Anthony Bourdain, chef and Parts Unknown host, dead at 61

This story is incredibly tough to write. This morning, the news was first reported that renowned chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain was found dead of an apparent suicide at the age of 61. He died in France, where he was working on a new episode of his CNN show Parts Unknown — one that revolved around adventure and featured food and people all over the world.

In a statement, CNN confirmed his death with the following:

“It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain. 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.”

We’d come up with a list of some of the best Bourdain-related viewing to try and honor him, but it’s hard to know where to even start since almost every single thing he did was fascinating. He had this image about him one of the coolest people in the world, someone who would talk to anyone or go anywhere. He loved food and he loved meeting different people and hurting different stories. He possessed a unique ability, especially in this time, of being able to have a conversation with you no matter where you were from or what you believe in.

With this said, we do recommend checking out some of the episodes of Parts Unknown that he’s done in the Congo, in Japan, in Brazil, or in Spain. We do think that those collectively give you a very good sense of his spirit and his sense of adventure. He also has a particular wonderful edition of the ID10T Podcast (previously called the Nerdist Podcast) if you want to reminisce about him on the go — he tells his story as a recovering addict and going from being a line cook to someone who was determined not to screw his life up after getting his big break. He had a very fascinating story to tell, but we also think that he probably had about a trillion of them.

Losing him via suicide is hard, but it is another reminder that no matter what we may see of someone, we don’t know what is in their heart. For anyone out the struggling, just know that there is always another way and there is love and support. 1-800-273-8255 is the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and they can be there for you 24 hours a day.

Here’s to hoping that Bourdain is now off somewhere sharing a drink with friends and exchanging some fun stories. Our thoughts go out to all who know him and care about him. (Photo: CNN.)