Bourdain's profile began to soar in 1999, when the New Yorker magazine published his article "Don't Eat Before Reading This", which he developed into the 2000 book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.

He went on to host television programs, first on the Food Network and the Travel Channel, before joining CNN in 2013.

In a Melbourne episode of No Reservations filmed in 2009, he explored Sydney Road, Chinatown and the mod-Lebanese delights of Rumi.

"His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller," CNN said in a statement on Friday. "His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time."

Bourdain's death comes three days after American designer Kate Spade, who built a fashion empire on her signature handbags, was found dead in her New York apartment of suicide on Tuesday.

Suicide rates rose in nearly every US state from 1999 to 2016, according to data from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 45,000 people committed suicide in 2016, making it one of three leading causes of death that are on the rise, along with Alzheimer's disease and drug overdoses.

Brash and opinionated, Bourdain also spoke openly about his use of drugs and addiction to heroin earlier in his life.

After climbing the culinary career ladder to become executive chef at New York's former Brasserie Les Halles restaurant, he went on to host several food and travel television programs.

Bourdain told the New Yorker in 2017 that his idea for Parts Unknown, which was in its 11th season, was traveling, eating and doing whatever he wanted. The show roamed from out-of-the-way restaurants to the homes of locals, providing what the magazine called "communion with a foreign culture so unmitigated that it feels practically intravenous".

When Obama went to Hanoi, Vietnam in May 2016, he met Bourdain at a casual restaurant for a $6 meal of noodles and grilled pork.

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that Bourdain's death was "very shocking"

"I enjoyed his show, he was quite a character," Trump said.

Bourdain last year cancelled plans to build a 14,400 square metre international food hall on a pier on the Hudson River in New York, local media reported.

Award-winning chefs including Tom Colicchio and Gordon Ramsay responded to the news of Bourdain's death on Twitter.

"Tony's restless spirit will roam the earth in search of justice, truth and a great bowl of noodles," Colicchio wrote.

Actor Bryan Cranston, known for the TV show Breaking Bad, said of the deaths of Bourdain and Spade: "It illustrates that success is not immune to depression".

Reuters

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