The French restaurant where Anthony Bourdain dined has become a makeshift shrine for grieving fans of the food star.
The French restaurant where Anthony Bourdain dined has become a makeshift shrine for grieving fans of the food star.
Tragic celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain dined on local Alsace sausage, pork knuckle and saurkraut in a meal that cost €44 (NZ$73) and drank three glasses of wine before committing suicide on Friday.
The table he used at the Wistub La Petite Venise in Colmar, France, has become a place ofpilgrimage for fans and the restaurant is planning to offer his selection as a 'Bourdain Menu' in tribute to the star.
Bourdain, 61, filmed at the restaurant on Monday and a photograph of him dining there was his final post on Instagram. It has since attracted more than 160,000 likes.
"It is very strange to sit at the same table that he dined at just a few days ago," owner Julien Schroeder, 35, said.
"His last Instagram photo was here so it is a very big thing for us.
Adele Couvidov, 20, was behind the bar when Bourdin attended the restaurant. "He didn't speak very much and seemed preoccupied but there was nothing to suggest he was suicidal,' she said.
"His table has already become very popular. People are asking to eat the same food. We are planning to serve it as a tribute, as Bourdin's menu."
To start, the superstar chef ate cervelas sausage – a local speciality that originally contained pork brain – Swiss Gruyère cheese and pickled cucumber.
His main course was braised pork knuckle with horseradish sauce. He also ordered a large dish of choucroute, more commonly known as sauerkraut.
To drink the food icon had three modest glasses of wine, each costing just €4 ($4.70). First he ordered a Riesling Faller followed by the Riesling Albert Mann.
He finished with a Pinot Noir Albert Mann Grand H. The chef did not have a dessert, coffee or digestif but left a generous tip.
"It was a great moment for our restaurant and now a tragic moment for kitchen history," Schroeder said.
"If our restaurant becomes a place for fans to remember him we are happy about that."
Bourdain was found unresponsive on Friday morning in the bathroom of his room at Le Chambard hotel in Kayserberg by his close friend Eric Ripert.
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7) • Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7) • Youth services: (06) 3555 906 • Youthline: 0800 376 633 • Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7) • Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm) • The Word • Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7) • Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155 • CASPER Suicide Prevention If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
