Stars mark #BourdainDay, Anthony Bourdain's 63rd birthday, with emotional tributes

Bourdain's second wife, Ottavia, shared footage of the chef with their daughter.

ByGood Morning America via logo
June 25, 2019, 4:25 PM

Anthony Bourdain would have been 63 today.

To mark the late TV personality's birthday, chefs Eric Ripert and Jose Andres launched "Bourdain Day," encouraging others to celebrate the chef, and announced a scholarship in his honor from his alma mater, The Culinary Institute of America.

The Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship will finance students' travels abroad to deepen their appreciation for and understanding of foreign cuisine.

Bourdain hosted three TV series that married his love of travel and food: "No Reservations" and "The Layover" for the Travel Channel and "Parts Unknown" for CNN.

"The career of Chef Bourdain is a testament to the great power that travel can have in a culinary education—and in a full life," the school said in a statement.

Bourdain was found dead on June 8, 2018, in a luxury hotel in the tiny village of Kaysersberg in the Alsace region of northeast France. He appeared to have hanged himself, according to Christian de Rocquigny du Fayel, the prosecutor of Colmar in Alsace region, southeast of Kaysersberg. Just before his death, Bourdain had been filming an episode of "Parts Unknown" with Ripert.

In celebration of #BourdainDay, his second wife, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, shared footage of Bourdain swimming with their daughter, Ariane. That post, and others marking #BourdainDay, are posted below.

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