Chef Floyd Cardoz Dies of Coronavirus

The chef checked himself into the hospital after returning from a trip to India

Floyd Cardoz attends Cookies for Kids' Cancer Fifth Annual Chefs Benefit at Metropolitan West on March 6, 2018 in New York City.  (Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Floyd Cardoz attends Cookies for Kids' Cancer Fifth Annual Chefs Benefit at Metropolitan West on March 6, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
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Groundbreaking chef Floyd Cardoz, who was behind beloved NYC restaurants Tabla and Bombay Bread Bar, has reportedly died from the COVID-19 virus at the age of 59.

Cardoz checked himself into a hospital in New York City after returning from a trip to India on March 8 and posted to his Instagram account, noting that he was feeling feverish and admitted himself as a precautionary measure.

In addition to Tabla and his other New York restaurants, Cardoz had several restaurants in Mumbai, including the Bombay Canteen and O Pedro. After news of his death broke, tributes from other members of the culinary community began pouring in on social media.

David Chang called the late chef “criminally under-appreciated” and wrote, “Floyd was one of my earliest supporters, and he would saddle up at the old noodle bar with his sons and they would each order a bowl of spicy tripe. Feel terrible for Dan Kluger, Will Guidara and the entire Tabla alumni. He was so loved.” Pete Wells noted that Cardoz was “an exceptional talent, a chef equally at home with undiluted Indian flavors as he was with the delicious union of French, Indian and American food, a personal idiom that he invented.”

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