breaks for Tony Bourdain. May he rest in peace now. He was a friend, a collaborator, and family. A huge personality, a giant talent, a unique voice, and deeply, deeply human. My heart goes out to his daughter and family, and his longtime partners and friends at ZPZ.

7:27 AM - Jun 8, 2018

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Author and humorist John Hodgman recalled eating with Bourdain some 14 years ago.

"He was big even then, but he took time to sit with me in Chinatown to talk 'weird' food for a magazine piece I was writing. He taught me that our 'weird' is the world's delicious," Hodgman wrote on Twitter. "We ate chicken feet. The afternoon vibrated with life. RIP."

John Hodgman

 

?@hodgman

 

 

I ate with Bourdain. Probably 2004. He was big even then but he took time to sit with me in Chinatown to talk “weird” food for a magazine piece I was writing. He taught me that our “weird” is the world’s delicious. We ate chicken feet. The afternoon vibrated with life. RIP

6:38 AM - Jun 8, 2018

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"I am shocked and deeply saddened," chef and "Queer Eye" star Antoni Porowski wrote on Twitter. "RIP to a father, partner, chef, writer, and incredibly talented man. ... Prayers for his loved ones."

Antoni Porowski

 

?@antoni

 

 

I am shocked and deeply saddened. RIP to a father, partner, chef, writer, and incredibly talented man. @Bourdain Prayers for his loved ones.

6:27 AM - Jun 8, 2018

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'The Elvis of bad boy chefs'

Bourdain was a master of his crafts -- first in the kitchen and then in the media. Through his TV shows and books, he helped audiences think differently about food, travel and themselves. He advocated for marginalized populations and campaigned for safer working conditions for restaurant staffs.

 

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Along the way, he received practically every award the industry has to offer.

In 2013, Peabody Award judges honored Bourdain and "Parts Unknown" for "expanding our palates and horizons in equal measure."

"He's irreverent, honest, curious, never condescending, never obsequious," the judges said. "People open up to him and, in doing so, often reveal more about their hometowns or homelands than a traditional reporter could hope to document."

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

In 1999, he wrote a New Yorker article, "Don't Eat Before Reading This," that became a best-selling book in 2000, "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly."

 

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The book set him on a path to international stardom.

First, he hosted "A Cook's Tour" on the Food Network, then moved to "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" on the Travel Channel. "No Reservations" was a breakout hit, earning two Emmy Awards and more than a dozen nominations.

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 prime-time schedule.

While accepting the Peabody award in 2013, Bourdain described how he approached his work.

 

Anthony Bourdain's top 10 'Parts Unknown' episodes

"We ask very simple questions: What makes you happy? What do you eat? What do you like to cook? And everywhere in the world we go and ask these very simple questions," he said, "we tend to get some really astonishing answers."

Bourdain's death happened days after fashion designer Kate Spade hanged herself in an apparent suicide Tuesday at her Manhattan apartment.

Suicide is a growing problem in the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a survey Thursday showing suicide rates increased by 25% across the United States over nearly two decades ending in 2016. Twenty-five states experienced a rise in suicides by more than 30%, the government report finds.