Eric Ripert is finding ways to smile.
Three weeks after discovering Anthony Bourdain‘s body following his apparent suicide, the chef shared a selfie via Instagram on Saturday to celebrate France’s win over Argentina in the World Cup.
“Celebrating France ??…w a cigar and rosé..” he captioned the shot, adding the hashtag #soccer.
Bourdain died at the age of 61 of an apparent suicide, French police confirmed to PEOPLE on June 8. Ripert found the celebrity chef unresponsive in his luxury hotel room in France, where they were filming an upcoming episode of Bourdain’s award-winning CNN series Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.
“Anthony was a dear friend,” Ripert said in a statement to PEOPLE. “He was an exceptional human being, so inspiring and generous. One of the great storytellers of our time who connected with so many. I wish him peace. My love and prayers are with his family, friends and loved ones.”
In the days leading up to Bourdain’s death, the duo rode through Colmar, France, on a tandem bike and visited a restaurant in called Wistub La Petite Venise, where they posed for pictures with its chef, Alexis Schonstein.
Ripert also shared a tribute to Bourdain on Instagram, calling him his “best friend.”
“I like to bring the distinguished three-star Michelin chef and good friend Eric Ripert someplace every year and torture him,” Bourdain joked on a 2017 episode of his show.
“We have a great friendship and great respect,” Ripert told CNN in October 2017. “It’s very simple. We’re very good friends. We laugh and it’s comfortable because we can be calm, and sometimes we don’t speak at all and we’ll be happy together. I think he likes that a lot. The shooting is very intense and he’s traveling a lot, and he needs to have a moment of peace during the day, and I think if he was with someone not feeling comfortable with silence and was asking questions and forcing him to talk, he would be very uncomfortable. Also, we don’t see each other a lot so it makes quite a difference, and opportunity to be together.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Source: Read Full Article