Los Angeles , California ( CNN ) -- Former TV chef Juan-Carlos Cruz entered a plea of not guilty Monday in his initial appearance on a murder-for-hire charge in Los Angeles . The former host of the Food Network 's `` Calorie Commando '' was charged Monday with attempted murder and solicitation of murder for allegedly trying to hire homeless men to kill his wife , a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney 's Office said . He remained behind bars pending a $ 2 million bond payment . A preliminary hearing was set for June 23 . The criminal complaint filed Monday accused Cruz , 48 , of trying to hire David Carrington and David Walters -- homeless men who go by the street names Little Dave and Big Dave -- to murder Jennifer Campbell , Cruz 's wife . It was not immediately clear who was Little Dave and who was Big Dave . If convicted , Cruz could face up to life in prison , the prosecution spokeswoman said . Assistant Deputy District Attorney Joseph Marcus would not talk about the case , but the homeless men allegedly solicited to carry out the hit did speak with celebrity news and gossip website TMZ on Saturday . One of them called Cruz `` very meticulous '' but `` very cheap '' in his planning . The plan fell apart when one of the men whom Cruz allegedly recruited told Santa Monica police , said Sgt . Jay Trisler . Trisler confirmed that men interviewed by TMZ are the chief witnesses against Cruz . Little Dave told TMZ he was approached first by Cruz , who asked him to kill his wife for cash , and he told his friend Big Dave . Big Dave said he told a Santa Monica police officer about the plot after he was arrested for loitering . `` We 're very fortunate that we have a relationship and rapport with some of the homeless and that they were able to give us information , '' Trisler said . Santa Monica police began their undercover investigation of Cruz on May 7 , Trisler said . Cruz was arrested at a dog park in the Cheviot Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon , he said . Big Dave and Little Dave got a place to stay while the investigation was under way . Santa Monica police put them in a hotel room to keep them out of sight , Big Dave said . `` They gave us two pizzas , a 12-pack of beer and a bottle of San Jose , '' he said . `` I love them . '' Cruz , a Los Angeles resident , was an overweight pastry chef at Hotel Bel Air until he changed his focus to promote low-calorie recipes . He authored `` The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook : A 5-Week Eating Strategy for Sustainable Weight Loss , '' which was published in 2007 . The Food Network issued a short statement Monday saying that Cruz `` has not been under contract or associated with Food Network for a number of years . '' CNN 's Marc Balinsky contributed to this report .
Former host of Food Network 's `` Calorie Commando '' pleads not guilty . Juan-Carlos Cruz is accused of trying to hire homeless men to kill his wife . Police say a homeless man came to them with information about Cruz . Cruz remains behind bars pending a $ 2 million bond payment .