Bourdain was in France to film an episode for Parts Unknown.
Bourdain and Ripert had separate rooms at Le Chambard hotel and had dined together many mornings and nights at its Winstub restaurant, one of its waiters, Maxime Voinson, told The New York Times. On Thursday night, hours before his body was found, Bourdain did not show up for dinner.
"Mr. Ripert thought it was strange," Voinson said. "We thought it was strange. Mr. Bourdain knew the chef, Monsieur Nasti; he knew the kitchen. Maybe he went out and ate somewhere else, we said, but we didn't think much of it."
On Friday morning, Bourdain didn't show up for breakfast.
"His friend was waiting at breakfast, and waiting and waiting," Voinson said.
Hotel staff told the New York Times that Ripert tried to reach Bourdain on his cell phone, and that a receptionist then went to Bourdain's room, where he was found hanging in the bathroom. The hotel staff then called the local gendarmerie, whose officers arrived quickly and sealed Bourdain's hotel room. The newspaper said his body was taken out the backdoor to a morgue in Colmar, the nearest city.
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