Carlos Llaguno Garcia, the executive chef overseeing both locations of the classic bistro Les Halles died of cancer yesterday at the age of 38. Garcia was a native of Puebla, Mexico, and after moving to the US at the age of seventeen, landed a job cooking at Les Halles, where he was mentored in part by Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain chose Garcia to replace him as the executive chef when he left Les Halles. By his own account, he "became a chef thanks to sheer perseverance."

Bourdain himself took to Facebook to mourn the loss of his friend: "Rest In Peace Chef Carlos Llaguno Garcia. A great friend, a great chef, a great person. He will be missed by all who knew him."

Here's Garcia showing Bourdain around Puebla in an episode of No Reservations: