Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain found dead in France

PARIS (AP) — Anthony Bourdain, the celebrity chef and citizen of the world who inspired millions to share his delight in food and the bonds it created, was found dead in his hotel room Friday in France while working on his CNN series on culinary traditions.

He was 61.

CNN confirmed the death, saying that Bourdain was found unresponsive Friday morning by friend and chef Eric Ripert in the French city of Haut-Rhin.

It called his death a suicide.

Bourdain’s assistant Laurie Woolever would not comment when reached by The Associated Press.

Widely loved and rarely afraid to speak his mind, he mixed a coarseness and whimsical sense of adventurousness, true to the rock ‘n’ roll music he loved.

Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” 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 staid news network, and it became an immediate hit.

Within hours of his death, “Kitchen Confidential” was in the top 20 on Amazon.com.

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