Food Network Star, NJ Native Carl Ruiz Dies At 44

CHATHAM, NJ - Celebrity chef, frequent Food Network judge and former local business co-owner Carl Ruiz passed away of a suspected heart attack on Saturday, according to friends. He was 44-years-old.

Ruiz and his ex-wife Marie Riccio owned Marie's Italian Seafood which as well as Marie's Chicken Joint and Marie's Italian Specialties in the Hickory Square Mall on Shunpike Road in Chatham. The pair divorced in 2018. Most recently, Ruiz opened LaCubana, a Cuban restaurant in the New York Meatpacking District, in June.

"On behalf of the La Cubana family, with heavy hearts, we are deeply saddened to share the passing of our beloved Executive Chef Carl Ruiz," La Cubana posted to social media. "No words can fully express our sadness at the sudden loss of our dear friend and brother."

Madison NJ PBA 92 posted to social media lamenting the loss of Ruiz, noting he was a good friend to the organization. Ruiz lived in Madison for a time.

"You will be missed," they posted to Facebook.

Celebrity chefs Jet Tila and Guy Fieri also posted to Twitter immediately after hearing the news.

"You taught us how to enjoy every moment to the fullest and not live wondering what if," Tila wrote. "You are gone way too soon."

George Ruiz, Carl's brother, spoke on behalf of the family and said the late chef is loved and will be deeply missed.

"Our family mourns the loss of Carl Ruiz. He was all about great times, great food and great friends. Please remember his laugh and his wit," George Ruiz said. "He made everyone feel special."

George Ruiz's tweet was shared by Fieri, who hosts a slew of shows on the Food Network. Several, like "Diners Drive-Ins and Dives" and "Guy's Grocery Games," featured Ruiz.

"I’m heartbroken that my friend chef Carl Ruiz is gone," Fieri wrote. "I have no words to describe what a great friend he was to me and my family. His ability to make me laugh and smile under any circumstances was only outshined by his talent as a chef."

Fieri said that his friend Ruiz was "one in a hundred million."

Indeed, after opening Marie's in Chatham back in 2011 Fieri showed up in the Hickory Square Shopping Center stopped in for a bite and ended up being put to work.

"I've known Guy [Fieri] for a while," Ruiz said at the time. "His manager called me and asked me for the address [to Marie's], and there it was, he showed up."

In 2011, Ruiz told Patch that Fieri ended up having to help serve patrons in the packed eatery.

"Guy comes to visit and it was freakishly busy, so he started working making sandwiches," Ruiz had said. "All these kids were like, 'I can't believe Guy Fieri's making my lunch!' It was surreal."

Fieri returned a second time to the restaurant, but this time to film an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" in 2013. For the filming, Riccio told some of their most loyal customers the film crew would be coming.

"Everyone who came that day was a hard-core regular," Riccio said then.

The show profiles popular restaurants, usually independent or small ones, and the owners or head chefs take Fieri through how they prepare their most popular dishes. For Marie's, the dishes include the brick chicken entree and the sacred swine sandwich. The episode was named "Hometown Haunts."

When leaving the restaurant, Fieri left his signature, and a message to his friends, on the restaurant wall.

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