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Losing Chef Floyd Cardoz to Coronavirus
(A GoFundMe tribute has been set up at https://www.gofundme.com/f/remember-floyd-cardoz )
This morning we learned that we have lost that wonderful chef and human being Floyd Cardoz to Coronavirus. My eyes welled up with tears; I must have met Cardoz briefly about a dozen times over the span of 20 years – but his grace and his integrity stayed with you. That was the kind of person he was.Cardoz is survived by his mother Beryl, his wife and business partner, Barkha, and their two sons, Peter, 27, and Justin, 22.
I first met Floyd in 1999 when the wondrous Tabla had opened. In my feature in India Today, I observed, “Floyd Cardoz leads a charmed life – as celebrity chef at the New York restaurant Tabla. A full year before Tabla opened, Cardoz (who’s worked at five-star hotels in India) was the star chef at three sold-out dinners.”‘Here you can become a brand name, where people come out especially to eat the food of a particular chef,’ he mused as I sat with him in the Bread Bar at Tabla, which was like the seventh wonder of the world, with people waiting to get reservations for this new modern Indian cuisine. We were discussing how the perception of chefs had changed in India where earlier the profession had got little respect and were merely ‘cooks’.
What was intriguing about Floyd Cardoz was he never allowed himself to become a brand name or celebrity in his personal behavior. He remained unchanged with his simple, down-to-earth way of speaking and acting, no matter how many accolades he received.
From that first time in 1999 to interviewing him in the various periods of his life, his different restaurants, I got a chance to meet him several times. He was always the same – non-assuming, gentle and downplaying his celebrity.
He was the quintessential family man with his wife Barkha and two sons Justin and Peter, delighted to be at home and cooking for family and celebrating all the big days. The two had met at hospitality school and you could see the warmth and love of their relationship. He was in an intercultural marriage with Barkha, who is Sindhi and a Hindu and both Christian and Hindu festivals were celebrated with great joy. (Barkha once shared her experiences in a lovely piece for Lassi with Lavina on their celebration of Diwali.)
Floyd Cardoz cared a lot for community and actually won $110,000 on Top Chef Masters for the Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund (YSCRF) at the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He had lost his dad to cancer so had a special soft spot for this charity. His support of so many causes won him the James Beard Humanitarian of the Year Award.
I met him last at Paowalla where my son had taken us for a, family birthday celebration. I ordered Floyd’s famous Mushroom Upma, one of his signature dishes It was wonderful. – and equally wonderful was seeing Floyd cooking his food his way, interacting with and serving people – the things he loved to do most.
Floyd Cardoz – The Chef and the Man
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5 Comments
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Rovina, I agree with you – he treated everyone like a real person.
Rovina Sabnani via Facebook
I had the pleasure of meeting him he was one of the kindest people I ever met 🙏
Archana Kalro via LinkedIn
Very sad and felt close to home when I learnt of his passing yesterday! We’ve enjoyed several memorable meals with Floyd at his restaurants in New York and Mumbai. From Tabla to Pedros, it’s been two decades of many special moments that he was instrumental in creating.
Mahesh Naithani via LinkedIn
We have lost a great man of creativity and grace. Will be missed not only in New York but globally.