(CBS DETROIT) – Detroit native and celebrity chef Maxcel Hardy has died. He was 40 years old.
“His family is asking for Detroit’s prayers and privacy as they process this tragic loss,” said publicist David Rudolph. “Chef Max was more than a client, he was a dear friend. We have lost one of the most celebrated and promising Black chefs from Detroit who was recognized nationally as one of the top Black Chefs changing food in America.”
Hardy earned his culinary degree from Johnson and Wales University in Miami and spent time working as a private chef for celebrity clients in Miami and New York, which included New York Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire.
This prompted the release of his first cookbook, “Cooking with Amar’e: 100 Easy Recipes for Pros and Rookies in the Kitchen.” He was also a contestant on Food Network’s “Chopped” series.
Hardy returned to Detroit in 2016 and opened River Bistro in Detroit’s Rosedale Park neighborhood in 2017. After that, he opened a Caribbean Fusion restaurant called Coop, located in the Detroit Shipping Company and Jed’s Detroit, a carryout restaurant that served pizza, burgers, wings and more.
He was a chef known for giving back to the community. In 2011, he founded One Chef Can 86 Hunger, an organization that helps fight the hunger crisis in America by educating people about living a healthy lifestyle in a cost-effective way. It also provides programs for students in inner-city communities to learn more about culinary arts, according to Hardy’s website.
