Famous Chicago Chef Homaro Cantu Found Dead at the Age of 38

Famous chef Homaro Cantu, who was known for his creativity, was found dead on Tuesday afternoon, authorities and a business partner reported. He was 38.

"I'm saddened, I'm broken up," said Trevor Rose-Hamblin, Cantu's brewer and former Moto general manager. "This guy was my best friend. He was going to be my business partner."

According to police sources via the Chicago Tribune, Cantu was found hanging inside of the building where he had planned on opening a brewery at around 1 p.m. The building is located in the 4400 block of West Montrose Avenue.

The police are investigating the death as a suicide. The autopsy, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office, was scheduled for Wednesday.

Cantu was known for his molecular gastronomy and gained fame through his unusual but extremely innovative menu items. Some of these items included edible menus and carbonated fruit.

"Homaro was more than a chef. He was a scientist," Giuseppe Tentori, the chef at GT Fish & Oyster told the Chicago Sun-Times. "That's why he always came up with goofy and funny ways to eat food.

Cantu's inspiration came from his family's homelessness. He had said previously that his ambition was to help find a way to solve world issues, particularly hunger.

"I was just taught very early that if I didn't solve problems, I was headed for a very dark path," Cantu said in 2012. "Problems were everywhere. Now even if there are no problems, I look for problems. I'm like, you know what? I don't like the way this spoon works. I want to design a new spoon. Or I don't like the way my phone integrates with my desktop. ... I want to come in and talk to my computer."

Cantu moved to Chicago in the 90s to learn under world-renowned chef Charlie Trotter. He then opened his own restaurant, the Michelin-starred Moto restaurant, in 2004.

Cantu is survived by his wife, Katie McGowan and their two young daughters.