RIP: ANTHONY BOURDAIN

American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, the Emmy-winning host of CNN‘s “Parts Unknown,” has died from suicide, the network said Friday. He was 61. CNN host Brian Stelter said on air that Bourdain hanged himself in his hotel room in France.

“It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain,” the network said in a statement Friday morning.

“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.”

Bourdain, who was in France working on an upcoming episode of his show, was found unresponsive in his hotel room Friday morning by his friend Eric Ripert, according to the network.

Ripert, whose French restaurant Le Bernardin in Manhattan boasts a top Michelin three-star rating, frequently appeared alongside Bourdain on “Parts Unknown” and made cameos on some of his earlier TV shows.

“I like to bring the distinguished three-star Michelin chef and good friend Eric Ripert someplace every year and torture him,“ Bourdain once said.

Authorities in France said Bourdain killed himself at the Le Chambard hotel in Kaysersberg-Vignoble, near the border of Germany.

“We learned this morning about the death by hanging of an American chef at a luxury hotel of Kaysersberg, Le Chambard,” a prosecutor in Kaysersberg-Vignoble told French newspaper Dernière Nouvelle D’alsace. “At this point nothing suggests the intervention of a third party.”

Through his TV shows and books, the globe-trotting gourmand helped his audiences think differently about food and travel – collecting just about every award the industry has to offer along the way.

In 1999, he penned a New Yorker article, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” that became a 2000 best-seller, “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly,” which gained him international acclaim.

He hosted “A Cook’s Tour” on the Food Network before moving to “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” on the Travel Channel, a major hit that garnered him two Emmy Awards and more than a dozen nominations.

In 2013, CNN took a gamble by bringing Bourdain aboard a network best known for breaking news and headlines, but he quickly became a major draw during the primetime schedule.

Season 11 of “Parts Unknown” premiered on CNN last month.

While accepting the Peabody award in 2013, Bourdain described how he approached his work.

“We ask very simple questions: What makes you happy? What do you eat? What do you like to cook? And everywhere in the world we go and ask these very simple questions,” he said, “we tend to get some really astonishing answers.”

Bourdain was twice divorced. He was married to Ottavia Busia from 2007 to 2016 and Nancy Putkoski from 1985 to 2005.

He leaves behind one daughter, Ariane, whom he had with Busia.

As the news broke Friday, tributes poured in on social media.

“Master Chef” host Gordon Ramsay said he was “stunned and saddened” by Bourdain’s death.

“He brought the world into our homes and inspired so many people to explore cultures and cities through their food,” Ramsay said. “Remember that help is a phone call away US:1-800-273-TALK UK: 116 123.”