Juan-Carlos Cruz (born ca. 1962) is a Dominican American chef and the former host of ''Calorie Commando'' and ''Weighing In'' on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

. Cruz lost 43 pounds on the Discovery Health Channel show ''Discovery Health Body Challenge'', which encouraged him to change directions from being a pastry chef to do low-calorie cooking. In 2010, Cruz was sentenced to prison for nine years in California for soliciting homeless people to murder his wife, Jennifer Campbell.

Early life and education

Juan-Carlos Cruz was born around 1962 in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. He has two older brothers. He moved to the United States with his family when he was three, settling in California. He learned how to cook watching Graham Kerr, Jeff Smith, and Julia Child on television. Cruz graduated in 1993 from the California Culinary Academy with a focus on pastry and found work in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Career

After graduation from the Culinary Academy in 1993, Cruz joined Hotel Bel Air as a pastry sous-chef. While at the Bel Air he created pastries for celebrities such as

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

and Julia Roberts. Cruz struggled with weight gain due to his work with pastries. In 2000, he appeared on the Discovery Health Channel program "Discovery Health Body Challenge" and lost 43 pounds. He called himself the "Calorie Commando" and began focusing on low calorie cooking. In 2004, he began starring in the

show named after his nickname, "Calorie Commando." The following year, 2005, he began hosting Food Network's "Weighing In." As a result, he published a cookbook, "The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook," in 2006.

Personal life

Cruz was married to Jennifer Campbell, who he met in high school.

Legal issues

On Thursday, May 13, 2010, Cruz was arrested in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

at Cheviot Hills Park on suspicion of murder for hire after three homeless individuals reported Cruz soliciting them to kill his wife, Jennifer Campbell. Cruz had asked the men to slit Campbell's throat or to strangle her for $1,000 and gave one of the men, Big Dave, the security code to Cruz's apartment so he could kill Campbell. He was held on a $5 million bail, which was eventually lowered to $2 million. Cruz's motivation to have Campbell killed stemmed from the couple's struggle to have a child due to fertility issues. The couple spent over $200,000 on fertility treatments, resulting in Campbell struggling with depression. Cruz believed having Campbell killed would be a "merciful" way to help her end her life. Cruz was charged with murder for hire and

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

. On December 13, 2010, Cruz pleaded " no contest" to murder for hire and the attempted murder count was dropped. As a result of a plea agreement, Cruz was ordered to pay $1,870 in restitution and to serve nine years in prison.

Works by Juan-Carlos Cruz

*with Martha Rose Shulman. ''The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook: A 5-Week Eating Strategy for Sustainable Weight''. New York: Gotham Publishing (2006).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Juan-Carlos 1962 births Living people 21st-century American criminals 21st-century American non-fiction writers American cookbook writers American male chefs American male criminals American television chefs California Culinary Academy alumni Chefs from California Criminals from California Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States Food Network chefs Murder-for-hire cases Participants in American reality television series Pastry chefs Writers from California