Story highlights His body was found at his home in Crissier, Switzerland

"An immense chef, an immense sadness," fellow culinary star tweeted

(CNN) Chef Benoit Violier, whose Swiss restaurant was crowned the best in the world last month, has been found dead in an apparent suicide, police said.

His body was discovered late Sunday afternoon in his home in Crissier in western Switzerland, a statement on the Vaud canton police website said Monday.

Violier, who was 44 years old, ran the three Michelin-starred Restaurant De L'Hotel De Ville Crissier-Suisse.

In December, France's prestigious La Liste ranking crowned the establishment the world's best restaurant and Violier showed up to receive the award from the French foreign ministry grinning from ear to ear.

The initial investigation points to suicide by gunshot, police said.

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