Famed Chef Charlie Trotter Has Died

05 Nov, 2013

Award-winning chef Charlie Trotter, a self-taught culinary master whose eponymous Chicago restaurant elevated the city’s cuisine and provided a training ground for some of the nation’s other best chefs, has died at the age of 54.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said rescue crews were called around 10 a.m. Tuesday to his Lincoln Park home, where they found Trotter unresponsive. Langford said an ambulance crew transported Trotter to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died after unsuccessful attempts to revive him.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office said it was notified, and an autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday.

Trotter’s name is synonymous with gourmet cuisine. He earned 10 James Beard Awards and provided a training ground for some of the country’s other best-known chefs, such as fellow Beard Award-winner Grant Achatz of Chicago restaurants Alinea and Next.

Charlie Trotter’s earned two stars when the highly respected Michelin Guide debuted in Chicago.

In keeping with his reputation for bold, unexpected moves, Trotter closed the iconic 120-seat restaurant in 2012, saying he planned to go back to college to study philosophy.

On Tuesday, a bouquet of roses was left outside the site of the former restaurant with a card that read, “Chef.”

AP

Mentioned In This Post: