Coronavirus Takes Another Big Name

Floyd Cardoz, 59, was a Top Chef Masters winner and a legend in New York City
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 25, 2020 12:52 PM CDT
Renowned Chef Dies of Coronavirus
Floyd Cardoz, in a screen grab from a video in which he talks about his passion for cooking.   (YouTube/New York Times)

The coronavirus has claimed another prominent name. Renowned chef Floyd Cardoz, 59, has died of complications from the virus in a New Jersey hospital, reports People. Two notable claims to fame: Cardoz won Top Chef Masters in 2011, and he opened what Eater NY calls "one of New York’s greatest restaurants"—Tabla. It was an Indian fine-dining restaurant that earned three stars from the New York Times during its run from 1998 to 2010. Cardoz was born in Bombay, India, and he opened several establishments in both his native country and the US. In addition to Tabla, they include the Bombay Bread Bar and North End Grill in New York City.

In an Instagram post earlier this month, Cardoz wrote that he began feeling feverish after flying into New York City on March 8 (he had been in Mumbai), and he admitted himself to the hospital. He also apologized "for causing undue panic" with a previous post about his health, but explained that he "was hugely anxious about my state of health." After the hospitality company he founded, The Hunger Inc., put out a statement Wednesday confirming his death, tributes began to surface. "Nobody who lived in NY in the early aughts could forget how delicious and packed Tabla always was," wrote Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi. "He had an impish smile, an innate need to make those around him happy, and a delicious touch." (More coronavirus stories.)

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