Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain has died of an apparent suicide, CNN announced Friday morning. He was 61.
The network said Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room in Strausbourg, France, where he had been at work on an episode of his CNN travel series "Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown." CNN said it was a death by hanging.
French chef Eric Ripert found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room, according to the network.
"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," CNN said in a statement. "His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique story teller."
Bourdain transformed his popularity of as a best-selling author and celebrity chef into TV stardom through his programs on the Travel Channel and CNN, where "Parts Unknown" has been one of the network's most popular series since it was launched in 2013.
Bourdain's first book, "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In the Culinary Underbelly" was a major sensation in 2000 for revealing the secrets of the restaurant business and his own personal struggles as he made his way to the top of the culinary industry.
