Mexican Chef Carlos Llaguno Morales died today at 38 in New York. Originally from central Mexico, Puebla, Morales moved to the US in 1994 only end up leading kitchens with more than 50 employees. Without any culinary degrees, Chef Carlos worked at some of the most prestigious restaurants in New York and was the executive chef of the French restaurants, Les Halles, at the time of his death. The spokesperson from the restaurants spoke to Notimex and confirmed his cause of death was cancer.

In an interview with Notimex last summer, Llaguno assured that becoming a chef was thanks to his efforts only, “I became a chef thanks to sheer perseverance. I was always one of those people who liked learning and I always knew I wanted to have a career cooking.” The Chef’s mentor and friend Anthony Bourdain announced the sad loss on his social media with a message that read: “Rest In Peace Chef Carlos Llaguno Morales. A great friend, a great chef, a great person. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Llaguno Morales became famous when he appeared on the fifth season of Antony Bourdain’s CNN show “No Reservations”. In the first episode of that season, Carlos took Bourdain to visit his family in his hometown Puebla, where he showed Bourdain the most delicious places to eat delicacies and street-food. After some time, Bourdain stepped down from being the executive chef at Les Halles and chose Llaguno to fill the big shoes. May he rest in peace.