American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain committed suicide on Friday, 8 June in Strasbourg, France. He was 61.  Born on 25 June 1956, Bourdain was a celebrity chef, author, travel documentarian and television personality, working with the CNN.

His travel and food documentaries inspired an entire generation to explore cultures and cities.  His authored book include Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw and MORE.  Anthony was a self proclaimed carnivore and his television series see him eating the goriest of stuff – bull’s testicles, heart of a cobra and even drinking bile.  His famous take on vegetarianism went, “However, I like my veggies with a good cut of pork on the side”.  He was obsessed with culture and the role that food played in various civilizations…that made him the legend he was.

Anthony however admitted, that he enjoyed going vegetarian when in India, because of the wonderful amalgamation of flavour, colour and spices that Indian cuisine had to offer.  Here is one such rare video of Anthony when he had a thali at Natraj during his tryst with Udaipur.

Best known for his TV series “Parts Unknown” on CNN, Anthony was in Strasbourg, France, to shoot for the new season, when he was found dead in his hotel room, the initial investigations suspecting suicide.

President Donald Trump of the US said that he enjoyed watching his show and that Anthony was “quite a character”.

Barrack Obama, ex-President of the US had shared a simple meal with Anthony, while he was on his Asia tour and Anthony was shooting for “Parts Unkown”.  Obama said, “He taught us about food — but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him…”