Man behind Chef Grant Soto Instagram account dead after alleged overdose

Taylor Clarke, the man behind the Chef Grant Soto Instagram account, has died.

According to Instagram and Twitter posts by friends, the social media satirist died after an accidental drug overdose.

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Toronto chef Matty Matheson shared a post about Clarke on his Instagram account, citing his way of shining a light on the restaurant industry in a “unique way.”

“Depression and drug addiction and mental health are so loud right now and I hope people are listening,” Matheson wrote.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Taylor was a friend for over 10yrs. He shined light on our industry in a very unique way that made most people laugh and if you weren’t laughing than maybe you should check yourself. Depression and drug addiction and mental health are so loud right now and I hope people are listening. I know taylor was in a lot of pain and the last few years have been mad rough for him and his whole family. We lost a true original. There are safe places for you! Please reach out! Drugs fucking suck and people are sick. I’ll love you till you love yourself. We need to help each other. This one hurts so much and being so far away right now is crazy! Taylor you were a beautiful shit disturber!

A post shared by MATTY MATHESON (@mattymatheson) on Mar 9, 2019 at 4:48pm PST

Jen Agg also took to social media to share words about Clarke.

“He’d had a very tough few years as I’m sure you know if you’ve been following his account, but he hid it so well behind a veneer of humour. He struggled with depression and I wish we’d talked about that the other day instead of making fun of some shit on the internet,” she wrote, alongside details about Clarke’s humorous takes on the industry.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I sorta love this pic of him because it’s diametrically opposed to who he actually was. Very, very sad to hear that Taylor Clarke has died of an apparent accidental overdose. I have so many stories I don’t really know where to begin. We started off as adversaries—I took myself way too seriously, he loved taking the piss, so it was a bit of an inauspicious beginning. Eventually I came around and was able to see how truly fucking FUNNY Taylor was and we became pals. We chatted often, and I trusted him with a LOT, which as it turns out, was a correct instinct as I never worried about screen grabs over many many chats shit-talking LITERALLY EVERYONE. His ‘I’m a…..’ posts cracked me (and ALL OF US) up. They skewered ‘people tropes’ with laser-like precision. And they just kept getting better and better. His welcome to the neighborhood stories had me crying they were so funny. Even though he loved making fun of the industry, he had deep respect for it and the people in it (even if we are often such caricatures of ourselves). He was such an ally, when few men in the industry would ever say anything publicly nice about me and I so appreciated that courage. (RLY TRYING TO NOT MAKE THIS ABOUT ME…I’m so sad tho). He’d had a very tough few years as I’m sure you know if you’ve been following his account, but he hid it so well behind a veneer of humour. He struggled with depression and I wish we’d talked about that the other day instead of making fun of some shit on the internet. I’ll miss our chats so much. Rest In Peace Taylor. ❤️

A post shared by Battle Ready Baby 🗡 (@jen___agg) on Mar 9, 2019 at 2:31pm PST

Agg also took to Twitter to share some of the funny posts from Clarke’s Instagram account, which is private.

Matheson and Agg have launched a GoFundMe to help cover funeral costs, to help Clarke’s sister (who they say suffers from kidney disease), and to donate to addiction and mental health charities.

The GoFundMe has already raised $6,970.