PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia chef who competed on the reality TV cooking show “Hell’s Kitchen” was found dead in his home on Thursday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Paulie Giganti died of an accidental drug overdose, according to the paper. He was 36. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s office did not say what type of drug was involved.
Giganti competed on the Fox reality show’s 16th season last year. He had worked as a chef for five years at a South Philadelphia restaurant called Birra.
Police officers were called to Giganti’s home by a neighbor who smelled a foul odor, according to TMZ.
Arriving officers found the door wide open and his body sprawled on the floor of his bedroom.
“I’ll miss him,” said Gordon Dinerman, the owner of Birra. “He brought a consistency to our product which is why we are still around. We did a little bit better than a lot of people because of him.”
