RIP: CARL RUIZ

Celebrity chef Carl Ruiz has died at age 44.

The death of the Food Network star and owner of the New York restaurant La Cubana was announced Sunday. His friend and internet personality Matt Farah confirmed the news on Twitter and Instagram, sharing his fond memories of Ruiz throughout their two years of friendship.

Farah used the caption of his Instagram photo as a tribute to the late Ruiz, sharing a heartfelt message of the time they spent together as well as praising Ruiz’s abilities as a chef.

“The idea I can’t bounce a watch purchase, a recipe, or a funny tweet off him ever again hasn’t really set in, but let’s just say life feels a lot more gray today,” he wrote. “He was too prophetic for his own good - Carl was never going to grow old and invalid, he was full throttle every day and no one was gonna tell him otherwise. I just wish I had some more time to laugh with my friend.”

Fellow Food Network star Guy Fieri shared his own tribute to Ruiz, stating that he is “heartbroken” over the loss of the talented chef.

"I’m heartbroken that my friend chef Carl Ruiz is gone. I have no words to describe what a great friend he was to me and my family. His ability to make me laugh and smile under any circumstances was only outshined by his talent as a chef."

In a separate tweet, Fieri continued his sentiment, writing, "Over the years, I’ve met a lot of great people but a friend like Carl is one in a hundred million. Carl 'The Cuban’ Ruiz will forever live on in my heart and in those of all who loved him.”

Ruiz was best known for his appearances on the Food Network, including "Guy's Grocery Games" and "Guy's Ranch Kitchen" as well as his own YouTube series "Omg Carl's Food Show" where he reviewed chain restaurants. The cause of death has not been announced yet...

ANTHONY BOURDAIN: ONE YEAR LATER

It is hard to believe that world traveler and famous chef Anthony Bourdain has been gone one year already. A year after his sad suicide, there are still many sad questions that never will be answered. However, since his death some remarkable stories have come out about Bourdain. Anthony Bourdain was a remarkable man who led an amazing life.

Evan Benn, the editor-and-chief of Miami Indulge, wrote on Twitter that he was covering an Anthony Bourdain book stop when a boy in the audience, who had leukemia, asked Bourdain where he should travel when he’s in remission.Bourdain told the boy that he should visit Spain. But then, Benn says that Bourdain reached out to him privately, wanting to arrange for that boy in the audience to get a trip to Spain. With the help of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the boy did end up getting to go to Spain. But nobody knew until recently that Bourdain was involved; he took none of the credit for it.

Bourdain was a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement, and he has evidently been fighting against sexual harassment in the workplace for years.Vera Papisova, a writer for Teen Vogue, shared on Twitter that she was once sexually harassed by a busboy while working at a restaurant. Although she was vocal about the issue, the managers finally took it seriously when Bourdain spoke up.

He wanted to make sure Harvey Weinstein paid for his actions. After Bourdain’s death, journalist Yashar Ali took to Twitter to honor him. Ali said that while many people moved on from the Harvey Weinstein story, Bourdain didn’t, and he continuously texted him with information.“He texted me repeatedly with ideas and every time a Weinstein survivor was attacked he would let me know because he was determined to stop Harvey’s machine,” Ali wrote. Ali also said that Bourdain was so incredibly proud of his girlfriend, Asia Argento, and would send him a clip of every one of her press appearances. Finally, on a personal note, Ali said that he went through a bout of depression earlier this year, but Bourdain was able to inspire him to keep going.

Back in 2017, Ali Allouche, a teenager who was being treated for bone cancer, decided he wanted to travel the country and eat the best foods in every state. Bourdain had inspired him to do so. When Bourdain himself found out about Allouche’s story, he donated $3,600 to his trip, the amount of money needed to reach his goal, according to Now This News. Bourdain himself also told The New York Post at the time that he was “incredibly moved and humbled” to hear about the story and that “I hope as well to meet with the young man at the earliest opportunity.”

Comic artist Shivana Sookdeo says that she bumped into Bourdain at a food festival, and it sounds like he was incredibly approachable. Rather than saying hello, he said, “hey kid, you hungry?”

“He spent the ten minutes listening to me talk about the home country of my parents, Trinidad & Tobago, with the utmost engagement,” she wrote. “Like an ambassador studying up, ready to go.”

She says that at the end of the conversation, Bourdain “thanked me for my time like he’d had an appointment with me all along.” I really wish we would have the opportunity to thank Anthony Bourdain for his time just one more time...

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.”