Celebrated Chef Maxcel Hardy Has Died at 40

Maxcel Hardy, the Detroit native who rose to fame cooking for athletes and stars in Miami and New York, and went on to build a reputation as one of the most prominent Black chefs in his hometown, died March 4.

“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,” said David Rudolph, his longtime publicist, in a written statement early Tuesday morning.

Rudolph says the the last time he spoke with Hardy was Friday, March 1 at the Jack Daniel’s DJ Quik Art & Lyric event at Eastern Market. Hardy was expected to join a crew of other Detroit chefs this week at the Charleston Food and Wine Festival, an annual event that draws chefs from all over the country for cooking demos, classes, and networking.

Hardy was born in Detroit but relocated with his family to Tampa, Florida, where he was enrolled in a culinary arts program at Wharton High School. His career led him to work as a personal chef in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York. His clientele included hip hop and R&B artists, along with New York Knicks superstar Amar’e Stoudemire (with whom he collaborated on a cookbook), according to a 2016 Metro Times article.

In 2017, he returned to his native Detroit with ambitions to open his first restaurant, River Bistro, which blended his family’s Bahamian and “low country” roots. He opened the place in the Rosedale Park neighborhood, receiving praise for building an inviting and casual, yet well-executed dining establishment in a neighborhood, rather than opening within the greater downtown area.

The restaurant shuttered two years later, but by then Hardy had opened Coop, a Caribbean chicken food stall within the Detroit Shipping Company. In 2020, he took on another venture, a franchise location for the Ohio-based pizza chain Jed’s. Over the years, he also planned to launch several other food and drink establishments, including What’s Crackin’, his long-anticipated neighborhood takeout restaurant devoted to boiled, fried, and grilled seafood that was supposed to open ahead of the NFL Draft this spring on the Avenue of Fashion.

In 2019, Hardy was recognized in the New York Times as one of the 16 top Black chefs in America, along with fellow Detroiter Kiki Louya. He had his own line of spices called Chef Max, co-authored the Marley Coffee Cookbook, and was a frequent collaborator with chefs throughout the city’s food community. In February, Hardy was among 30 Black male chefs to participate in the Black Excellence Culinary Symphony in celebration of Black History Month (Black Excellence Culinary Symphony), held at chef Omar Mitchell’s restaurant Table No. 2 in Greektown, according to the Detroit News.

Hardy was also known for his community work, combatting childhood food insecurity. In 2020, he, along with chefs from Bangkok 96 Street Food, the Block, and Kuzzo’s Chicken & Waffles, joined forces to feed Detroiters experiencing homelessness for the Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen for Good initiative, run by chef Phil Jones, in partnership with Rudolph’s D. Ericson & Associates and the Neighborhood Service Organization. He also worked closely with high school culinary students from Detroit Public Schools Community District.

The cause of his death was not immediately shared as of Tuesday morning. According to the News, he is survived by two daughters. “Chef Max’s family is asking Detroit to keep them in their thoughts, prayers and privacy as they process this tragic loss,” Rudolph said.