Food author and travel host Anthony Bourdain has committed suicide while traveling in France, according to the television network CNN for which he took viewers around the world for his show “Parts Unknown.” He was 61, reports AFP.

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

Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room in Strasbourg by his close friend Eric Ripert, the French executive chef of New York elite restaurant Le Bernardin, CNN said. Bourdain’s paternal grandparents were French.

He had been working on an upcoming episode of “Parts Unknown,” an Emmy-winning show about travel, food and the peoples of the world.