Wayne Resident, Celebrity Chef Floyd Cardoz Dies Of Coronavirus

WAYNE, NJ — Celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz, who brought the cuisine of his native India to new heights in the U.S. — and counted former president Bill Clinton among his fans — is only the latest victim to succumb to the coronavirus.

Cardoz passed away Tuesday due to complications from Covid-19, his family confirmed to Indian news site Scroll.in. He was 59 years old. He died while being treated at Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, CNN reported.

Next to Tony-award-winning playwright Terrence McNally, Cardoz is the most high-profile coronavirus death to date.

While Cardoz owned and operated several restaurants, first in New York City and now in Mumbai, he lived a quieter life in Wayne, New Jersey with his wife and two children, according to Raj Pardasani, a Secaucus resident and businessman who knew Cardoz socially. Both Pardasani and Cardoz grew up in Mumbai and they both attended St. Andrews High School, a prestigious Catholic school in Mumbai.

"I am in shock," said Pardasani. "I woke up this morning to see on our WhatsApp group of friends that he has died. I follow him on Instagram and he posted March 18 he wasn't feeling well and had a slight fever, and was going to be admitted to a hospital. Now he died on March 25. This was what, after six or seven days?"

Cardoz is best know for Tabla, an Indian fusion restaurant he operated in Union Square with fellow celebrity chef Danny Meyer. He also ran Pao Walla in SoHo and Bombay Bread Bar, also in Manhattan.

At 57, Pardasani was two years behind Cardoz in high school back in India. Pardasani said he was closer with Cardoz's younger brother, Kim Cardoz.

"(Floyd) studied biochemistry in school, but the culinary world was always calling him. I know his parents were not for it; they said 'be a biochemist,'" recalled Pardasani.

Cardoz didn't listen. He emigrated to America, where he had a dream: To introduce the world to the flavors of his native Goa, where he had spent time growing up as a boy.

Cardoz got his big break when he came to the U.S. He met Meyer and together he and Meyer opened Tabla. Tabla became known nationwide for its groundbreaking approach to Indian cuisine.

"Nobody who lived in NY in the early aughts could forget how delicious and packed Tabla always was," tweeted Indian-American model and "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi on Wednesday after learning he had died.

Cardoz and Meyer then opened North End Grill together, and Cardoz also wrote several cookbooks; "One Spice, Two Spice" went on to become a New York Times bestseller. He also was the winner of “Top Chef Masters” Season 3.

At the time of his death, Cardoz owned three restaurants in India: Bombay Canteen, O Pedro and was in the process of opening a street fare-style eatery called Bombay Sweet Shop, said Pardasani.

"The thing most Americans don't know is that in India his restaurants are so good that you need reservations two to three months ahead of time to get in," said Pardasani.

"He was a very passionate, very intense man," said Pardasani. "Very passionate about his cooking. He required all his breads to be made in house, and he was very particular about where he sourced his spices from. He hand-picked all his own vegetables. He wanted to show people the cooking of Goa, which is very unique."

"I'm just stunned," said Pardasani.

Cardoz had just recently returned from India earlier this March when he fell ill. CNN reported that Cardoz had been in India filming a Netflix series, "Ugly Delicious" with actor Aziz Ansari. Cardoz posted the below to Instagram when he was first admitted to the hospital.