Sadly, we have another one to report this morning... one that hits a little too close to home for me.

http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2018/06/08/anthony-bourdains-death-restaurant-world-reacts.html

Fox News is reporting that chef and fellow New Jersian Anthony Bourdain was found dead in his Strasbourg Hotel this morning of an apparent Suicide. CNN confirms the story.

Although I never met Anthony, I did know his younger brother Chris, he being one year behind me at the high school from which all three of us graduated. 

I can't fathom this... I know he was having marital issues, but...   I hope those closest to him can make some sense of this.  I know his fellow chefs are dumbfounded. 

Anyway,  again I say, if anyone needs help or someone to talk to, don't hesitate... All of us have very good ears... and we keep them open

 

 

UPDATE:  According to TMZ, it was fellow Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin (whom I have met) that found him  in his hotel room. He had hung himself.

 

OMG, I was just coming on to post this! What a loss. I've so enjoyed this man's work - his books, his shows - such a super-talented human being. So very sad!

 

Wow, that is close to home for you. 

I very much liked his shows. While I didn’t see eye to eye with him on a lot of issues, he seemed like a guy that I would have enjoyed sitting down and sharing adventures with over a (bunch) of drinks. Sad when anyone gets to the point where they take their own life. 

Never heard of him.

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Very talented storyteller and chef. I disagreed with him on most political positions, but I bet he would be a great guy to knock-back a few with.

Never heard of him.

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There was a TV show on Fox Kitchen Confidential that I thought was hilarious based on him and a movie Burnt which was pretty good too. Oddly enough Bradley Cooper played him in both. He also had his own shows on TV.


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4 minutes ago, RichP said:

Very talented storyteller and chef. I disagreed with him on most political positions, but I bet he would be a great guy to knock-back a few with.

And, if you noticed carefully, he was not afraid of guns, either. He might not have been fully pro-2A, but he did like to shoot a few rounds off, on occasion, as he did on some of his show episodes.

20 minutes ago, PK90 said:

Never heard of him.

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He was mostly on the Cable TV channels (CNN, Travel Channel), but he did have a show for three seasons on ABC called "The Taste..."  a reality series where several up and coming chefs compete to get the mentorship of one of the four celebrity chef judges (Bourdain being one of them - along with Marcus Samuelson, Nigella Lawson, and Ludo Lefebvre). 

It’s a selfish move when you have a family.

1 hour ago, Handyman said:

It’s a selfish move when you have a family.

That depends... if you have all your economic personal affairs all straight, it could be a benefit to the family, versus making them suffer, like with a long term medical issues that drain the emotions and finances of the family.

7 hours ago, HBecwithFn7 said:

I know he was having marital issues, but..

There was an article posted yesterday that said more people commit suicide due to personal, economic or relationship issues versus verifiable mental illness issues.

 

4 minutes ago, Sniper22 said:

That depends... if you have all your economic personal affairs all straight, it could be a benefit to the family, versus making them suffer, like with a long term medical issues that drain the emotions and finances of the family.

Long term medical (terminal) issues, I could understand. I've seen people suffer through those things.  It's not pretty. But, if other family members are involved, I think it's something that should, at least, be discussed with them, although the final decision rests with the person who is terminally ill.

Quote

There was an article posted yesterday that said more people commit suicide due to personal, economic or relationship issues versus verifiable mental illness issues.

I would concur with that article.  People who, given other circumstances, would not want to take their life, but don't see any way out of their troubles. 

There has to be a way.

I actually teared up when I heard this... Bourdain is someone I grew to respect immensely, while politically we are opposites, his talent as both a chef and a TV personality is something I will greatly miss.   His shows were profound, meaningful and entertaining.  It took a while for me to grow enough to appreciate his work but, simply put...the caliber of the chefs who called him friends and his culinary pedigree is something most people in the industry aspire to have...He was friends with and respected by the likes of chefs Jose Andres, Paul Bocuse, Daniel Boulud and of course Eric Ripert     He was/is a true rock star chef. 

Too soon chef, too soon.   RIP Chef Bourdain.   You are missed.