Stars mark #BourdainDay, Anthony Bourdain's 63rd birthday, with emotional tributes

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Mike Pont/WireImage(HOLLYWOOD) — Anthony Bourdain would have been 63 today. To mark the celebrity chef’s birthday, fellow chefs Eric Ripert and Jose Andres launched “Bourdain Day,” in which they encouraged others to celebrate Bourdain, and announced a scholarship in his honor from his alma mater, The Culinary Institute of America.

The Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship will finance students’ travels abroad to deepen their appreciation and understanding of foreign cuisine.

“The career of Chef Bourdain is a testament to the great power that travel can have in a culinary education—and in a full life,” the school said in a statement.

In celebration of #BourdainDay, his estranged wife, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, shared footage of Bourdain swimming with their daughter, Ariane.

Other celebrities posting their tributes on social media include Debi Mazar, Padma Lakshmi, and Rachael Ray.

Bourdain was found dead on June 8, 2018 in a luxury hotel in the tiny village of Kaysersberg, in the Alsace region of northeast France. He appeared to have hanged himself, according to officials.

Bourdain hosted three series that married his love of travel and food: No Reservations and The Layover for the Travel Channel and Parts Unknown for CNN. Just before his death, Bourdain had been filming an episode of Parts Unknown with Ripert, his close friend.

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