Congratulating the Top Chef Master: Curtis Stone, Gael Greene, Ruth Reichl, James Oseland with Floyd Cardoz -- Photo by: Nicole Wilder/Bravo
Top Chef Master – Floyd Cardoz
He did it! Floyd Cardoz is the new Top Chef Master and has won $1i0,000 to support his favorite charity, the Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund (YSCRF) at the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
This grueling competition on Bravo had 12 award winning chefs competing for the title, participating in elimination style challenges. In each episode, money was at stake, and Cardoz, who is the former executive chef/partner of Tabla, pulled it off.
Floyd Cardoz Wins $110,000 for Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund
“Top Chef Masters is a very popular show,” said Cardoz. “ I cooked in my style with passion and care, for every episode I was in. I did utilize ingredients that were from the Indian subcontinent. I also used ingredients and techniques that were not.
I stayed true to who I am, by caring for the other chefs and the food I put up. The competition was very intense and required tremendous amount of concentration and agility. Ultimately it was me competing for my charity – Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund, as it was for all the other chefs.” Winning the big bucks for cancer research has to be sweet, since Cardoz had lost his father to cancer.
“It was a very difficult competition – the toughest part was that it was very long – doing 11 episodes was not easy,’ he recalls. “I feel very proud because it helped raise money for my charity. It was amazing!”
The accolades have been coming thick and fast, and as many Cardoz fans have said, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. As he wrote on his Facebook page: “So the underdog wins some times. Thanks for the support and wishes. This is for all my guests and employees.”
Asked how he celebrated the big win, he said he partied with his family, friends and employees. His comment on Facebook said it all, “Woke up with a hangover. That’s what a magnum of Dom does to you when you celebrate a #TopChefMasters win. I welcome this headache any time!”
Floyd Cardoz with Mary Sue Milliken and Traci Des Jardins. Photo: Nicole Wilder/Bravo
Cardoz certainly has a lot to celebrate: there’s a lot of goodies on his plate – El Verano Taqueria, where he is consulting chef, is opening a second branch in Washington Dc. The first location is Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.
And watch out for the opening in November of North End Grill, the new restaurant from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, where Cardoz will be executive chef and whipping up more culinary magic. “North End Grill will be a neighborhood restaurant,” he says. “We will feature the freshest seafood from the Atlantic. It will also feature many local fruits and vegetables. I will showcase the beauty of our ingredients. We are hoping to grill most of our food and do that with passion and love.”
That’s the Top Chef Master talking!
Wild Mushroom Upma by Floyd Cardoz. Photo Nicole Wilder/Bravo
Rice Flecked Snapper & tomato Fennel broth by Floyd Cardoz, Top Chef Master
Redang Two Ways by Floyd Cardoz
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