Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, 61, found dead
Tributes from other celebrity chefs, actors and even President Donald Trump come in for the popular American cook
American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain has been found dead in his hotel room in France while working on his CNN series on culinary traditions around the world.
CNN confirmed the 61-year-old’s death, saying in a statement he was found unresponsive on Friday morning by friend and fellow chef Eric Ripert.
The US network said Bourdain, who’s mother was Jewish, was in Strasbourg filming an upcoming segment in his series Parts Unknown.
The CNN statement said: “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.”
Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern wrote that a piece of his heart “is truly broken”. Zimmern said “the sad cruel irony” is that in the last year, Bourdain had never been happier.
Actor and former Man v Food host Adam Richman tweeted “Why?” Richman said his heart was with Bourdain.
Bourdain achieved celebrity status after the publication in 2000 of his best-selling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.
The book created a sensation by combining frank details of his life and career with behind-the-scenes observations on the culinary industry. It was a rare crossover – a book intended for professional cooks that had enormous mass appeal.
Bourdain went on to achieve widespread fame thanks to his CNN series Parts Unknown and was filming an upcoming segment for the show when he was found.
Chefs, fans and US president Donald Trump were among those stunned and saddened by the news. “I want to extend to his family my heartfelt condolences,” Mr Trump said.
Bourdain was twice divorced and has a daughter from his second marriage.
His Parts Unknown show seemed like an odd choice for CNN when it started in 2013 – part travelogue, part history lesson, part love letter to exotic foods. Each trip was an adventure. There had been nothing quite like it on the network, and it became an immediate hit.
He mixed a coarseness and whimsical sense of adventurousness, true to the spirit of the rock ‘n’ roll music he loved.
“We are constantly asking ourselves, first and foremost: what is the most (messed) up thing we can do next week?” he said in a 2014 interview.
Besides showcasing food, a Parts Unknown trip to Japan in the series’ first season included an odd show with robots and scantily clad women, a visit to a death metal band and a meal shared with a woman involved in the city’s sadomachistic community.
In 2017, he sat down for some bun cha in Hanoi, Vietnam, with former president Barack Obama.
Bourdain was reluctant to analyse why his series succeeded.
He said: “If you think about who the audience is and what their expectations might be, I think that’s the road to badness and mediocrity.
“You go out there and show the best story you can as best you can. If it’s interesting to you, hopefully it’s interesting to others. If you don’t make television like that, it’s pandering.”
The American chef, author and television personality was born in New York City and was raised in Leonia, New Jersey. He had written that his love of food began as a youth while on a family vacation in France, when he ate his first oyster.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
