Remembering Floyd Cardoz at Greywind
A tribute to Dan Kluger's beloved chef and mentor
When I first met chef Dan Kluger many moons ago, he was cooking under the late great Floyd Cardoz at Tabla, the groundbreaking contemporary Indian restaurant with its beautiful Bread Bar and tart and tangy Tamarind Margaritas (I spent a lot of time with those margaritas at the Bread Bar). It was such a gorgeous and soulful restaurant, and an important one too; it paved the way for modern Indian cooking. There may never have been a Semma or a Masalawala & Sons without Floyd’s Tabla.
Dan was part of the opening team and eventually worked his way up to Chef de Cuisine, and has always spoken about the lasting impact that Chef Floyd had on him as his mentor. To honor his lifelong mentor, Dan is dedicating the next two months of his Chef’s Counter at Greywind to Floyd, who died in March 2020 from COVID-19. For both April (17th, 18th, 19th) and May (15th, 16th, 17th) installments of The Chef's Counter, Dan will be offering an six-course menu that celebrates the life of Chef Floyd and his lasting influence on American cooking.
The menu will be inspired by some of Dan’s favorite Floyd Cardoz dishes, as well some signature dishes from Tabla’s menu, including Traditional Biryani with a Greywind twist, Spring Vegetable Samosas, and a special skate dish from early on in Dan’s career that was actually one of the first times he received a “great job” from Chef Floyd.
Reservations for The Chef’s Counter are via Resy. A portion of proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to The Young Scientist Foundation founded by Floyd Cardoz.