carl "the cuban" ruiz (april 4, 1975 – september 21, 2019) was a cuban-american restaurant-owner and celebrity chef. he was born in passaic, new jersey. ruiz was best known as a judge on many cooking competition shows on food network in the united states. he was also known for working with guy fieri and was a judge on his shows, including "guy's grocery games" and "guy's ranch kitchen".