Top Chef Masters Winner Floyd Cardoz Is Dead At 59 Due To Coronavirus Issues

CBS This Morning Floyd Cardoz CBS
(Image credit: CBS This Morning Screenshot)

We have some tragic news out of the coronavirus pandemic today. Floyd Cardoz, who won the third season of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters has died from coronavirus complications. Cardoz was 59-years-old. The sad news has been confirmed by his family.

Floyd Cardoz was hospitalized in New Jersey on March 18 due to his feeling feverish, per Deadline. The Top Chef Masters winner’s passing comes just a week later. Cordoz had tested positive for the coronavirus (Covid-19) on the day he was admitted to the hospital. A week ago, Cordoz had published this Instagram post to update his followers:

A photo posted by on

What started off as a precautionary measure did, indeed, end up resulting in Floyd Cardoz testing positive for the coronavirus. At the time of his admission, his central issue was feeling feverish. A week after taking action over his symptoms, the Top Chef Masters star has passed away. It is unclear if pneumonia was the complication that caused Cardoz’s tragic death.

The news of Floyd Cardoz’s untimely passing from the coronavirus comes a year after the Top Chef family lost Fatima Ali to cancer at the age of 29. Now, Top Chef is mourning the loss of Cardoz, who won Top Chef Masters back in 2011, during Season 3. The runners-up that season were Mary Sue Milliken and Traci Des Jardins.

Floyd Cardoz leaves behind his mother, wife, and two sons. At the time of his passing, Cardoz was co-owner of three Mumbai restaurants – the Bombay Canteen, O Pedro, and the Bombay Sweet Shop, per Scroll.in. He was also a guest on CBS This Morning as pictured above and put in an appearance on a Season 2 episode of Netflix’s Ugly Delicious.

Fast forward and, sadly, coronavirus-related issues have claimed the life of Floyd Cardoz. His death comes following yesterday’s news of another passing related to the pandemic. Tony Award and Emmy winner Terrence McNally died at 81 from complications due to his diagnosis.

Floyd Cardoz’s shocking death also comes amid other celebrities’ public acknowledgment that they have been diagnosed. Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, shared they had tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) on March 12. The Bachelor’s Colton Underwood and Game of Thrones veterans Indira Varma and Kristofer Hivju are also among those to be diagnosed with the coronavirus in the television realm.

Other celebrities have tested positive, too, but Floyd Cardoz’s death is a sad reminder of what the virus can do. A former Walking Dead star recently relayed an upsetting story regarding his attempt to get tested once he feared he had contracted the illness. It would seem that Floyd Cardoz’s diagnosis was made a relatively short time after he entered the hospital, but, unfortunately, it was not enough.

News of Floyd Cardoz’s passing comes as measures are being taken to prevent the spread of the potentially deadly virus, as many people are now practicing tactics such as social distancing and self-isolation (along with better hand-washing techniques) to try and control the virus. Nine years after thrilling Top Chef Masters and winning the show, Floyd Cardoz has left quite an amazing legacy behind. We at CinemaBlend send condolences to his family and loved ones.

Britt Lawrence

Like a contented Hallmark movie character, Britt happily lives in the same city she grew up in. Along with movies and television, she is passionate about competitive figure skating. She has been writing about entertainment for 5 years, and as you may suspect, still finds it as entertaining to do as when she began.