Charlie Trotter, Member of the Holland America Culinary Council, Passes Away

charlie trotterChicago-based chef Charlie Trotter was pronounced dead today at age 54.

Trotter died in Chicago after being taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed tomorrow at the Medical Examiner’s office.

Trotter was a member of the Holland America Culinary Council, and he closed his Chicago restaurant last year after deciding to return to school to study philosophy. His restaurant was awarded 11 James Beard Foundation awards among other honors in its 25 years of operation, including Wine Spectator magazine’s “America’s Best Restaurant” for 2000. Trotter also opened restaurants in Las Vegas and in Los Cabos, Mexico.

In addition, Trotter wrote more than a dozen cookbooks and hosted “The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter” on PBS.