Chef Eric Ripert pays tribute to Anthony Bourdain on his birthday 6 years after his death

Bourdain would have turned 68 on June 25

Bourdain Day is here.

Eric Ripert honored the late Anthony Bourdain on June 25, which would have been his 68th birthday. Bourdain committed suicide on June 8, 2018. A few weeks later, Ripert, 59, and José Andrés declared their friend’s birthday #BourdainDay and asked their fans to “take a moment to post and share their tributes and memories,” Ripert said at the time.

Now, six years later, Ripert paid tribute to his friend on Instagram by sharing a photo of himself, chef Emeril Lagasse and Andrés with Bourdain.

“WE ❤️ you, Tony… #bourdainday,” Ripert wrote in the caption.

Asia Argento, Bourdain’s girlfriend at the time of his death, also posted pictures of Bourdain in her Instagram stories.

Known for his successful television series No reservations And Parts unknown and his book Kitchen confidentialBourdain will be remembered as an inspiring chef, a master storyteller and a loyal friend.

His loved ones have spoken openly about their friendships with Bourdain in the past. In 2018, Ripert filmed Parts unknown with Bourdain when he died, PEOPLE shared a statement. “He was an extraordinary human being, so inspiring and generous,” he said.

Andrés, who had previously described his late friend as a source of inspiration for his own travel show, José Andrés and family in Spain — spoke about Bourdain in an interview with PEOPLE in 2022.

“He was a poet. He was a guy who understood the moment and was able to transform the moment into a sentence that we will remember forever,” Andrés said.

Andrew Zimmern told PEOPLE Now in September 2018 that he thinks about Bourdain “all the time.”

“Everyone wanted to be around him and he was just a symphony of a human being,” Zimmern said.

In their last conversation before Bourdain’s death, Zimmern recounted how the two chefs discussed the search for personal happiness.

“He told me to pursue my own happiness and gave a kind of long speech about how I deserve to be happy,” Zimmern said.

Related: Anthony Bourdain documentary director defends decision not to interview Asia Argento: “You can disagree”

In an episode of Andrés’ podcast Longer tables In August 2023, he and Ripert described how their friend’s death had brought them “closer together.” In the podcast, Ripert remembered Bourdain as a “very noble man” and Andrés praised Ripert for his support.

Related: Remembering Anthony Bourdain: His illustrious life and career in photos

“I remember being in Guatemala the day our friend decided to live a different, better life,” he told Ripert. “And I remember the day – I spoke to you briefly and I know you got through it like a true friend and champion because you were so close to him when all this was happening.”

“He was a very good friend of ours, of you, José, he loved you very much, a very good friend of mine, a very noble man,” replied Ripert. “And we were very lucky to have him as a friend.”

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