Charlie Trotter, famous Chicago chef, dead at 54

CHICAGO, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Celebrity chef Charlie Trotter was found dead Tuesday morning at his Chicago home, the Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed. He was 54.

The Chicago Tribune said Trotter was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The cause of his death was not immediately determined.

The culinary icon opened Charlie Trotter's restaurant in 1987 and closed it last year.

He was named the country's Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation in 1999, and the following year, Wine Spectator magazine declared Trotter's the best restaurant in the nation.

He was presented with the James Beard Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year award in 2012.