US celebrity chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain has been found dead in a hotel room, aged 61, of an apparent suicide.
Anthony Bourdain attends the Turner Upfront 2017 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Photo: AFP
He was in Strasbourg, France, working on a shoot for his series, Parts Unknown, for CNN.
"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," the cable network said in a statement on Friday.
Bourdain was a best-selling food, fiction and nonfiction author.
CNN's statement continued: "His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller."
Authorities in France's Alsace region confirmed his death at Le Chambard luxury hotel in Kaysersberg.
US government health officials on Thursday said the nation's suicides had risen by 30% since 1999, and that the crisis was a growing problem. Nearly 45,000 Americans took their own lives in 2016.
Who was Anthony Bourdain?
He shot to fame in 2000 with a best-selling book called Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, a behind-the-scenes expose on the world of haute cuisine.
Chef Anthony Bourdain Photo: AFP
In the book he wrote candidly about his abuse of drugs, including cocaine, heroin and LSD.
The globe-trotting foodie travelled more than 250 days of the year to film his show.
His work brought him to far-flung and often dangerous locations such as Libya, Lebanon, and Gaza.
His first TV show was A Cook's Tour on the Food Network in 2002. Three years later he joined the Travel Channel with Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, picking up two Emmy Awards.
He moved to CNN in 2013 with a new travel and food show, Parts Unknown, which is in its 11th season.
He became so influential that even former President Obama sought his counsel as he prepared to leave the White House.
“Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer.” This is how I’ll remember Tony. He taught us about food — but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him. pic.twitter.com/orEXIaEMZM
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 8, 2018
"If you have an important state function after you might not want to go too heavy on the garlic," Bourdain said as the two men grabbed a quick bite during a political summit in Vietnam.
He began writing after a former university roommate offered him a free holiday to Cozumel, Mexico, if he promised he would write a book when he returned.
Less than six months after the 1993 trip, he penned his first work of fiction - a satirical crime novel, Bone in the Throat - while working as a chef at Sullivan's on New York City's Broadway Avenue.
What was his family life?
Bourdain grew up in Leonia, New Jersey, an affluent suburb of New York City.
His father was a Yale-educated record executive, and his mother worked as a copy editor at the New York Times.
Bourdain was married twice, first to his high-school sweetheart Nancy Putkoski in 1985. They divorced after 20 years.
Two years later he married mixed martial artist Ottavia Busia and they had a daughter, Ariane, born in 2007.
They divorced in 2016, a split he blamed partly on his constant travel for work.
Last year Bourdain began a relationship with Italian actress Asia Argento, who directed an episode in which he visited Hong Kong.
Chef Anthony Bourdain and Italian actress Asia Argento attend the 2018 Women In The World Summit at Lincoln Center in New York City. Photo: AFP
He became an outspoken advocate for the #MeToo movement after Argento accused former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of rape.
"Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did," Argento said in a statement.
"His brilliant spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds. He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am beyond devastated."
- BBC
