Woke up to the texts from my friends that Anthony Bourdain had committed suicide . I was shocked and stunned to say the least . I immediately thought back to when another chef friend of mine , Homaro Cantu had taken his own life . Both Anthony and Homaro were brilliant people , both seemed to have everything going for them , and both chose to end it all ...without reaching out to the many people that loved them for some help .

Anthony was a great guy , I was lucky enough to have a fun night of drinking w him at his favorite NYC Hells Kitchen dive bar , I remember talking w him where were wet setting up the “SWAT team “ scene for his No Reservations L.A shoot and he asked what he could do, I told him “Alton Brown” got to sniff the raw pepper balls we shoot...he said that he wanted to do something harder than that ...and the infamous “taser” scene was born !

Anthony’s (and Homaro’s ) stars shined bright in this world ....they touched so many people , I often wonder if they realized that . Many of us are not aware of the real impact we make in the world . Filming travel TV seams like so much fun , but in reality it’s very lonely ....

Suicide is never the answer ...friends , don’t be afraid to ask someone how they are doing ...I know that some of you reading this have gotten text messages and calls from me. It’s because I love you and care enough to ask ...

Let your friends and loved ones know they are important . Be there for them and listen to them when they need your time, you never know what they are really going though inside .

Anthony , you showed the world how much we have in common and helped so many people to be “better “ . You were a generous and caring man to those you met and even helped those you never met, but that you understood.

I think of Eric Ripert , who is one who will now suffer . I hope our mutual friends are reaching out to him for support ...

Love yourself , do the things that make you happy and bring you joy ...no matter how bad it gets, it will always get better .

Rest In Peace my friend !