Michael Chiarello‘s loved ones are still looking for answers following his sudden death.
The Food Network star’s family confirmed Oct. 7 that he had died following a week of treatment for an acute allergic reaction that had led to anaphylactic shock. Now, days after his passing at age 61, medical professionals still haven’t determined what led to the severe reaction.
“The doctors don’t know what caused the allergic reaction and neither does the family,” a representative for Michael’s company Gruppo Chiarello told People on Oct. 10. “They may never know.”
Before his death, Michael was a cornerstone of the culinary entertainment industry for decades. After getting his start in 1999 on PBS’ cooking series Season by Season, he moved over to the Food Network in 2003. There, he embarked on what would become a ten-season run of Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello, later competing on episodes of the network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate and The Next Iron Chef as well as Bravo‘s Top Chef Masters.
Prior to his TV debut, Michael was named Chef of the Year by Food & Wine Magazine in 1985, founded Chiarello Family Vineyards in 1999 and released a number of cookbooks.
