Floyd Cardoz
Executive Chef
Floyd Cardoz is the Executive Chef of North End Grill, the newest restaurant from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group. Located in Manhattan's Battery Park City, North End Grill is 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 features the seasonal dishes with an emphasis on seafood.
Formerly, Floyd was the executive chef of Tabla, a groundbreaking New Indian restaurant located in the Flatiron district. 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. 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 Gray 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, and Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
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 charity of choice, the Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Floyd's website is floydcardoz.com.
Alexandra Ray
Pastry Chef
Born and raised in San Diego, Alexandra discovered a love for food at an early age and cherished time spent in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother. Recognizing her passion for food, Alexandra’s mother urged her to seek out restaurant jobs. As a junior in High School, she worked her first restaurant job in the kitchen of Mille Fleurs, a fine dining restaurant in San Diego.
Alexandra graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University with a double major in Business and French and a minor in Japanese. Upon graduating in 2006, Alexandra applied to law schools before realizing that pastry was her true passion. Determined to turn pastry into a career, Alexandra returned to Mille Fleurs to focus on developing her skills. In June of 2009, Alexandra moved to New York and began working as a cook at Brooklyn's Dressler. Still, it was dessert that excited Alexandra most, so she landed in the pastry department at Gramercy Tavern. While there, Alexandra honed her palette and was able to develop her passion into a craft under the tutelage of Pastry Chef Nancy Olson.
Alexandra's desserts at North End Grill are sophisticated, playful takes on home-style classics like Lemon Meringue Pie and Sticky Toffee Pudding. In 2012, Ray was named to both Forbes and Zagat’s ’30 Under 30’ lists of the most promising young talent and in 2013 she was honored as one of GAYOT.com's 2013 Top 5 Rising Chefs in the U.S.
Kevin Richer
General Manager
Born and raised on Long Island, Kevin discovered a love for cooking at an early age. When he wasn’t pursuing his passion for baseball, Kevin loved spending time with his mother in the kitchen, making his first foray in to the hospitality industry at age 12. After high school, Kevin applied to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) where he received a Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management in 2004. Upon graduation, Kevin immediately began working at Union Square Hospitality Group's ground-breaking New Indian restaurant, Tabla. Beginning as a server assistant, he worked his way up to server, floor manager, Service Director and Beverage Director over five years. In 2009, Kevin was promoted to Assistant General Manager. Kevin then served as the opening General Manager of Untitled, located at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Kevin is thrilled to be the opening GM of North End Grill, where he is again working alongside Chef Floyd Cardoz.
Jason Hopple
Beverage Director
A native of Central Pennsylvania, Jason was introduced to the hospitality industry while attending the Culinary/Restaurant Management School at Pennsylvania College of Technology. There, Jason learned how to run Front of House operations and expanded his knowledge of service and hospitality. After graduating with a degree in Hospitality Management, he worked as the Maitre d’ at Le Jeune Chef Restaurant in Pennsylvania, where he stayed for four years, training students in the culinary and hospitality programs. During Jason’s time there, the restaurant received a “Best of Award of Excellence” from Wine Spectator.
In 2006, Jason moved to New York City, where he helped reopen Tocqueville with Chefs Marco Moreira and George Mendez. Jason served as the Private Dining Room Captain at Tocqueville for six months. In July 2006, Jason joined the team at The Modern as a manager. During his time at The Modern, he helped develop the restaurant’s outstanding cheese program. Jason also became increasingly interested in the restaurant’s spirits list, learning about the James Beard Award winning beverage program from Wine Directors Belinda Chang and Ehren Ashkenazi. At North End Grill, Jason has worked with Union Square Hospitality Group Wine Director, John Ragan, to develop the Wine and Scotch lists.
