Many are grieving the death of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, who was found dead in his hotel room in France at the age of 61, CNN reports. The cause of his passing was reportedly a suicide.

News of Bourdain's tragic death has led many across the world to express their shock and sadness. Bourdain, the author of best-seller Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, was one of the food world's most influential figures. His award-winning series on CNN, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, has been widely lauded for its authentic storytelling and intersectional approach to food, culture and politics.

IMAGE: Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain at a restaurant in Vietnam pic.twitter.com/2AwO5zsgPH

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) June 8, 2018

CNN released the following statement on Bourdain's death:

"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," the network said. "His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller."

While fans of Bourdain around the world reflect on the many ways in which the celebrity chef has made a positive impact on the planet, some people have taken to social media to reflect on one of the most iconic moments of Parts Unknown: Bourdain's sit-down with former President Barack Obama in Vietnam.

The thing about Anthony Bourdain is how at ease he was with sharing a meal with Barack Obama or Trump-loving families in West Virginia. His entry point in each case was a love of food, which is one thing in our culture not yet weaponized by partisanship.

— Dave McKinney (@davemckinney) June 8, 2018

This picture of Anthony Bourdain and Obama offers a reminder that a good meal filled with curiosity, conversation and empathy is one of the main things that makes life worth living. Even in these dark days, you can find sustenance in this pleasure, which is by no means small. pic.twitter.com/eTfVTKsbIe

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine (@sterlewine) June 8, 2018

Very tender moment when @bourdain met @BarackObama in Hanoi and asked if we were all going to be ok. He asked as a father. Our then president made him feel hopeful. I wonder if he was sad like many of us that the world is going backwards. How can a sensitive person not be.

— Jason Hirschhorn (@JasonHirschhorn) June 8, 2018

In 2016, Bourdain met with Obama in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam, and shared a $6 meal of bowls of Bún chả, a popular Vietnamese pork and noodle dish.

Bourdain and Obama sat down together on low plastic stools and shared personal stories, with Obama reminiscing about eating street food in Indonesia and Hawaii.

Reflecting on the experience, Bourdain once told CNN's Anderson Cooper he had been secretly planning his sit-down with Obama, leaving many in the cast and crew in the dark. Bourdain also revealed it was the White House that had the idea for the former president to join the show.

Bourdain once said he approached the Obama interview as a "father of a little girl to another father of two daughters," not as a journalist, Politico reports.

“This was not a formal interview; I am not a journalist,” he said. “I spoke to him as a Southeast Asia enthusiast to a fellow Southeast Asia enthusiast. And I spoke to him as some random knucklehead who watches the news like everyone else, and I spoke to him as the father of a little girl to another father of two daughters, who has access to a hell of a lot more information than I will ever have.”

Obama tweeted about Bourdain's death on Friday, June 8, reflecting on the meal they shared together.

"Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer," he wrote. "This is how I’ll remember Tony. He taught us about food — but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him"

“Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer.” This is how I’ll remember Tony. He taught us about food — but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him. pic.twitter.com/orEXIaEMZM

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 8, 2018

Anthony burdain

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