Food Influencer Michael Duarteโค Diesโค Days After Confrontation with Police
LOS ANGELES, CA โฃ- Michael Duarte, a California-based social media personalityโ knownโ for his cooking videos โunder the username @foodwithbearhands, โhas died, just daysโ after โคcelebratingโข his wedding anniversary. duarte, 33, was involved in aโ fatal encounterโฃ with law enforcement โon November 11, 2025, following โan alleged threatening approach toward officers.
According too โlaw enforcement statements provided to TMZ, Duarte “approached officers threateningly” and, despite repeated warnings “to get on the ground by the deputy,” failed to comply.Details surrounding the shooting remain under investigation.โ Duarte amassed over 839,000 followers onโฃ Instagram, building a dedicated audience with โhis engaging food content.
Duarte began sharing cooking clips online during the COVID-19 pandemic as a hobby, continuing even while working to rebuild a localโฃ restaurant. “On my days off, I started posting food videos again – my first one was with my daughter,” he shared in an Instagram biography.”That’s when I realized how happy creating content made me. Over time,I began to see it wasn’t just a hobby – it could be aโ business,something bigger than myself.”
A GoFundMeโ campaign launched following his death has already raised $64,646 as of โฃthis writing, aimed at supporting his wife and daughter.
Tributes have poured in from fans and โfellow creators. One commenter on Duarte’s pinned Instagram post wrote, “Love youโข man.I’m at a loss for words. Too young, tooโค big a heart. We wereโข supposed to do a video or โsomething this week. Rest easy.” Another shared, โ”Mike, rest in peace my dear โคfriend. Thank you for all of your kindโ wordsโฆ from making family meals at Ruth’s to teaching โขme how to โbeโค a quarter of as good as you wereโ with the video edits. I will be praying โฃfor your wife and daughter moreโ thanโ ever!”
