Inside The Life Of The Late Food Network Star Carl Ruiz

Under his Instagram name saborchef (meaning "flavorful chef"), Carl Ruiz was humble about his successes. He wrote, "Dishwasher. Foodnetwork. Won some Awards. Didn't deserve most of them." But he did. Before his death, Ruiz had opened his latest restaurant, La Cubana, in New York City. Ruiz, who was also Cuban, enjoyed paying homage to his Cuban roots (Ruiz was half Cuban, half Colombian (via E!). The restaurant continues to post images of its late executive chef, again with the hashtag "ruizing" (via Instagram). The popular hashtag was a term that Ruiz's fans created that meant eating and drinking as often as possible at dive bars, and just living life to the fullest (via CBS News).

Carl Ruiz died on Sept. 21, 2019, having passed away in his sleep. Bruce Goldfarb, an assistant to the Maryland Department of Health's chief medical examiner, determined that the cause of death was atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (via Today). This happens when fat, cholesterol, calcium, cellular waste products, and fibrin (a clotting material) build up in your arteries, narrowing the channel for blood flow (via the American Heart Association). Since it reduces or potentially blocks an artery, it can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Good food and fun will be what Ruiz is remembered for. In fact, his last Instagram post features an image of a plate of food. Ruiz captioned it: "Delicious Crab Cakes with collard greens and red beans and rice." Then, he wrote, simply, "Heaven."