Anthony Bourdain, the owner and chef of Les Halles restaurant, sits at one of its tables in New York in 2001.

CNN reported that suicide was the cause of Bourdain's death. Bourdain, 61, was in France working on his CNN series on culinary traditions.

Bourdain's breakthrough as an author came with the 2000 publication of his "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly." The book created a sensation by combining frank details of his life and career with behind-the-scenes observations on the culinary industry.