It was in March 2024 that the sudden death of well-known chef Max Hardy stunned metro Detroit’s restaurant scene.
Now the Detroit Shipping Company, the Cass Corridor food hall where Hardy’s Coop Caribbean Fusion stood among other restaurants, has set up a culinary scholarship that honors him.
The Maxcel Hardy Memorial Culinary Scholarship aims to carry on Hardy’s legacy. His friends and colleagues will gather April 23 to celebrate his life and launch the scholarship.
It will award $1,000 to one graduating senior from a Detroit high school who plans to major in culinary, baking or pastry, arts at a Michigan post-secondary school. The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association will select the recipient.
A native Detroiter, Hardy, who was 40 when he died, was a chef to celebrities in Miami and New York before returning home to Detroit, where he would open several restaurants. He was known for his community advocacy, commitment to Detroit youth and efforts to fight hunger. In addition to Coop Caribbean Fusion, he owned Jed’s Detroit, a pizza and wings franchise on Seven Mile Road in Detroit, and the now-closed River Bistro in northwest Detroit.
In 2021, the New York Times named Hardy one of 16 Black chefs changing food in America. Hardy also co-authored “The Marley Coffee Cookbook” with Rohan Marley, the son of reggae artist Bob Marley. He was featured on the Food Network, participated at many events in Detroit and was a staunch leader in teaching Detroit’s youth.
Hardy also founded One Chef Can 86 Hunger, a nonprofit that fights hunger and raises awareness around food insecurity.
Starting next week, the Detroit Shipping Company’s charity tap pours will benefit the scholarship. Charity tap pours feature rotating selections of beer from breweries with portions of the proceeds benefit charities.
Information on the scholarship can be found at mihf.org.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.
