• last year
For over 20 years, Food Network has been watched and adored by millions of people. Food Network has a wide range of viewers, from stay-at-home parents looking to improve their night time dinner rotations to self-proclaimed foodies to people who have never stepped into a kitchen wanting to attempt cooking for the first time. As the years have gone on, the network has produced dozens of stars that viewers have come to know and love. They've helped us with everything from Thanksgiving turkeys to scrambled eggs. Sadly, some of our most beloved Food Network chefs and hosts are no longer with us. In this video, we'll share with you those foodie stars that have passed away.
Transcript
00:00Sadly, the Food Network has lost more than just a handful of stars through the years,
00:05and there's a good chance a few of them have escaped your attention.
00:07Keep listening to find out more about the Food Network stars you may not know passed
00:11away.
00:12Jovial, full of life, and a stellar cook — that's how most would describe Carl Ruiz.
00:16The New Jersey native worked in many restaurant kitchens until he and his ex-wife Marie eventually
00:21opened their own restaurant.
00:22Called Marie's Italian Specialties, it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
00:26The rest, as they say, is history.
00:28Ruiz was soon a regular on Food Network.
00:30His gigs included appearances on Guy's Grocery Games and Guy's Ranch Kitchen.
00:34He even had stints as a judge on many of the network's cooking competition shows.
00:37I wish I could eat your story.
00:39That sounded delicious.
00:40Sadly, in 2019, he was visiting friends when he suddenly passed away in his sleep.
00:46USA Today reported that the cause of death had been atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,
00:50which results from restricted blood flow due to clogged arteries.
00:53Co-star Guy Fieri posted on Instagram after his death,
00:56I have no words to describe what a great friend he was to me and my family.
00:59His ability to make me laugh and smile under any circumstances was only outshined by his
01:04talent as a chef."
01:06Fatima Ali had a promising career ahead of her, before her untimely death.
01:09She moved from Pakistan to America at age 18 to attend culinary school.
01:13After a stint as a sous chef at Café Centro, she became a contestant on Food Network's
01:17Chopped in 2012, and appeared as a contestant on Top Chef in 2017.
01:21Shortly after that filming, Ali announced she had been diagnosed with a rare type of
01:25cancer called Ewing sarcoma, which occurs in the bone or soft tissue.
01:29Refusing to let it slow her down, she continued to cook, posted updates on Instagram, and
01:33shared her story with Ellen DeGeneres.
01:35In 2018, she penned an article in Bon Appetit's Healthy-ish about being given a year to live.
01:40She described her struggle and treatment, writing,
01:42When we think we have all the time in the world to live, we forget to indulge in the
01:45experiences of living.
01:47When that choice is yanked away from us, that's when we scramble to feel."
01:50Ali had dreamed of owning her own restaurant.
01:52I decided to take a chance and do it myself, and now I have my own tent at this outdoor
01:57food festival in Brooklyn called Smorgasburg.
01:59She wrote about having to modify that dream, saying,
02:02I'm sketching a plan to eat my way through New York and the boroughs while I can.
02:05After she died in 2019, several stars, including Padma Lakshmi, posted tributes to the young
02:10chef.
02:11Her family paid tribute by traveling the world on the food tour she never completed.
02:15In March 2020, the world lost superstar chef Floyd Cardoz.
02:19He was known for his marriage of regional and international flavors and for his pure
02:22love of food.
02:23As he told Forbes India in one of his final interviews, being a miserable chef leads to
02:27miserable food, miserable staff, and a miserable restaurant.
02:30He started his career in India and studied in Switzerland.
02:32In New York, he opened an acclaimed restaurant, Tabla.
02:35As The New York Times said in his obituary, he was the first Indian chef to have such
02:39an influence over the New York restaurant scene.
02:41He was a winner of Top Chef Masters, and on Food Network, Floyd hosted fine dining with
02:44Floyd Cardoz.
02:46Before his passing, he shared pictures of a trip to India on Instagram.
02:49Among them, his new venture, Bombay Sweetshop, and a sneak peek of his Season 2 appearance
02:53on Netflix's Ugly Delicious.
02:55Almost immediately after his return, he was admitted to a New Jersey hospital with a fever.
02:59He succumbed to the coronavirus a few days later.
03:02Several celebrities reacted to his passing, including Food Network's Alex Guarnaschelli.
03:06She posted on Twitter,
03:07"...I can't process it.
03:08A true gentleman in every sense and a great credit to the chef community.
03:12He will be sorely missed."
03:14Eccentric television chef Clarissa Dixon Wright was a culinary force to be reckoned with.
03:18She was also a controversial figure.
03:20"...there's my opinions on food, on defra, on politicians.
03:27That's where I have to be careful with the lawyers."
03:30A former lawyer, Wright was once charged with hunting offenses and used to be an alcoholic.
03:34More importantly, she was a well-respected chef and food historian.
03:37She was also one of the BBC's cheeky two-fat ladies.
03:40The duo's famous show also aired on Food Network in the U.S.
03:44The early hit was instrumental in increasing the popularity of the channel.
03:47In it, she and chef Jennifer Patterson toured the U.K. to cook in new locations, and they
03:51did it with Patterson on a Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle and Wright in the sidecar.
03:55Wright was also well-known for her outspokenness.
03:57When asked if the title Two-Fat Ladies offended her, she clapped back,
04:00"...I had problems with ladies because it sounds like a public convenience.
04:04But which bit do you object to?
04:05Are you saying I'm thin?"
04:06She wrote several cookbooks, including the celebrated Two-Fat Ladies Right Again.
04:10In 2011, she published the acclaimed A History of English Food.
04:14The Independent called it a, quote, "...richly informative book," and Express gave it four
04:17out of five stars.
04:18Sadly, in March 2014, she passed away at the age of 66.
04:22According to BBC America, Wright had been sick for several months prior.
04:26Cary Simon was often called the rock and roll chef.
04:29He cooked for rock stars and politicians, and some of his biggest fans included Alice
04:32Cooper and Joe Perry.
04:34So when he died in 2015, it wasn't just culinary celebrities who were crushed.
04:38Cary and I cooked together a long, long time ago in the pizza world.
04:41We started as pizza chefs at Little Caesars in Illinois."
04:45After years as a personal chef to the stars, he eventually opened several restaurants of
04:48his own.
04:49Simon also appeared on Food Network's Iron Chef America.
04:52But in 2013, with his career booming, he was diagnosed with a terminal brain disease.
04:56Suddenly, he had to learn to manage Multiple System Atrophy, or MSA.
05:00The disorder is a sporadic progressive neurological one, like Parkinson's.
05:05In 2014, he opened up to Esquire about how hard it was to accept his MSA diagnosis, but
05:09insisted it would not slow him down.
05:11He said he still checked up on his restaurant because he didn't want the quality to slip.
05:14He explained,
05:15"'More than ever, I need to stay vigilant.
05:17I have to be there regardless of how I'm feeling.'"
05:19When he died in 2015, the Las Vegas Sun paid tribute with an article about his life.
05:24In it, he was called the, quote, "'first and only' rock and roll chef."
05:28Before Anthony Bourdain, there was the inimitable Keith Floyd.
05:30"'Right, my little nautical gastronauts, here we are, away from the hurly-burly, the noise,
05:34the ding-dong banging of the bell of Newland Fish Market.'"
05:37Initially a journalist, he developed an affinity for cooking in an unlikely place — the Army.
05:42After opening his own restaurants, he hosted countless food shows.
05:45He also wrote over 20 books, so it's no wonder he was, quote, the original modern celebrity
05:50chef.
05:51His show that started it all, Floyd on Fish, aired on the BBC.
05:54But many shows that followed were also found on the Food Network UK.
05:57In 2009, he was diagnosed with bowel cancer, but he was determined to fight it.
06:01Before chemotherapy, and after several operations, he said,
06:04"'I'm not thrilled about it, no.
06:06But what can I do?
06:07I'll get through it.'"
06:08Tragically, he died of a heart attack just a few hours after celebrating his partner's
06:1165th birthday with an extravagant lunch, in 2009.
06:15Ken Kostick was best known for hosting a food show with an innovative format.
06:18What's for Dinner was famous for its sitcom-like appeal and Kostick's comedic banter with co-host
06:22Mary Jo Eustace.
06:23It had more than one spinoff on TV and radio, featuring the same stars.
06:27After his death, Eustace told CBC News Network,
06:29"...I just want everybody to know he was a fantastic person on TV and off."
06:34The Gemini Award nominee wrote several cookbooks, including one called The $10 Gourmet, restaurant-quality
06:39meals that won't break the budget, which included recipes as well as pantry stocking tips.
06:43His show Ken Kostick & Company was celebrated for its guest chefs and musical sidekicks.
06:48It was also one of the first shows for Food Network Canada.
06:50In 2011, tragedy struck when Kostick was hit with acute pancreatitis.
06:54As he recovered at home after treatment, he endured a fatal complication.
06:58The Canadian chef's death was announced by his business team in April 2011.
07:03Judson Todd Allen was a finalist on the eighth season of Food Network Star in 2012.
07:07By 2018, he was close to the top and didn't show any signs of slowing down.
07:11With a degree in food science, Allen made healthy eating seem sustainable and fun.
07:15The Chicago chef called himself the Architect of Flavor and built a career on teaching people
07:19that big flavor could help fight unhealthy cravings.
07:21He was a chef to the stars, cooking for the likes of Steve Harvey and Jamie Foxx.
07:25In Allen's popular book, The Spice Diet, he shared a diet plan that helped Harvey lose
07:29weight and get camera-ready.
07:31The book is renowned for using principles of food science to break food addiction.
07:34In an interview with Illinois Alumni, he shared his personal journey with food addiction,
07:38saying,
07:39"...I was always the biggest kid in school.
07:40As a kid, one of the main things people bully you about is weight, and I've had to deal
07:43with that for a large part of my life."
07:45"...I struggled with weight my entire life.
07:47For me, it was this depressing, hard moment because I was looking at myself and I was
07:52not happy with what I saw."
07:53Allen's dedication to healthy eating made his untimely passing even more tragic.
07:58In 2018, at just 36 years old, he died at a Chicago hospital.
08:02The Chicago Tribune reported the cause of his death was an apparent heart attack.
08:05He also owned his own catering company known as Healthy Infused Cuisine and launched a
08:09popular hot sauce.
08:11Following his death, his family halted sales of the sauce.
08:14Before Jessica Vogel was on television, she worked in several renowned restaurants.
08:18Vogel started her career working at Kevin's Time before she moved on to Christine Nunn's
08:21Picnic on the Square.
08:22A stint as executive chef at Black Rebel Burger followed.
08:26Vogel's first television appearance was on Hell's Kitchen.
08:28She placed 12th on the show, and it would be a while before Vogel was ready to take
08:31on reality TV again.
08:33In 2016, she became a contestant on Food Network when she joined the chocolate-themed episode
08:37of Cutthroat Kitchen Season 11.
08:39I am the pastry queen of New Jersey."
08:42Her career looked promising.
08:44However, in her personal life, she was struggling, and Vogel passed away at just 34 years old.
08:48In her obituary, Vogel's family revealed she had alcohol and drug issues.
08:53Even though she had recently been in rehabilitation and was dedicated to changing her life, the
08:56years of abuse had taken a toll on her body.
08:59She was diagnosed with colitis, which causes inflammation of the colon.
09:03According to her fiancé, her, quote,
09:04"...heart gave out during her colitis treatment."
09:07Before tragedy struck, the two were planning to open a restaurant together.
09:10Her former employer, Chef Nunn, spoke fondly of Vogel after her death.
09:13She said,
09:14"...she was really a talented chef who never reached her potential.
09:17It's a shame."
09:19Christy Codd was just getting started when a tragedy cut her promising career short.
09:22The chef's culinary journey started at home in the South, cooking Cajun cuisine with her
09:26father.
09:27Codd then attended college in Germany, where she picked up a love of European cuisine.
09:31She had also dreamed of opening her own café.
09:33In 2012, she was swept into the limelight while participating in Season 8 of Food Network
09:37Star, even though she was the first chef to leave that season.
09:40In an interview after her appearance, she spoke about life after the show.
09:44She had catered the film Ender's Game and was pitching two food shows.
09:47She also spoke about her passion for healthy food, saying,
09:50"...healthy does not mean boring and bland."
09:51Sadly, she and her husband, Joseph Codd, met an untimely death in 2015.
09:56Initially thought to be missing from their North Carolina home, the couple had in fact
09:59been killed.
10:00The victims of a home invasion gone wrong.
10:03Christy had been pregnant at the time.
10:04A suspect was arrested soon after their bodies were found burned on his property, but it
10:08took years for courts to convict him.
10:10In 2017, handyman Robert Jason Owens, who worked as a contractor for the Codds, finally
10:14admitted to the crime, along with staging the home invasion scene.
10:17Owens said he had accidentally run the couple over and claimed to have burned their bodies
10:21only because he had been afraid of receiving the death penalty.
10:24Her friend Michael Mendez told CBS News that Christy had been, quote, a firecracker and
10:28called her, quote, a bright light.
10:30If you or anyone you know is struggling with substance abuse or mental health issues, please
10:34call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration's National Hotline
10:38at 1-800-662-HELP, or 1-800-662-4357.