Anthony Bourdain, host of CNN's 'Parts Unknown' and best-selling author, dies at 61

Jayme Deerwester | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Anthony Bourdain served us the world Anthony Bourdain's passion for food and travel inspired us to taste and see the world. The iconic chef, author and TV host was found dead of an apparent suicide in Strasbourg, France, where he’d been filming segments for his CNN show ‘Parts Unknown.'

Anthony Bourdain, the outspoken celebrity chef, author and host of CNN's Parts Unknown, has died at age 61.

CNN reported that Bourdain's friend chef Eric Ripert found him unresponsive in his hotel room in eastern France and called his death a suicide. (The news came just three days after fashion designer Kate Spade killed herself .)

The New York Times and People reported Bourdain had been staying at Hôtel le Chambard in Kaysersberg, located in the Alsace region of France, near the German border. CNN confirmed he was there shooting footage for Parts Unknown.

Christian de Rocquigny du Fayel, the public prosecutor in nearby Colmar, told both outlets that Bourdain’s cause of death was suicide by hanging. On Saturday, prosecutors confirmed there was no evidence of foul play or violence.

Toxicology tests are also being performed in order to determine if Bourdain took any medications or other drugs prior to his death.

CNN statement regarding the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain: pic.twitter.com/MR1S5fP16o — CNN Communications (@CNNPR) June 8, 2018

"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," CNN said in a statement. "His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller. His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time."

CNN said it has not made a decision yet on whether it will proceed with the current season.

Friends, fans remember Bourdain: Argento, Obama mourn his 'heartbreaking death'

Bourdain, who was born in New York and raised in New Jersey, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and rose to nationwide prominence as executive chef at New York's Brasserie Les Halles.

He began transitioning into the second phase of his career, turning a 1999 New Yorker story called "Don't Eat This" into the best-selling book Kitchen Confidential, offering foodies a glimpse at what goes on behind the doors of their favorite restaurants and insider tips, like why they should never order fish on a Monday (when it was least likely to be fresh) and avoid brunch buffets (a dumping ground of leftover food from weekend dinner shifts cooked by hung-over B-team chefs).

He was also frank about his past heroin use and the prevalence of substance-abuse issues in the culinary world. He would go on to discuss these issues on Parts Unknown, covering the impact of the drug trade on Mexico in a Season 3 episode and the opioid epidemic during a Season 4 installment set Massachusetts.

In the latest edition of Kitchen Confidential, which was back in Amazon's top 20 books within hours of his death, Bourdain said he never intended to write an exposé when he was stealing time to write before his restaurant shifts.

“What I set out to do was write a book that my fellow cooks would find entertaining and true,” he wrote. “I wanted it to sound like me talking at say … 10 p.m. on a Saturday night, after a busy dinner rush, me and a few cooks hanging around in the kitchen, knocking back a few beers and talking.”

Our review: Bourdain's 'Kitchen Confidential' captured restaurants' demented glory

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Kitchen Confidential spawned two TV series: a Food Network travelogue called A Cook's Tour and a short-lived Fox sitcom based on his career and personal foibles, starring a then-up-and-coming Bradley Cooper.

He became a household name with his next series, Travel Channel's No Reservations, which followed him as he traveled the world in search of life-changing culinary and cultural experiences.

Viewing guide: The best episodes of 'No Reservations,' 'Parts Unknown'

The show also sometimes made him a witness to history, like in 2006 when he and his fixer found themselves trapped in Beirut as the Israel-Lebanese conflict broke out. A decade later, Bourdain and President Obama supped together at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, a meal that became known as the "noodle summit."

His latest show, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, debuted on CNN in 2013.

In one of his final interviews with The Bergen Record's (201) Magazine, Bourdain explained that he focused more on taking risks than pleasing the audience. It paid off: Those gambles led to a dozen Emmy nominations and four wins.

"In my opinion, if you start thinking about what people like about the show, or who's watching, you repeat yourself," he said during an April phone conversation while shooting in Spain. "It's very easy, I think, to give the people what they want. That's why there are all these shows about the top 10 burgers, favorite diners, dives and drive-ins. That strikes a chord with people. Those are immensely popular shows."

He continued, "Our credo, our motto, is to just never repeat ourselves if at all possible, to try to do something different, to take chances, to change the game as much as we can, whenever we can."

Anthony Bourdain Q&A: Read one of the TV foodie's final interviews

Despite his success on TV, he continued cranking out magazine articles and books, including 2006's The Nasty Bits, 2007's No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach and 2010's Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook.

He also put out two cookbooks: Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking in 2004 and Appetites in 2016.

The chef-turned-host had his own publishing imprint, Ecco, through HarperCollins, which the company said would fold once its remaining titles are released, including We Fed an Island (due Sept. 11), in which fellow chef Jose Andres recounts efforts cooking for Puerto Rican survivors of Hurricane Maria.

Bourdain, known for his barbed tongue, didn't spare his fellow celebrity chefs from his scathing commentary. Whether high-brow or low, they were all fair game to him. He slammed Food Network stars like Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri and high-end chefs like Alice Waters and Alain Ducasse. Ray and Fieri later got their revenge at a raunchy roast in 2012.

He was also outspoken on political and social-justice issues. When the immigration debate reached a full boil, he defended Mexican and Central American restaurant workers as "the backbone of the industry." Through his girlfriend, actress Asia Argento, who has accused Harvey Weinstein of assault, he became a prominent male activist in the Me Too movement.

More: Why Anthony Bourdain was a Me Too champion

In a Twitter statement posted Friday, Argento wrote, “Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did. His brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds. He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am beyond devastated. My thoughts are with his family. I would ask that you would respect their privacy and mine."

Bourdain was married twice before meeting Argento in 2016. He became a father at age 50 in when he and his second wife, Ottavia Busia, welcomed daughter Ariane in 2007.

In a 2008 interview with the Associated Press, Bourdain had said that his daughter’s birth had changed his outlook on life. “I feel obliged to at least do the best I can and not do anything really stupidly self-destructive if I can avoid it,” he said.

He wrote in a 2015 CNN piece that he considered naming her Beirut: "She was, after all, conceived within two hours of returning from my first visit there."

If you know someone who is thinking about suicide call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Contributing: Associated Press