Andrew Gruel

Andrew Gruel (born July 12, 1980) is an American chef and television personality, based in Orange County, California. He appeared as a judge on Food Network's Food Truck Face Off and as a host of FYI's Say It to My Face!, and is the founder, CEO and executive chef of Slapfish, a seafood restaurant franchise based out of Huntington Beach, California;[1] Big Parm, a pizza restaurant in Tustin, California;[2] and Two Birds, a chicken restaurant in Irvine, California.[3]

Andrew Gruel
Born (1980-07-12) July 12, 1980
Bridgewater, New Jersey
EducationBates College
Johnson & Wales University
Spouse(s)
Lauren Gruel
​
(m. 2013)​
Children4
Culinary career
Cooking styleSeafood
Websitechefgruel.com

Early life and education

Gruel was born and raised in Bridgewater, New Jersey.[4] He said that his affinity towards cooking started at an early age, when he would fake sick to stay home from school and watch cooking shows on public-access television.[5] While attending Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, he worked in lobster restaurants in the area.[6][7] He received his culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University's College of Culinary Arts.[8]

Career

Cooking

Gruel began his career working in fine dining restaurants, hotels and diners in New Jersey, as a cook at the Ritz Carlton in Boston[8][9] and at Jack's of New London in New London, New Hampshire.[8] He left the East Coast in 2009 to work as director of Seafood for the Future, a nonprofit program at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California.[4][10]

After the COVID-19 pandemic forced many restaurants to shut down, Gruel started a fund in December 2020 to raise money for out-of-work restaurant industry employees, raising over $230,000 in the first three weeks.[11][12][13]

Television

Gruel's first television appearance was on the BBC show The Endless Feast in 2007.[10] He served as a judge on the Food Channel's Food Truck Face Off[5] and Chopped Junior,[14] and also appeared on Eat St. on the Cooking Channel,[15] Today on NBC,[16] and On the Rocks on the Food Network.[4] In 2015, Gruel starred as a host on season 1 of the reality television show Say It To My Face![17]

Radio

Gruel hosted a culinary radio show called Cooking with Gruel in 2015.[5] He was a guest host on the weekly The SoCal Restaurant Show on KLAA, which launched in 2012.[18]

Television appearances
Year Series Network Notes
2007 The Endless Feast BBC Guest
2012 Eat St. Cooking Channel Guest
2013 On the Rocks Food Network Consulting chef
2014 Food Truck Face Off Food Network Judge (season 1, 5 episodes)
Today NBC Guest
2015 Say It To My Face! FYI Host (season 1, 15 episodes)
2016 Chopped Junior Food Network Guest (season 3, episode 3)
2016-20 Home & Family Hallmark Channel Guest (8 episodes)
2020 Food Paradise Food Network Guest
The Issue Is Fox Guest
Tucker Carlson Tonight Fox News Guest
Justice with Judge Jeanine Fox News Guest
The Ingraham Angle Fox News Guest
2020-21 Fox & Friends Fox News Guest (2 episodes)

Personal life

Gruel and his wife Lauren Gruel have four children.[5][12]

References
  1. "Andrew Gruel of Slapfish restaurant on how the seafood chain has adjusted during the coronavirus pandemic". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  2. "Mess Hall Has Soft Opened in Tustin". Orange County Register. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  3. "Trade, an Open Air Irvine Food Hall". Orange County Register. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  4. Anthony Clark Carpio, "Slapfish set to jump into bigger pond," Los Angeles Times, January 8, 2014.
  5. "Featured Chef of the Month, Andrew Gruel of Slapfish!". Tony Reverditto. Food Enthusiast Magazine. 2015-03-15. Archived from the original on 2015-05-19. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
  6. Bret Thorn, "Slapfish co-founder: 'Let’s make seafood sexy again'," Nation's Restaurant News, July 23, 2014.
  7. Susan Adams, "Started As A Food Truck, Slapfish Is Trying To Be The 'Chipotle Of Seafood'," Forbes, October 27, 2016.
  8. John Walters, "Jack's of New London: Where (almost) everybody knows your name," Kearsarge Magazine, Summer 2007, pp. 73-74.
  9. Nicole Russin-McFarland, "Food Network Featured Andrew Gruel: His Story and How the Slapfish Chain is Set to Conquer the Globe (Minus the 'Austin Powers' Sharks With Laser Beams," Archived 2014-12-12 at the Wayback Machine The Comeback, December 3, 2014.
  10. "Try Amazing Sustainable Seafood at SlapFish". Christine Lynn Williamson. Locale Magazine. 2014-08-25.
  11. "Chef Andrew Gruel raises funds for restaurant workforce struggling because of pandemic". ABC. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  12. "Los Angeles chef, restaurant owner raises over $160,000 for others struggling in industry". Good Morning America. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  13. "Slapfish Restaurant founder starts COVID-19 relief fund to help industry". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  14. "Q&A with chef Andrew Gruel". Greer's. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  15. Michelle Woo, "Slapfish To Be Featured On The Cooking Channel's Eat Street Tonight," OC Weekly, August 21, 2012.
  16. "Grill up seafood! Surf 'n' turf burgers and shrimp cubano," Today, July 30, 2014.
  17. "Slapfish execs star in reality TV show," Fast Casual, July 15, 2015.
  18. "About the SoCal Restaurant Show," socalrestaurantshow.com. Accessed June 19, 2016.
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