Charlie Trotter, the famous chef and former owner of the noted eponymous restaurant, which closed in 2012, was found dead Tuesday morning. Local chefs and food ilk alike mourned his passing. Here are just a handful of people whose lives he touched.











Also, though not local, Anthony Bourdain unfurled this touching image and tribute to Trotter.

No specifics regarding the circumstances of the esteemed chef's death are immediately available.

Per Chicagoist:

Trotter was 54 years old. Trotter's restaurant helped launch a new era in Chicago's restaurant scene when he opened his restaurant in 1987 and, along with Rick Bayless, helped lay the foundation for Chicago's current status as a world-class culinary city.

But Trotter's star slowly began to wane as chefs like Grant Achatz, Homaro Cantu and others began to surpass him with their own restaurants. Trotter announced the closing of his restaurant last year, citing a desire to travel more and and pursue a master's degree. In the months after Trotter closed his restaurant, he shut down an auction of the restaurant's furnishings after the bids on some of the items were lower than expected. In August, Trotter shut out a group of student photographers who were using his restaurant's space for an exhibit and appeared in front of television cameras disheveled and rambling.

[Eater]
[Inside Scoop]