Celebrity chef and CNN host Anthony Bourdain hasdied. He was 61. Hailed as the "original rock star" of cooking and "the Elvis of bad boy chefs" by The Smithsonian, Bourdain's death came as a shock to millions when it was announced on Friday.
The chef, famous for his show "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" on the Travel Channel and then "Parts Unknown" on CNN, visited Cleveland in 2007 to sample The Land's eclectic restaurant offerings after he was dared to come to the city by his "friend and nemesis" Michael Ruhlman.
In season 3, episode 11, Bourdain visited some of Cleveland's iconic locales, including local chef Michael Symon's Lola restaurant.
Symon took to Twitter on Friday morning after Bourdain's death was announced.
RIP Tony Bourdain ...Wtf ...in complete shock ... loss for words
— michael symon (@chefsymon) June 8, 2018
Bourdain also visited the West Side market, Sokoloski's University Inn in Tremont and Hot Sauce Williams.
During his visit, Bourdain didn't shy away from Cleveland's issues, but even in the dirt and grime, he found beauty in the people, architecture and struggle the city has endured.
"I like Cleveland. Always did. I find the much-maligned town beautiful. A stark reality up against a unique sense of humor and resignation, a surprisingly hopeful place for food if you only bother to look.
The winters are cold and bleak but the majestic Art Deco and neoclassical buildings speak of an earlier time of boundless optimism in the early 20th century when it seemed anything was possible in Cleveland.
Harsh reality has long set in, but what remains, even the empty warehouses, post-industrial detritus, fields of tires, and the last of the steel mills have a strange and melancholy splendor. A faded, particularly American glory."
Watch the Cleveland episode below:
