Charlie Trotter Autopsy Was Inconclusive

An autopsy performed Wednesday on celebrated chef Charlie Trotter was inconclusive, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. There were no signs of trauma or foul play.

"At the discretion of the Medical Examiner, additional tests, including a toxicology analysis, will be conducted before a final cause and manner of death is issued. Those tests are expected to take six-to-eight weeks to complete," according to a statement from the office.

WBEZ reported that Trotter had an aneurysm in his brain and weak arteries that he'd know about for several years.

Trotter, whose eponymous Lincoln Park restaurant changed the Chicago culinary scene and helped establish the city as a foodie haven, died Tuesday. He was 54.

The Chicago Tribune says that Trotter's son found him unresponsive in their home in the 1800 block of North Dayton.

The restaurant's Facebook page was filled with condolences as news spread.

One post reads: "We love you Charlie! You shall be terribly missed by all those who truly appreciated you genius and what you contributed to our culinary world!"

Another reads: "I worked in Charlie's kitchen...I am better for having done it...I am sorry..RIP Chef..."

Charlie Trotter's was a pioneer in fine dining in Chicago and the restaurant won many awards and accolades. According to the restaurant website, it won 11 James Beard Foundation awards, including 'Outstanding Restaurant' in 2000 and 'Outstanding Chef' in 1999. Trotter himself won 'Humanitarian of The Year" award in 2012. The restaurant closed last year.

His restaurant hosted an impromptu candlelight vigil Tuesday, organized by fellow chefs in front of his shuttered Armitage Avenue restaurant and spoke about Trotter as a chef who changed the Chicago culinary scene, as a mentor and as a philanthropist. Trotter closed the 25-year-old restaurant last year.

Chicago Magazine calls the self-taught Trotter, "Chicago’s most famous, revered, groundbreaking, and feared chef."