Nathan Spiro, 19, Of Bedford, Killed In Motorcycle Accident

BEDFORD, NY — A 19-year-old Bedford resident, and aspiring chef, was killed as the result of a motorcycle crash that occurred April 30 in Norwalk, CT. Nathan Spiro died May 1, just a few days before he would have turned 20.

A graveside service was held May 3, with interment at New Montefiore Cemetery in Pinelawn.

According to Connecticut state police, Spiro lost control of his motorcycle. The drivers and passengers of two other cars involved in the incident were not injured.

In a 2016 interview with Patch, Spiro said he became enamored of cooking after a friend invited him to attend a cooking class the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.

He began working — at the age of 10 — one night a week at the Fish Cellar in Mount Kisco. Unfortunately, the gig was short lived because the chef said he couldn’t continue to legally work for him because of his age.

In January 2014, he began working doing prep at the Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-Georges. He was working 60 to 70 hours a week, while he was going to school full-time.

He eventually dropped out of high school, but completed his high school equivalency.

Among the places he worked were Le Marais in New York City and Campagna, which is located at the Bedford Post Inn.

Spiro appeared on the television cooking competition “Chopped Teen Tournament.” He was chopped, he said, because of the immense pressure and because he misidentified an ingredient. Spiro also said he cut his finger.

Debbie Spiro, Nathan’s mother, said he had been attending the International Culinary Center in New York, which was originally the French Culinary Institute.

Sara Wolf, who is the education director at Chabad of Bedford, said Nathan Spiro was “such a sweet boy, a gentle soul.”

She said he had a smile that charmed everyone around him, and he was generous in nature.

Wolf said that, while most other 15-year-olds were sitting in a classroom, Spiro was following his passion and learning a trade.

“The kitchen was his palace,” she said.

In addition to his mother, Debbie, Spiro is survived by his father Marc and brother Perry.

Photo caption: Nathan Spiro, right, with Asia Shabazz, his co-worker at the Inn at Pound Ridge. Photo credit: Courtesy.