Popular inventor, entrepreneur, and chef, known for his use of molecular gastronomy, Homaro Cantu, was found dead on Tuesday afternoon. He was 38.
The celebrity chef owned and operated Cantu Designs Firm and Moto resturaunt in Chicago. Chicago Tribune reported that Cantu was found hanging inside a building in the 4400 block of West Montrose Avenue, Chicago, where the chef was planning to open a brewery soon.
The autopsy report from the Cook County medical examiner's office indicated the cause of death as asphyxiation by hanging and ruled it a suicide. However, Cantu did not leave any suicide note and his sudden death still remains a mystery as the chef was not suffering from depression or any mental illness as well.
Cantu is survived by his wife, Katie McGowan and two young daughters. McGowan has acknowledged that they were facing minor financial issues but Cantu was always upbeat and hopeful about the issue.
Cantu will be remembered as an innovator who loved blending science with cooking as he served his customers with never-heard-before offerings like edible menus and carbonated fruit. He had introduced a miracle berry fruit that when eaten, tricks the mind that something sour is actually sweet.
Apart from providing a fine dining experience to its customers, Cantu had bigger ambitions of solving world's hunger problem with the help of science. He started an aeroponic farm in Moto's basement where he was experimenting to produce synthetic meat and vegan eggs. His fantasises ranged everything from battling hunger with air-dropped edible leaflets to delivering food to astronauts on Mars, ABC News reported.
Cantu often credited his innovative thinking in culinary field to his childhood struggles. The co-host of Discovery's 2010 show "Future Food" was reportedly once homeless and had experienced hunger and poverty at an young age.