David Rudolph always remembered Chef Maxcel Hardy wearing a smile on his face.
Even on bad days, he would greet and talk to people like nothing was wrong, his smile infectious.
“It was kinda like a Magic Johnson sort of thing. He just had that look, that little twinkle he always had,” Hardy’s friend and publicist said. “If he was having a bad day, it wasn’t something that he threw at your feet. He was that kind of guy.”
Now, Hardy and his smile is gone from Detroit’s food scene. The restaurateur, known for his numerous locations, high-profile customers and community service, died Monday at the age of 40, Rudolph confirmed. The cause of death was not immediately known.
The Detroit native dabbled in a little bit of everything in the culinary scene. Hardy was the owner of COOP Caribbean Fusion inside Detroit Shipping Company in the Cass Corridor as well as pizza and burger joint Jed’s Detroit on the east side.
The chef’s culinary skills took him around the country with stints in Miami and New York, cooking for high-profile celebrities including basketball coach and former NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire. Hardy also achieved national acclaim when he was included in The New York Times’ list of “16 Black Chefs Changing Food in America” in 2019.
Locally, he was named one of The Detroit News’ Michiganians of the Year and a Detroit Free Press Food Fighter, both in 2021, for his work feeding others during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Hardy didn’t care about the accolades and being in the spotlight, Rudolph said. He cared more about what he created on the plate.
“He understood that connection people have with food and healthy eating and the beauty of it and how it truly is comfort,” Rudolph said. “To have one of his dishes, that cross between southern soul meets Caribbean style and then his culinary French training style all collided into one here in Detroit.”
Council President Pro Tem James Tate led a moment of silence at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Tate said they attended the same church, and his first restaurant was in District 1, which Tate represents.
“He had a major impact on the local culinary world. We’ll definitely miss him,” he said.
“We lost a giant in our community,” added Kai Bowman, COO of Metro Detroit Black Business Alliance.
Bowman said Hardy was recommended as a vendor for the NFL Draft, and there will be some kind of representation for him at the event in April.
Chef Omar Mitchell said Hardy was not only a great chef but a dear friend who attempted to change the culinary landscape for the brown and Black communities in Detroit. The two worked together last month for the “Black Excellence Culinary Symphony,” a seven-course dinner hosted by Mitchell that featured 23 Black male chefs.
“He truly cared about people and truly wanted to help,” he said. “I’m glad that we were able to host and execute the ‘Black Symphony’ event because that was history in the making in the city of Detroit.”
Chef Jermond Booze also worked with Hardy at the event. He said Hardy created a presence in Detroit around his food and was impactful in the community.
“He enjoyed cooking, he enjoyed being around his peers, he enjoyed community,” Booze said. “And those are three big components of who he is from what I know about him.”
He said it was a sad day for himself and his chef friends, who were all shocked to hear about Hardy’s passing.
“It’s sad on multiple levels – he did so much great work and also because he was a young man,” Booze said. “It’s really jarring for everybody.”
Regina Gaines, owner of the House of Pure Vin wine shop, said Hardy was “one of a kind,” charismatic and approachable. She said the chef was supportive of her business and they collaborated on dining experiences often.
“My interaction with Max was golden,” she said.
Rudolph last saw Hardy on Friday at Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Art, Beats + Lyrics festival at Eastern Market. Hardy was looking forward to a trip planned for this week to the Charleston Wine and Food Festival in South Carolina.
“We came in, we were in the mosh of all the folks who were down there,” Rudolph said. “We enjoyed some of the artworks and just all the networking of people that were there. So, it’s really such a shock to hear what happened.
“You ask God, ‘Why him?’ Why so young?’”
‘An ambassador for Detroit’
Hardy was born in Detroit but moved to Florida with his family when he was a kid, Rudolph said. He began his culinary career when he enrolled in a cooking program at Wharton High School in Tampa. Working under the program’s executive chef, Hardy began catering events in the community. His hard work paid off when he was awarded a scholarship to attend the now-closed Johnson and Wales University in North Miami.
After college, Hardy became a personal chef in Miami, Los Angeles and New York, with his clients consisting of rappers, R&B artists, actors, professional athletes and dignitaries such as the prince of Dubai and the prime minister of Turks and Caicos, according to his website.
But Hardy never forgot where he came from, Rudolph said.
“He was a great ambassador for Detroit, that was important to him,” he said. “No matter where he was, he was always in Detroit.”
In 2017, he returned to live here, opening the Caribbean-soul restaurant River Bistro in Rosedale Park. The restaurant closed two years later. However, COOP and Jed’s Detroit soon followed.
Rudolph said Hardy was planning to open another restaurant this year, a seafood eatery on the Avenue of Fashion called What’s Crackin’.
The chef also found time to co-author “The Marley Coffee Cookbook” with Rohan Marley, the son of reggae artist Bob Marley, and released a line of dry spices.
Giving back to the community
Community service was a big part of Hardy’s work, too. He was the founder of the One Chef Can 86 Hunger Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness and fights the hunger epidemic in America. During the pandemic, Hardy and Mitchell were traveling around Detroit feeding the homeless community.
“He would take one part of Detroit, I would take the other part and we were just constantly feeding people every single day,” Mitchell said. “And so, just to work side by side with that gentleman, it was an amazing accomplishment. He was an inspiration for me because he wanted to continue to take the culinary industry to the next level.”
Gaines said the two of them often hosted culinary and wine experiences, where guests could enjoy a private dinner. They were also working on opening a restaurant together at Detroit Metro Airport. That was the topic of conversation during a phone call on Friday, Gaines said.
“It was basically a concept where we would bring the wine and the food together,” she said.
Gaines hopes to keep the project going as a tribute to her friend. She said Hardy was a stepping stone who helped validate her business. Restaurants in the city started getting more recognition due to Hardy’s status, Gaines said.
“I’m sure they’ll be another person like Max, but will they replicate what he did? No,” she said. “Working with him was special.”
Mitchell said he hopes Hardy’s passing is a wake-up call for chefs to take care of themselves.
“We deal with a lot of stuff and we always try to help everyone out,” Mitchell said. “We have to make sure we’re taken care of also.”
Hardy is survived by two daughters.
Reporter Malachi Barrett contributed to this story.