We are thrilled to announce that Chef Floyd Cardoz, winner of Top Chef Masters, will be joining us at Konkani Sammelan 2012!

Floyd Cardoz is the Executive Chef and Partner of North End Grill, the forthcoming restaurant from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group. Located in Manhattan's Battery Park City, North End Grill will be a neighborhood gathering place for the residents of BPC and downtown communities, as well as the business people who work in the financial district and other nearby areas. The menu will feature the seasonal dishes of Chef Floyd and have an emphasis on seafood.

Before embarking on this new restaurant, Floyd was the executive chef of Tabla, a groundbreaking restaurant serving New Indian cuisine cooked with the sensual flavors and spices of his native land. With Floyd at the helm, Tabla received numerous accolades including a three-star review from The New York Times. The restaurant also spawned an entirely new category of modern Indian restaurants across the country and internationally. After 12 incredibly rewarding years, Tabla closed its doors in December 2010.

Floyd began his career in his native Bombay, where he attended culinary school and interned in the kitchen of the Taj Mahal Intercontinental Hotel. To further his classic culinary technique, Floyd moved to Switzerland, and spent his days at the hotel management and culinary school, Les Roches. Floyd later moved to New York, and worked under Chef Gary Kunz of the venerable Lespinasse. During his seven years at the world-renowned restaurant, he rose from Chef de Partie to Executive Sous Chef.

In 2006, Floyd wrote his first cookbook, One Spice, Two Spice (Clarkson Potter). In 2009, he launched a line of meals for online grocer Fresh Direct. He is also the consulting chef for El Verano Taqueria located at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.

Actively engaged in the community beyond the walls of his restaurants, Floyd received the "Humanitarian Award of the Year Award" from Share Our Strength in 2007. In 2011, Floyd received the title of Top Chef on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters series, winning the grand prize of $100,000 for his designated charity of choice, the Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

We are honored to have such an accomplished, talented Konkani chef join us at Konkani Sammelan 2012!