'Hell's Kitchen' Chef Paul Giganti Found Dead At 36

Brooklyn-born chef Paul Giganti, 36 — former contestant on Hell's Kitchen and proprietor of the restaurant Birra — was found dead in his home in Philadelphia Friday morning. The cause of death is unknown at this point.

"It hasn't been deemed a homicide at this time," a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department told Radar. "When you are dealing with someone of Mr. Giganti's age, uniformed police do routinely come out, if it's apparent his death was caused by another, then the homicide unit would get involved. We are going to have to wait for the autopsy to see what happened."

Giganti competed on the 16th season of the cooking reality show hosted by Gordon Ramsay. He was known for his tough Brooklyn attitude and was the third runner-up by the show's finale.

"I just enjoy cooking," he said in a previous interview with My Take On TV. "This is something I've been doing since I was a kid. I grew up humble; I didn't have the luxury of not working. It's just part and parcel of who I am."

The Daily Meal has reached out to Fox Networks and Gordon Ramsay for comment and will update this story when more information is known.