Homaro Cantu dies at 38

Acclaimed chef Homaro Cantu found dead due to an apparent suicide!

Cantu as a chef had gained international recognition for creating delicious cuisine with the help of scientific technology in a fine dining experience at his restaurant Moto. On Tuesday the body of the chef was discovered in a building on the Northwest side where he had planned to open a brewery.

According to authorities at 1 pm in the 4400 block of West Montrose Avenue, Cantu was found dead in the building hanging and his death is being considered a suicide. According to Chicago Tribune, the autopsy of Cantu’s body was set to take place on Wednesday and no other incriminating evidence has been found yet.

The 38 year old chef’s ambition was to solve the problem of hunger with the help of food and science. Cantu had earned praise with his incredible expertise on edible menus containing carbonated fruits and a fish serving which was cooked in a polymer box.

Cantu had even established an aeroponic farm in the basement of his restaurant Moto where he worked towards creating synthetic meat and vegan eggs. 

Cantu worked with acclaimed chef Charlie Trotter for four years and then opened his own restaurant Moto in 2004. Cantu’s friends used to call him ‘Omar’ and one of his friends and former Moto general manager Trevor Rose-Hamblin described Cantu’s death as sad and breaking.

In 2012 Cantu told the Tribune he is a problem solver and grew up that way and he knows if he doesn’t solve problems then he is headed towards a very dark path. 

Recently during the last month Cantu had become embroiled in a lawsuit by one of Moto’s investors Alexander Espalin and another restaurant iNG in which Cantu was accused of using the restaurant’s earning for personal gains such as travel and research and having used recipes from the other restaurant.