Joshua Ozersky, a food blogger who translated appetite and ambition into columns, books and an international food festival called Meatopia, died on Monday in Chicago, where he was to attend the annual James Beard Awards. He was 47.

He was found in his hotel room, the Cook County medical examiner said. An autopsy on Tuesday did not determine the cause of death, the medical examiner’s office said, and more tests were planned.

News of his death rippled through the crowd that gathered Monday night for the awards ceremony, a black-tie affair at the Lyric Opera. Many of his friends there had last seen him at a karaoke lounge about 4 a.m. Monday.

Mr. Ozersky was well known — and both loved and loathed — as one of the most forceful food writers in the country. As the founding editor of New York magazine’s Grub Street blog and later a columnist for Time and Esquire, Mr. Ozersky wrote about restaurants, chefs and food with conviction, humor and an attention to history. But it was his joyful willingness to be bluntly opinionated that won him sworn enemies (a few) and loyal friends (far more) in the ranks of chefs and restaurateurs.