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 | |
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Born | (1980-07-12) July 12, 1980 (age 41) Bridgewater, New Jersey |
Education | Bates College Johnson & Wales University |
Spouse(s) | Lauren Gruel (m. 2013) |
Children | 4 |
Culinary career | |
Cooking style | Seafood |
Current restaurant(s)
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Website | chefgruel.com |
Gruel was born and raised in Bridgewater, New Jersey[4] and graduated from the Pingry School in 1998.[5] 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.[6] While attending Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, he worked in lobster restaurants in the area.[7][8] He received his culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University's College of Culinary Arts.[9]
Gruel began his career working in fine dining restaurants, hotels and diners in New Jersey, as a cook at the Ritz Carlton in Boston[9][10] and at Jack's of New London in New London, New Hampshire.[9] 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][11]
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.[12][13][14]
Gruel's first television appearance was on the BBC show The Endless Feast in 2007.[11] He served as a judge on the Food Channel's Food Truck Face Off[6] and Chopped Junior,[15] and also appeared on Eat St. on the Cooking Channel,[16] Today on NBC,[17] 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![18]
Gruel hosted a culinary radio show called Cooking with Gruel in 2015.[6] He was a guest host on the weekly The SoCal Restaurant Show on KLAA, which launched in 2012.[19]
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) |
Gruel and his wife Lauren Gruel have four children.[6][13]