Meet Chef Randy Gruspe, new Chef of the renowned Duke’s in Huntington Beach. Chef Randy Gruspe was born and raised a Hawaiian, which might make him the best possibly suited chef for the popular Duke’s chain. Click to learn more about Chef Randy Gruspe and …

  • The events that had him deciding to be a cook at 8 years of age.
  • Life as a New Zealand All-Blacks rugby player
  • His favorite authentic Hawaiian food to cook, hands down.

Author’s Note: After 30 years of interviewing and marketing some of the most iconic individuals in the world, I still find chefs to be some of the most unique human creatures on our planet. Every time I interview a chef, I learn something amazing about him or her. These people live with a passion and authenticity that drives them beyond what most of us do or realize in our day.

And, when these chefs talk about their passion for non-profit Illumination Foundation’s OC Chef’s Table, the largest single-evening gathering of chefs in Orange County (and, now, L.A. chefs, too) to help raise funds to forever break the cycle of homelessness in families and children, it’s even more intriguing to me.

It’s been one of my greatest pleasures interviewing these people in what I call a fast-moving, quick read series, “Five for Five” series – 5 Questions in 5 Minutes

Get Laguna's Restaurant Updates!