By DON BABWIN
In this Dec. 30, 2011 photo, renowned chef Charlie Trotter poses for a photo in the dining room of his restaurant in Chicago. Trotter died Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, a year after closing his namesake Chicago restaurant that was credited with putting his city at the vanguard of the food world and training dozens of the nation’s top chefs. He was 54. (AP Photo/Sun-Times Media, Rich Hein) MANDATORY CREDIT, MAG OUT
CHICAGO (AP) — The wife of Charlie Trotter said doctors discovered the acclaimed chef had an aneurysm months before he died and that he’d been taking medicine to control seizures, his blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Trotter was declared dead Tuesday at a Chicago hospital after paramedics found him unresponsive in his home. An autopsy conducted Wednesday ruled out foul play or trauma, but the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said an exact cause of death could not be determined until toxicology tests and other tests are completed. It could take up to eight weeks.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Rochelle Trotter said the aneurysm was discovered in January and that doctors had prescribed the “proper medication.”
According to a police report obtained by the AP, Trotter’s family said shortly after his death that the chef had flown to Wyoming “against doctor’s advice.”
Rochelle Trotter disputed those suggestions, saying “medical experts” cleared him to travel and that he’d returned Monday night from his most recent trip. She also said “the autopsy indicates the travel is not connected with his death.”
Trotter closed his world-renowned restaurant in 2012, saying he planned to study philosophy. But a friend of his, Larry Stone, has said that Trotter’s health may have played a role in his decision to close the eatery after a quarter-century.
