Chef Dubbed 'Best in the World' Dies in Apparent Suicide at 44

A chef whose restaurant was named the best in the world in December was found dead Sunday in an apparent suicide.

Swiss police found Benoît Violier dead at his home in Crissier, Switzerland, according to a statement.

"It would seem that he has ended his life with a firearm," read the statement. The 44-year-old's body was discovered late Sunday.

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The French-Swiss chef presided over the Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville, a recipient of three Michelin stars, the highest possible rating.

As the Guardian notes, Violier’s death came hours before Michelin was due to unveil its 2016 edition.

In December, Violier's restaurant also took the number one spot on La Liste, a French ranking of 1,000 restaurants in 48 countries.

Soon after news of the chef's death broke, culinary legends around the world joined a chorus of grief.

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“The planet has been orphaned by the loss of this exceptional chef, Benoît Violier. I am devastated,” another renowned French chef Marc Veyrat tweeted. 

Violier's fellow Michelin-starred chef, Jean-Francois Piege, tweeted: "An immense chef, an immense sadness, thoughts go out to his family and his team." 

Pierre Gagnaire of the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong wrote: "My thoughts go out to Benoit Violier's family. Very sad news about an extremely talented chef."

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