Andrew Gruel

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^[10][11] and at Jack's of New London in New London, New Hampshire.^[10] 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.^[5][12]

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.^[13][14][15] The fund, called 86 Restaurant Struggle, is a nonprofit charity that helps struggling and unemployed restaurant workers.^[16]

Television

Gruel's first television appearance was on the BBC show The Endless Feast in 2007.^[12] He served as a judge on the Food Channel's Food Truck Face Off^[7] and Chopped Junior,^[17] and also appeared on Eat St. on the Cooking Channel,^[18] Today on NBC,^[19] and On the Rocks on the Food Network.^[5] In 2015, Gruel starred as a host on season one of the reality television show Say It To My Face!' along with Chef Anthony Dispensa.^[20] Since 2020, he has been a frequent guest on various national news programs.^[16]

Radio

Gruel hosted a culinary radio show called Cooking with Gruel in 2015.^[7] He co-hosts the weekly The SoCal Restaurant Show on KLAA, which launched in 2012.^[21]

City council

On March 18, 2025, Gruel was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Huntington Beach City Council that was previously held by Tony Strickland, who was elected to the California State Senate.^[3][4]