Floyd Cardoz

Floyd Cardoz attended culinary school in Mumbai, India, and then The Global Hospitality Management School at Les Roches in Switzerland to broaden his knowledge of international cuisines. He moved to New York City in 1988 and, four years later, started working under Chef Gray Kunz at Lespinasse, where he worked his way from chef de partie to executive sous chef. In 1997, he left to work with Union Square Hospitality Group, for which he opened groundbreaking, fine-dining Indian restaurant Tabla, and later El Verano Taquería and North End Grill. In 2014, he left the Grill to open White Street, where he was the consulting executive chef in its first year.

In 2015, Cardoz returned home to open his first restaurant in Mumbai, The Bombay Canteen, which rose to local and international acclaim. In summer 2016, Cardoz returned to New York and opened Paowalla in New York’s Soho neighborhood, focusing on small plates to redefine approachable Indian cuisine. In 2018, he closed Paowalla, redesigned it with a more casual, festive atmosphere, and reopened it as Bombay Bread Bar.

In summer 2012, Cardoz won season 3 of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters.” He donated his winnings to the Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund at The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He has received the James Beard Award for “Humanitarian of the Year” in honor of his continued commitment to community engagement. In 2011, Cardoz was named among the “Top 50 Most Influential Global Indians” by GQ Magazine.