Andrew Gruel – Program Manager

At age 12, Andrew became aware that he had a passion for sustainable food while traveling through Germany and touring the local farmers markets and food stalls.

While studying at Bates College, Andrew held a number of cooking jobs along the coast of Maine and realized that he had an increasing interest in food and local food systems. Consequently he left Bates, ventured to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to work with internationally acclaimed, award winning chef, Wes Hamilton.

Andrew formalized his culinary training at Johnson & Wales University in Denver where he met his mentor, Certified Master Chef Ed Janos and spent two years learning about farmers markets, the art of butchery, and sustainable seafood, eventually working his way from prep cook to Chef de Cuisine. He returned to the east coast to work at the distinguished Café at the Ritz-Carlton Boston. Andrew completed his formal training and earned another degree in Food Marketing from Johnson & Wales Business program.

Andrew next completed an externship with America’s Test Kitchen, the acclaimed PBS television series and cookbook. He worked as Executive chef of Jack’s of New London in New Hampshire where he featured menus designed to serve food harvested 100% local from New Hampshire, which required working with local fisherman and fish farms. Under his tenure, Jack’s of New London received the award of Best Bistro in New Hampshire. Andrew was featured in a 13-part series, “The Endless Feast,” that aired on PBS and BBC in the spring of 2007. He was a regular guest on NH’s Channel 9 “Cook’s Corner” program and hosted “Cooking with Gruel,” a weekly FM radio show.

After taking time to travel in Italy, France, Greece, Egypt, Turkey and parts of Eastern Europe and study region food systems, he returned home to the New Jersey coast to further his knowledge about local fisheries and farmers and opened two new restaurants as executive chef: Tim McLoone’s Supper Club and Salt Water Beach Café. Both restaurants primarily featured local seafood and produce. Both became two of the first restaurants in the area to be certified green under the Green Restaurant Association.

After years of working with farmers, fishermen, and sustainable operations, Andrew decided to apply his skills in a manner to affect change within our food systems. His love for the ocean and seafood took him to the Aquarium of the Pacific and Seafood for the Future where he is able to combine this passion and their mission to encourage Marine Stewardship. His goal is educate chefs and consumers about the bounties of the sea and the current issues that threaten our fish stocks.

“Chefs and consumers should really have an understanding about the amazing flavor profile and the healthfulness of underutilized sustainable, as well as farmed, items such as Sardines, Arctic Char, Barramundi, Fresh Albacore Tuna, Rock Lobster, and all Shellfish.”

Dave Anderson – Seafood Officer

Originally from Hawaii, Dave acquired a passionate interest in the ocean at an early age. His work as a marine biologist includes commercial and research experience culturing a variety of tropical and temperate marine fish. Before coming to Seafood for the Future, Dave completed his graduate work in genetics at the University of Southern California.

Dave majored in Biology Research and Marine Resource Management, beginning his career in the feeds research department at the Oceanic Institute in Waimanalo, Hawaii. He then worked as the manager of a giant clam and black pearl farm in the Marshall Islands, returning to the States to work in Alpharma’s vaccine facility for salmon and catfish in Bellevue, Washington. Following that, Dave moved to the East Coast to work as an aquaculture biologist on a fish farm in Florida, raising cobia, pompano, and a number of other emerging food fish species. Just prior to entering graduate school, Dave was an aquaculture consultant for USC’s Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island.

“This is a time-lapse video of Kaneohe Bay, where I grew up in Hawaii. I like to show it at my talks because it illustrates that although we, as a society, have made decisions resulting in adverse environmental impacts, we have also worked constantly to preserve and restore the environment.

Kaneohe Bay was a dumping ground for raw sewage up until the late 70’s, which completely changed the ecosystem of the Bay. It’s now a well-known example of marine eutrophication. You can also see mangroves in this video, introduced from Florida by sugar companies, and the mud flats that accumulated over coral reefs as housing developments around the Bay grew. Awareness of all of this allowed us to change the course of our actions and mitigate our impacts, and now we see evidence that the coral ecosystem is returning to Kaneohe Bay. To me, this represents hope that humans can thrive within the natural cycles of the environment. The Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology is just out of view to the right, a testament to the fact that marine research is integral to the preservation of ocean habitat.”