Atlanta Chefs Remember Bourdain

ATLANTA, GA — Shock and sadness were the order of the day for members of the Atlanta food and entertainment community on Friday as news spread of the death of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.

Bourdain was found unconscious in his hotel room in France, where he was filming an episode of his food and travel show, "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown," for CNN. The cause of death was suicide, the network reported.

"I...don’t...believe it," wrote Alton Brown, a Marietta resident and host of "Good Eats" on the Food Network, on Twitter. "I don’t and I won’t."

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In addition to working for Atlanta-based CNN, Bourdain visited the city for a 2013 episode of his Travel Channel show, "The Layover." On the episode, Bourdain — in his typical free-wheeling style — profiled everything from the work of chef Hugh Acheson to the burger at Holeman & Finch to after-hours cavorting at adult club The Clermont Lounge.

"Deep sadness," Acheson wrote on Twitter. "Please understand that the cloak of success can fool many but never the person who wears it. Even under ten cloaks we all have to deal with who we are and that can be a brutal struggle."

On Facebook, The Clermont posted a photo of Bourdain enjoying a Pabst Blue Ribbon with well-known dancer Blondie at the club, with the words "Rest In Peace" and the hashtag #GetHelp.

Celebrity chef Kevin Gillespie, who announced last month that he is battling renal cancer, posted a photo of himself with Bourdain on Instagram.

"I love this picture so much, and yet I hate posting it," Gillespie wrote. "I didn't always agree with him, but I respected him fully nevertheless. I've been in some dark places in my life, and I know what it feels like to sit right on the edge. I hate that he got there and further. I'm sorry Tony."

Bourdain's take on Atlanta's food scene wasn't just about the spots he hit during the "Layover" visit, either. In a 2016 AdWeek interview, he appeared to give a pass to Atlanta-based Chick-Fil-A, which was under boycott threats over its ownership's support of causes that critics consider anti-LGBT.

"Are we looking for nice people to run our companies? We’re going to be looking pretty hard ...," Bourdain said. " There’s a whole lot of reasons to just make a personal decision and not go eat at a business and give them your money.

"I come from a restaurant business where you’re lucky if the guy working next to you isn’t like an armed robber. I support your inalienable right to say really stupid, offensive [stuff] and believe really stupid, offensive [stuff] that I don’t agree with. I support that, and I might even eat your chicken sandwich."

Anyone struggling with mental health can get help by calling National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visiting this website.

Photo courtesy of Craig Barritt/Getty Images for The New Yorker/Getty Images Entertainment