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Chef Anthony Bourdain found dead in French hotel

American chef, writer and TV presenter Anthony Bourdain has been found dead in a hotel in eastern France. Best-known for his CNN series Parts Unknown, he worked in numerous top restaurants, later taking up writing and broadcasting.

Anthony Bourdain with Asia Argento for the Women In The World Summit in New York in April
Anthony Bourdain with Asia Argento for the Women In The World Summit in New York in April REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
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Bourdain was found hanged on Friday morning in his bedroom in a luxury hotel in Kayseberg, a village known for its beauty and its wine public prosecutors announced.

CNN confirmed the news, adding that it was his friend Eric Ripert, joint owner and chef at New York restaurant Bernadin, who found him.

"At this stage nothing suggests the intervention of a third party, the Colmar prosecutors' office said.

"His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller," CNN said in a statement.

President Donald Trump declared the news "very sad".

Bourdain, whose paternal grandparents were French, had presented Parts Unknown, a culinary travelogue, on CNN for five years.

Having worked in kitchens like Manhattan's Brasserie Les Halles, he published Kitchen Confidential, a behind-the-scenes account of the restaurant life.

A Cook's Tour started his investigations of worldwide cooking, leading to his TV progammes.

He championed traditional cuisines and fresh ingredients and took up social issues, for example speaking up for the Spanish-speaking immigrants who cook in many US restaurants.

Visiting the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh for Parts Unknown earned him a ban on entering Azerbaijan, which claims the territory.

His programme on food in Israel-Palestine won him award from the US's Muslim Public Affairs Council.

In 2017 he took up the fight against sexual harassment in the catering industry and in Hollywood, particularly following his partner Asia Argento's sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

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