Culinary Institute Of America Mourning Death Of Anthony Bourdain

HYDE PARK, NY — The CIA in Hyde Park is mourning the death of alumni Anthony Bourdain Friday. “The Culinary Institute of America is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Anthony Bourdain, ’78, renowned chef, author and TV personality,” a spokesman said in a written statement. “He opened the world of food and different cultures to all through his brilliant storytelling.”

CNN announced Bourdain’s death of an apparent suicide in a tweet that described him as a man who loved “great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world.”

Bourdain, 61, was in France working on an upcoming episode of “Parts Unknown,” a CNN program.

According to his biography on the CIA website, he began his culinary career with a summer job as a dishwasher in Provincetown, MA while attending Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. By the end of the summer, he was reassigned to a cooking station and found he would need better skills to keep up with the other cooks.

Bourdain then enrolled at the CIA and graduated in 1978.

He returned to the CIA campus in May 2001 to tape a segment of “A Cook’s Tour,” featuring places that help shape his career.

In 2008, Bourdain was inducted into the James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.

He was the winner of numerous James Beard awards, Emmys, a Clio, Critics Choice awards and a Webby award for his writing and television series.

Photo caption: Anthony Bourdain attends 'WASTED! The Story of Food Waste' Premiere during 2017 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC on April 22, 2017 in New York City. Photo credit: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival.