Anthony Bourdain
Celebrity Chef
June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018-06-08
Celebrity chef and gifted storyteller, Anthony Bourdain has died of an apparent suicide in France according to multiple reports. He was 61.
Bourdain was in France at the time of his death filming an episode of his highly successful show “Parts Unknown.” CNN has released a statement on the matter:
“It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain. 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.”
A native of New York City, Bourdain was born in New York but grew up close by in New Jersey. According to Bourdain, his love of cooking first started as a child while on vacation in France. After attending college for a couple of years, he dropped out and decided to pursue cooking as a career. He attended the Culinary Institute of America and graduated in 1978.
After graduation, Bourdain went on to run various restaurants throughout New York City. In 1998, he became the executive chef at the critically acclaimed restaurant, Brasserie Les Halles.
Bourdain first entered the spotlight in 2000 when he released his New York Times Bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. The book was immensely successful and launched Bourdain’s career as a celebrity chef.
Building off the success of his first book, Bourdain began a career in television starring in several travel food shows including The Layover (2011-2013) and Parts Unknown (2013-2018).
Bourdain was best known as the “bad boy” of the culinary world. Viewers were drawn to his programs because of his liberal use of profanity and sexual references. Bourdain had a love of exotic local delicacies and has gone on record stating a McDonald’s chicken nugget is the grossest thing he’d ever eaten.
Throughout his career, Bourdain was outspoken about the commercialism of the celebrity cooking industry. He was critical of many other celebrity chefs saying the industry lacked culinary authenticity. As his popularity grew, Bourdain began to see the irony in his outspokenness and began to qualify his insults to some extent.
Bourdain was married twice during his life. First to his high school sweetheart, Nancy Putkoski from 1985-2005. In 2007, he married again this time to Ottavia Busia. Together the couple had one daughter, Ariane. In 2016, the couple had an amicable divorce.
Following the news of his death, countless celebrities took to social media to express their condolences.
Suicide is a serious matter that should not be taken lightly. If you or someone you know is exhibiting warning signs, they should not be left alone. The U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached by calling 1-800-273-8255. This free resource provides 24/7 confidential support for people in crisis or emotional distress.
There is also an online chat for people to reach out through as well if they would rather not call by phone.
For more information on suicide prevention, please visit:
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/how-we-can-all-prevent-suicide/
http://chat.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetHelp/LifelineChat.aspx