Who is Andrew Gruel? Celebrity chef delivers moving speech on Charlie Kirk at Huntington Beach vigil where thousands gathered

On the evening of Saturday, September 13, a vigil was held for the late Charlie Kirk at California's Huntington Beach Pier, where thousands gathered to pay tribute to the late conservative activist following his death (on September 10). 

At the vigil, Chef Andrew Gruel shared a moving speech about Kirk, calling him "an inspiration to all of us".

Thank you to everyone who came out to Huntington Beach tonight. 🙏 thank you @AnthonyCabassa_ and @realJamesKlug - and to everyone - don’t ever stop speaking the truth. pic.twitter.com/NJ056dqRbo

— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) September 15, 2025

According to Seafood Nutrition, Andrew Gruel is the founder behind Slapfish Restaurant - an award-winning food truck which has since expanded to a chain of more than 10 restaurants across Orange County in the last three years. Gruel started his career working in fine-dining restaurants like Ritz Carlton and Denny's, before opening his own food truck in Huntington Beach.

Andrew Gruel also starred as a judge on Food Network's reality competition show, Food Truck Face Off in 2015. He also hosted a culinary radio show called Cooking with Gruel in the same year. More recently, Gruel was appointed as a member on the Huntington Beach City Council. 

Recallng how he first crossed paths with Charlie Kirk, Andrew Gruel said:

"You know, it's funny to bring out the pandemic, 'cause that is when I was kinda shooting my mouth off, and Newsom and I were ping-ponging back and forth in the media about how insane he is... And I recall, that's when Charlie reached out to me, said, 'you wanna come and do this hit?' I went and did a show with him." 

Gruel also spoke about receiving a note from Charlie Kirk, where he late activist claimed to love chefs "so much". The chef also called Kirk "absolutely brilliant," adding that in addition to his intelligence, Charlie also always spoke from the heart, with all his words coming from the foundation of his values.

As his speech turned sombre, Gruel claimed that Charlie Kirk was killed for "speaking out," then adding: 

"But what we've seen over the past couple of days is unbelievable, because his legacy is exploding immediately... People have been reaching out to me personally to ask how they can be involved, and what I tell everybody is this: You always respectfully respond and let that foundation that's deep inside of you fight. Do not let incrimentalism take over."

Long Island newspaper, Newsday, apologized over its insenstive cartoon of Charlie Kirk's assassination

The unconscionable cartoon in Newsday trivializing the assassination of Charlie Kirk is so over the top despicable that it is shocking even for the majority of us who realized long ago that Newsday abandoned any pretension of fairness.
Cancel Newsday! pic.twitter.com/hK8o6n9tj3

— Bruce Blakeman (@NassauExec) September 14, 2025

After the political cartoon - featuring an empty chair in a gazebo with Kirk's name and a blood stain on the wall behind - was called "vile" and "insensitive" over social media, the newspaper leadership had to issue an apology statement.

In their statement, Newsday called it "an error of judgement" and announced that it had since been removed from their digital platform. The statement further explained:

"In his illustration, Chip Bok used the name of Kirk's organization, Turning Point USA, and the theme of his Utah even - "Prove Me Wrong" - to suggest that Kirk's assassination might be a turning point for healing our nation's divide. The imagery was inappropriate and should never have been published in Newsday."

Charlie Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Frantzve Kirk, and their two children.

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