Spanish chef Felipe Diaz Zamora shot dead in Mexico.

Leading Spanish chef Felipe Diaz Zamora has been shot dead in Mexico.

According to local media, the bloodied body of chef Felipe Antonio Diaz Zamora, 43, was discovered in the city of Tijuana in the north-western Mexican state of Baja California where he had lived for several years, according to the state’s attorney general’s office.

Reports said that the Spaniard’s lifeless body was found on 5th January at around 7pm in an area of wasteland.

The victim’s body had three gunshot wounds, one to the head and two to the spine, and was found between a fence and a burning vehicle just in front of a house he planned to move into with his family and which was located in the neighbourhood of Colinas del Sol, according to local media.

At the moment, the local authorities do not consider the alleged murder to be related to gang activity, robbery or even because of his Spanish nationality.

Prosecutor Enrique Javier Sanchez Serrano said that images from the scene have been analysed and “from what we know so far” there is a “very low probability that it was an assault” but rather “a personal matter”.

The victim worked as a chef at the Vamonos de Tapas restaurant in Tijuana where he had been residing for several years, according to reports.

The restaurant’s Facebook has since been filled with messages of condolences from people who knew him.

The investigation into Diaz Zamora’s death is ongoing. It is unclear if any arrests have been made. It is also currently unclear when the photograph of the chef posing with Gordon Ramsay was taken and on what occasion.

In the photograph, Ramsay can be seen wearing sports attire, complete with a Union Jack pair of pants, and he and the late chef appear to be standing in front of a boxing ring.

In an interview with Playboy in 2011, the famously foul-mouthed British chef once said that he had a black belt in karate and that he “loved boxing.”