
Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Andrew Gruel. on air from May 11th
Andrew Gruel, is an American chef and television personality, who appeared as a judge on Food Network’s Food Truck Face Off and is the founder, CEO, and executive chef of Slapfish, a seafood restaurant franchise based out of Huntington Beach, California.
THE 86 RESTAURANT STRUGGLE: A Fund Helping Struggling And Out Of Work Restaurant Workers Restaurants in the U.S. are in an “economic free fall” amid the ongoing spike in coronavirus cases and the forced shutdowns, with almost 20% of dining establishments around the country have closed permanently since the start of the pandemic. This has left thousands of restaurant workers struggling to survive, many unable to pay even the most basic bills and put food on the table. In the absence of any substantial government relief and gridlock in state unemployment agencies, it is incumbent on us within the community to help one another. All of the funds raised will be redistributed directly to restaurant workers, via checks and electronic platforms, who have either lost their job or are in need of a small leg-up to cover rent payments, medical bills, childcare, or any other day-to-day help. A backend admin team of volunteers will double-check and confirm references, previous employers, and more to ensure the process is honest and transparent.
ITunes | Spotify | Soundcloud |
Amazon | Google play, | iHEART |
Acast | onpodium | Anchor |
Podvine | Radio Public. | FM Player |
Launchpad | Mixcloud | Vurbl |
Odysee | Youtube | Sticher |
THE 86 RESTAURANT STRUGGLE: A Fund Helping Struggling And Out Of Work Restaurant Workers
Chef Gruel | Seafood Guru – Sandwich Junkie – Restaurateur Andrew Gruel, a summa cum-laude graduate of Johnson & Wales University, is currently the Founder and Executive Chef of Slapfish Restaurant, the award-winning food truck turned international brick and mortar, based out of Huntington Beach, CA. Chef Gruel has taken Slapfish (bootstrapped!) from 2 food trucks to 10+ restaurant locations in just over 3 years.
Chef Andrew Gruel has appeared on multiple Food Network shows including his most recent role as a Judge on the show Food Truck Face Off. Gruel has also been on “TODAY Show”, PBS, Cooking Channel, as well as in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, Men’s Health, Food & Wine Magazine, Entrepreneur, and Restaurant Business. In 2013 he was named the top 40 under 40 entrepreneurs in Orange County. He is currently the host of a new restaurant makeover show set to air in spring 2015 on a major network.
How he got here:
After years of working in fine dining restaurants, hotels, and diners — ranging from The Ritz Carlton to the midnight shift at Denny’s — Chef Gruel’s love of the ocean drove him to direct a non-profit project at The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA called “Seafood for the Future”. Here he worked with hundreds of chefs, fishermen, and like-minded organizations establishing a national culinary awareness for the sustainable seafood movement.
Andrew is admittedly addicted to the fast pace of the restaurant world and translates that into his business approach to be very hands-on whenever possible. His next project is to establish a monthly changing restaurant space that gives aspiring chef-entrepreneurs a chance to “beta-test” their concept without spending thousands of dollars.
NEW SHOW HERE COMING JANUARY 24TH

FIND HIS WEBSITE HERE:
READ MORE HERE AND HERE:
FIND HIM ON FACEBOOK HERE:
FIND HIM ON TWITTER HERE:
FIND MORE SHOWS OF ILLUMINATION HERE
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support on Patreon.
You must be logged in to post a comment.