Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has posted a heartbreaking tribute to fellow cook Anthony Bourdain on Facebook.
The culinary world has been reacting to news of Bourdain’s death after he was reportedly found unresponsive in his hotel room, at the age of 61.
It’s understood the TV personality took his own life.
Posting on Facebook, Ramsay emotionally wrote:
Stunned and saddened by the loss of Anthony Bourdain. He brought the world into our homes and inspired so many people to explore cultures and cities through their food.
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A master in the kitchen, Bourdain wrote several books and made numerous television shows which helped audiences think differently about both food and themselves.
In addition to this, Bourdain was always an avid campaigner for better working conditions for restaurant staff.
Receiving awards for his hard work and dedication to the food industry, Bourdain was respected by millions around the world.
This afternoon (June 8) he was found dead in a hotel room in Strasbourg, France.
A statement from CNN, who hosted his travel and food show, Parts Unknown, read:
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 few days ago Bourdain had purchased a painting with a chilling title:
The sky is falling, I am learning to live with it.
The American chef had purchased it from popular artist, John Lurie, who said the two were becoming friends before his death.
The painting can be seen in a tweet the artist shared:
Lurie also published a statement via Twitter today about Bourdain’s death.
It read:
I can’t believe this. We were just becoming friends. One of the few people I have been remotely interested in becoming friends with in years.
I am supposed to see him on Wednesday. This is too f*cked.
Anthony Bourdain walked into my home without a hint of ego. I loved him in seconds. A truly decent man. We needed him.
Chrissy Teigen was among the celebrities who paid respect to the celebrity chef.
Taking to Twitter, she wrote:
Anthony. One of my idols. Unapologetic, passionate and one of the best storytellers on the planet.
Thank you for making food so exciting. And always standing up for everything right. Horrible. Why, why, why. Be at peace now.
Author John Hodgman tweeted:
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.
Our thoughts are with his friends and family.
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