Chef Floyd Cardoz, who competed on Top Chef, has died of complications from coronavirus, his company has said.
The 59-year-old had travelled from Mumbai to New York through Frankfurt, Germany, on March 8.
He was admitted a week ago to Mountainside Medical Centre in Montclair, New Jersey, with a fever and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19, the statement said.
Bravo and the #TopChef family are deeply saddened by the passing of Chef Floyd Cardoz. He was an inspiration to chefs around the world and we offer our deepest sympathy to his family and friends. https://t.co/HRJVKsApA3
— Bravo Top Chef All Stars LA (@BravoTopChef) March 25, 2020
The committed advocate of making the food industry more sustainable began his hospitality training in his native Bombay.
He later moved to Switzerland, where he honed his skills in French, Italian and Indian cuisine before moving on to the kitchens of New York City.
He was a partner in Bombay Sweet Shop, O Pedro and The Bombay Canteen in India at the time of his death.
The Indian-American partnered with famed restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group to open Tabla in 1997. The Manhattan spot was praised by critics. It closed in 2010.
Cardoz’s death was mourned by famous friends in both the restaurant and television industries.
Love you so much @floydcardoz
— Danny Meyer (@dhmeyer) March 25, 2020
“Love you so much @floydcardoz,” Meyer tweeted, calling him a “beautiful human being”.
The two worked together for 17 years. At Tabla, they celebrated Cardoz’s new Indian cuisine that combined the flavours and spices of his homeland with Western techniques.
Padma Lakshmi, host of the Bravo cooking competition series Top Chef, praised the success of Tabla and offered condolences to Cardoz’s loved ones, including his wife and business partner, Barkha.
“He had an impish smile, an innate need to make those around him happy, and a delicious touch,” Lakshmi tweeted.
.@floydcardoz made us all so proud. Nobody who lived in NY in the early aughts could forget how delicious and packed Tabla always was. He had an impish smile, an innate need to make those around him happy, and a delicious touch. This is a huge loss… pic.twitter.com/Q6eRVIpZkL
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) March 25, 2020
The Twitter account for Top Chef offered condolences and called Cardoz an “inspiration to chefs around the world”.
In 2011, Cardoz competed in and won Season three of Top Chef Masters. He used his winnings to support the Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
The now-independent foundation, referred to as the Young Scientist Foundation, enables high school and college students to work alongside accomplished researchers to develop new treatments for diseases, according to a spokesperson for Cardoz’s company. It was a central focus of his charity work.