Remembering the legacy of Detroit chef Maxcel Hardy

Detroit mourns award-winning chef and community leader Maxcel Hardy, who died unexpectedly at age 40.

This week, Detroit is mourning the loss of award-winning chef Maxcel Hardy, who died on Monday. Hardy’s family announced the 40-year-old chef’s passing.  

“The family is asking Detroit for prayers and privacy at this time,” David Rudolph, the family’s spokesperson, told The Detroit News without disclosing the cause of Hardy’s death. 

While the circumstances remain unknown, the chef’s death was reportedly unexpected. According to Rudolph, Hardy was preparing for the opening of his new restaurant, What’s Crackin’. The chef was also looking forward to the NFL draft coming to Detroit as it would shine a spotlight on his hometown’s culinary scene and hopefully bring in a new audience. 

Hardy’s journey into culinary leadership began in Miami, where he graduated from Johnson & Wales University. From there, he worked with celebrity clients and in kitchens throughout Miami and New York City before finally landing back in his hometown of Detroit. Upon his return, he opened the now-closed River Bistro in Rosedale Park in 2017 before going on to lead Coop Detroit and Jed’s Detroit. 

Through the years, Hardy built a reputation for infusing a unique fusion of Caribbean flavors, especially those from Jamaica, into his dishes and sauces. This led him to share some of his culinary expertise through cookbooks like “Cooking with Amar’e [Stoudemire]: 100 Easy Recipes for Pros and Rookies in the Kitchen” and “The Marley Coffee Cookbook,” co-written with Rohan  Marley. Hardy also created a spice collection, Chef Max Signature Spices. 

With over 20 years of experience, Hardy gathered numerous accolades, including competing on Food Network’s “Chopped,” recognition as one of The Detroit News’ Michiganians of the Year in 2021, and a coveted spot on The New York Times’ “16 Black chefs changing food in America” list in 2019.  Nevertheless, even with the awards and recognition, Chef Hardy’s pride and joy reportedly came from helping his community. In Detroit, the chef was known for his commitment to fighting the national hunger crisis through his work in nonprofits like the Horatio Williams Foundation, the I AM Hope Foundation and Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen For Good.  

“I guess it kind of comes from me being a kid and sometimes going without, so now I just want to make sure if anybody’s hungry, we’re going to feed them,” Hardy told The Detroit News. “But also teaching kids how to do the same thing and understand how food grows, where it comes from, how to spend money and how to save and do this with their family.” 

Understanding the growing impact of the hunger crisis, Hardy established One Chef Can 86 Hunger, a nonprofit providing resources for communities to learn and maintain a cost-effective, healthy lifestyle. 

“One Chef Can 86 Hunger wants to be the change,” its website reads. “Feeding the Community brings us one step closer to ending the hunger epidemic in our neighborhoods. We want to give children and their families viable information that will help them every day.”

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