FENWICK — Noted restaurateur and philanthropist Matt Haley was critically injured on a motorcycle accident on Monday in India, where he was in the midst of a six-week humanitarian mission, but is now hospitalized in stable and improving condition.

Haley is the founder and CEO of Matt Haley Companies, which owns and operates top-notch restaurants throughout Sussex County including the popular Blue Coast in Bethany and Catch 54 in Fenwick, to name a couple. Haley, the 2014 recipient of the James Beard Humanitarian Award, was on a six-week humanitarian mission through northwestern India and Nepal on Monday when he was involved in a motorcycle accident near the town of Leh, India.

“The Matt Haley Companies would like to thank everyone for their support,” said Scott Kammerer, president and COO of the Matt Haley Companies on Tuesday. “Please keep Matt in your thoughts as he recovers. We have an experienced, tight-knit staff and we will keep all eight of our restaurants running smoothly while he is recuperating.”

Haley has been a frequent visitor to India and Nepal, where he has done considerable charity work. In 2011, he founded a non-profit foundation called the Global Delaware Fund. The GDF supports education and the arts and protects children both globally and locally. In Delaware, the GDF has contributed funds and services to the Delaware Adolescent Program, the Boys and Girls Club, the Food Bank of Delaware, the Delaware KIDS Fund, Children and Family First, the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, Camp Barnes, Casa San Francisco and the United Way of Delaware.

Haley, a Washington D.C. native, and a chef and entrepreneur is the recipient of the 2014 James Beard Humanitarian Award and the National Restaurant Association’s 2014 National Humanitarian Award, along with the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ 2014 National Humanitarian Award. His restaurants include Fish On in Lewes; Lupo di Mare and Papa Grande’s Coastal Taqueria in Rehoboth; Bluecoast and Matt’s Fish Camp in Bethany; and Catch 54 and Papa Grande’s in Fenwick Island.

Along with owning and operating eight restaurants in the area, Haley also founded Plate Catering, Highwater Management, a hospitality management firm; and Haley/Kammerer, a hospitality consulting business. In addition to his humanitarian efforts in India and Nepal and all over the world, he is also actively involved in Conti di San Bonafacio in Italy, which has a winery, an olive oil division and a hotel and restaurant.