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 Spray it on My Face!, and is the founder, CEO and executive chef of Slapfish, a seafood restaurant franchise based out of Huntington Beach, California.
Andrew Gruel | |
---|---|
Born | Bridgewater, New Jersey | July 12, 1980
Education | Bates College Johnson & Wales University |
Spouse(s) | Lauren Gruel ( m. 2013) |
Children | 3 |
Culinary career | |
Cooking style | Seafood |
Current restaurant(s)
| |
Website | chefgruel.com |
Early life and education
Gruel was born and raised in Bridgewater, New Jersey.[1] 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.[2] While attending Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, he worked in lobster restaurants in the area.[3][4] He received his culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University's College of Culinary Arts.[5]
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[5][6] and at Jack's of New London in New London, New Hampshire.[5] 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.[1][7]
Television
Gruel's first television appearance was on the BBC show The Endless Feast in 2007.[7] He served as a judge on the Food Channel's Food Truck Face Off in 2014,[2] and also appeared on Eat St. on the Cooking Channel,[8] Today on NBC,[9] and On the Rocks on the Food Network.[1] In 2015, Gruel starred as a host on season 1 of the reality television show Say It To My Face![10]
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 | Home & Family | Hallmark Channel | Guest (2 episodes) |
Personal life
Gruel is married with three children.[2]
References
- Anthony Clark Carpio, "Slapfish set to jump into bigger pond," Los Angeles Times, January 8, 2014.
- "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.
- Bret Thorn, "Slapfish co-founder: 'Let’s make seafood sexy again'," Nation's Restaurant News, July 23, 2014.
- Susan Adams, "Started As A Food Truck, Slapfish Is Trying To Be The 'Chipotle Of Seafood'," Forbes, October 27, 2016.
- John Walters, "Jack's of New London: Where (almost) everybody knows your name," Kearsarge Magazine, Summer 2007, pp. 73-74.
- 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.
- "Try Amazing Sustainable Seafood at SlapFish". Christine Lynn Williamson. Locale Magazine. 2014-08-25.
- Michelle Woo, "Slapfish To Be Featured On The Cooking Channel's Eat Street Tonight," OC Weekly, August 21, 2012.
- "Grill up seafood! Surf 'n' turf burgers and shrimp cubano," Today, July 30, 2014.
- "Slapfish execs star in reality TV show," Fast Casual, July 15, 2015.
- "About the SoCal Restaurant Show," socalrestaurantshow.com. Accessed June 19, 2016.