March 25 (UPI) -- Chef Floyd Cardoz died Wednesday in New Jersey.
CNN reported the statement from Hunger Inc. Hospitality and People confirmed with a spokesperson. Cardoz was 59.
Cardoz checked into Mountainside Medical Center on March 18 with a fever. He tested positive for COVID-19.
The chef told his Instagram followers he was going to the hospital as a precautionary measure. He had flown home to New York after filming the Netflix series Ugly Delicious in India, and connected in Frankfurt, Germany.
"I was feeling feverish and hence as a precautionary measure, admitted myself into hospital in New York," Cardoz wrote. "I was hugely anxious about my state of health."
He is survived by his mother Beryl, wife and business partner Barkha and their sons Peter, 27, and Justin, 22.
Cardoz won Top Chef Masters in 2011, the show's third season. He'd opened Indian restaurants Tabla, North End Grill, Paowalla and Bombay Bread Bar in New York City. He also opened restaurants The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro and Bombay Sweet Shop in Mumbai, where he was raised.
Born in Bombay, India, Cardoz worked his way up from New York City kitchens to partnering with Union Square Hospitality Group. He authored two cookbooks: One Spice, Two Spice: American Food, Indian Flavors and Floyd Cardoz: Flavorwalla: Big Flavor, Bold Spices. A New Way to Cook the Foods You Love.
Colleagues of Cardoz posted their condolences on social media. Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi wrote, "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."
David Chang tweeted, "People may not realize it, but so much of the food you eat today was influenced by Floyd when he was the cdc at Lespinasse with the late chef Grey Kunz. "
