Chef Charlie Trotter Dies at Age 54 [UPDATE]
By Anthony Todd in Food on Nov 5, 2013 6:20PM
UPDATE 1:49 p.m.: Giuseppe Tentori, a Trotter's alum and chef at GT Fish & Oyster and Boka, just announced the following: "Friends of Charlie Trotter, please join us for a candle light vigil at 4:30 today at 816 W. Armitage to pay tribute."
UPDATE 1:02 p.m: Mayor Rahm Emanuel released the following statement:
“Charlie Trotter changed Chicago’s restaurant scene forever and played a leading role in elevating the city to the culinary capital it is today. Charlie’s personality mirrored his cooking - bold, inventive and always memorable. Charlie Trotter will be remembered for serving the finest food and his generous philanthropy, and he will always have a seat at the table among Chicago’s legendary figures.”
UPDATE 12:45 p.m.: The Tribune has a few more details. Chef Carrie Nahabedian, a friend of Trotter's, spoke to his wife, Rochelle. Nahabedian told the paper that Trotter was found unconscious and not breathing in his home by his son, Dylan, around 10:45 this morning.
NBC Chicago reports that Charlie Trotter, former owner of the famous eponymous restaurant that closed last year, has died.
"He was found unresponsive at a Chicago residence and was taken in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead."
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.
No further details about cause or circumstances are yet available - we'll update as we learn more.
Chuck Sudo contributed to this report.