Anthony Bourdain’s cause of death, confirmed

Many celebrity chefs have successfully expanded their fame onto the silver screen. Whether it’s Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen or Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, there’s something undeniably entertaining about culinary reality series. Anthony Bourdain‘s iconic Parts Unknown was no exception.

While Parts Unknown might not have been Bourdain’s magnum opus — few culinary shows compare to the Travel Channel’s No Reservations, after all — it still gave us a fresh perspective on global cuisine. Unlike most shows we know and love that focus primarily on American restaurants, Bourdain went beyond American borders, introducing viewers to world cuisine and pioneering a new concept: the intersection of politics and food. It was brilliant.

Sadly, our time with Bourdain was tragically cut short in 2018 when news of his passing broke. It was an absolute shock for the entire world, and as the news spread across social media, more and more people mourned his loss. Here’s what happened that day.

How did Anthony Bourdain die?

Bourdain reportedly died by suicide on June 8, 2018. His passing was a huge shock, not only to the world but also to his family and friends. In an interview with The New York Times, Bourdain’s mother, Gladys Bourdain, expressed her disbelief, stating that he was “absolutely the last person in the world I would have ever dreamed would do something like this.”

Part of the shock stemmed from the fact that Bourdain was filming Parts Unknown, his passion project, in Strasbourg at the time of passing. When the television star missed both breakfast and dinner that day, his friend and collaborator Éric Ripert grew concerned. Ripert then discovered Bourdain in his room at Le Chambard hotel in Kaysersberg near Colmar. There were no signs of violence or forced entry, indicating that his death was likely a suicide by hanging.

At the time, Bourdain had been dating Asia Argento since 2016. Although the couple did not have any children together, Bourdain had one daughter from his previous marriage to Ottavia Busia.