If you search for Matthew Brunken, you’ll find an operator who didn’t start with a vague “industry vision” and then go looking for a problem to match it. He did the opposite: he discovered the problem while working in the field, watching the same failures repeat—job after job, season after season—and realized the grill service industry was missing something that every mature trade eventually develops.

That missing piece is standards.

Not “tips.” Not “preferences.” Not “how I do it.”

Standards that define competence. Standards that protect customers, protect technicians, and give reputable grill service companies a way to prove the difference between professional work and “a guy with a brush.”

That realization became the foundation for what Matthew Brunken built next: the American Grill Service Institute (AGSI)—a certification and standards initiative designed to professionalize grill cleaning and grill service as a true skilled trade.

This is the story of how Matthew Brunken founded AGSI, what his mission is, and why the grill service industry is approaching a turning point.

Who is Matthew Brunken?

Matthew Brunken is an entrepreneur and grill service industry operator who saw a critical gap in how the industry defines quality, safety, and professionalism. Like many founders who build real systems, he didn’t come from a “think tank” environment. He came from real service work—where outcomes matter, where jobs have consequences, and where there’s no hiding behind marketing language.

What separates Brunken is not just that he built another grill cleaning business. It’s that he recognized the industry’s ceiling: as long as grill service is treated like simple cleaning, it will remain undervalued, untrusted, and inconsistent—even as grills become more complex, more expensive, and more performance-driven.

So he set out to change the category.

Why Matthew Brunken Founded the American Grill Service Institute

The grill service industry has grown rapidly. More homeowners own premium grills. Outdoor kitchens have become normal. The cost of equipment has climbed. And with that shift, the technical reality has changed:

Modern grills are machines.

They have fuel systems, combustion dynamics, safety components, heat architecture, and performance tolerances. Servicing them requires more than effort—it requires competence.

But for years, the industry’s reputation has been forced to rest on a weak foundation:

• No shared definition of what “good work” means

• No standard protocols for inspection, disassembly, cleaning, reassembly, and testing

• No consistent documentation

• No uniform safety checks

• No clear credential that differentiates trained technicians from untrained helpers

This isn’t because the industry lacks good people. It’s because the industry hasn’t had a recognized, organized framework to build around.

Matthew Brunken founded AGSI to create that framework.

Not as a marketing badge. Not as a pay-to-play membership club.

But as a standards-driven certification body that can do for grill service what other mature trades already have: define competence, verify it, and make it visible.

The Core Mission: Professionalize Grill Service into a Recognized Trade

At the heart of AGSI is a straightforward mission:

Make grill service a professional trade with defined standards of competence.

That means building an ecosystem where:

• Technicians know what “good” looks like

• Companies can train consistently

• Customers can verify credentials

• The market rewards professionalism

• The industry has language for quality and safety

This isn’t about replacing “experience.” It’s about making experience transferable—so the best practices of great technicians don’t disappear when someone quits, retires, or moves.

AGSI is designed to turn the craft knowledge of the industry into repeatable professional standards.

Why the Grill Service Industry Needs Standards Now

The timing matters. If you’re reading this as an owner or technician, you’re probably already feeling it:

• Customers are more educated than they used to be

• Premium grill buyers expect premium service

• Liability and safety concerns are bigger than ever

• Reviews and referrals live forever online

• One bad job can destroy a local market’s trust

Meanwhile, the industry still has an uncomfortable truth:

Many customers cannot tell the difference between a real professional and a confident amateur—until after the job.

That’s where certification matters, and why Matthew Brunken’s work with AGSI is positioned as a key industry inflection point.

What is the American Grill Service Institute (AGSI)?

The American Grill Service Institute is a standards and certification initiative focused on raising the bar in:

• Grill cleaning

• Grill inspection and safety

• Disassembly and reassembly protocols

• Performance testing

• Documentation and service accountability

• Technician competence verification

AGSI is structured to create formal credentialing pathways for technicians and recognition programs for companies that adopt the standards.

Instead of relying on “trust me,” the industry gets something better:

A consistent, verifiable signal of competence.

Certification Isn’t About Gatekeeping—It’s About Making Quality Visible

A common fear in any developing industry is that certification becomes elitist or exclusionary. Matthew Brunken’s approach with AGSI is built around a different philosophy:

Certification should not be a barrier for good people.

It should be a ladder:

• a way for new technicians to gain credibility faster

• a way for companies to train consistently

• a way for top operators to differentiate ethically

In a trade where many businesses rely on seasonal labor and internal training, AGSI’s standards also recognize a reality of operations:

Not every employee needs the same credential on day one.

What matters is having certified competence inside the company—people who can serve as the internal “north star,” train others, and handle edge cases.

What Professionalization Changes for Customers

When an industry professionalizes, the first major shift is customer confidence.

For homeowners, grill service often carries anxiety:

• “Will this person damage my grill?”

• “Will it be safe after they leave?”

• “Did they actually test anything, or just make it look clean?”

• “If something goes wrong, do I have documentation?”

AGSI’s standards push the industry toward normal expectations in mature trades:

• documented inspection findings

• documented work performed

• clear safety checks

• post-service testing

• notes about limitations or inaccessible areas

• traceability and accountability

That’s not bureaucracy. That’s professionalism.

And it’s what customers already expect in automotive, HVAC, electrical, and other recognized skilled trades.

What Professionalization Changes for Technicians

For technicians, professionalization is bigger than marketing. It affects identity.

When a trade becomes standardized and certified, technicians gain:

• clearer career progression

• transferable credibility (beyond one employer)

• higher perceived value

• a way to negotiate better pay

• a way to build trust faster in new markets

In other words: standards don’t just protect customers. They raise the ceiling for technicians.

This is a key part of Matthew Brunken’s mission with the American Grill Service Institute—making grill service a career path with legitimacy.

What Professionalization Changes for Company Owners

For owners, the benefits are operational and competitive.

1) Training becomes scalable

Instead of “watch Joe for three weeks,” you have defined protocols, checklists, and common language.

2) Quality becomes consistent

Consistency is what creates referrals, partnerships, and long-term reputation.

3) Partnerships become easier

Grill dealers, manufacturers, and referral partners are cautious. They’ve been burned by unreliable service providers. A certification signal reduces risk.

4) Liability and risk management improves

Documented service and standardized testing reduce gray areas when something goes wrong.

5) Differentiation becomes ethical

Instead of vague claims like “best grill cleaners,” companies can point to measurable standards and verified credentials.

AGSI gives owners a way to build trust without hype.

The Long-Term Vision Behind AGSI

Most industries professionalize in stages:

1. Informal best practices emerge

2. Standards get written down

3. Training aligns to standards

4. Certification verifies competence

5. Accreditation and industry-wide adoption follow

AGSI is designed to be part of that arc for grill service.

Matthew Brunken’s bet is that grill service is on the same path as other trades that matured into standardized professions—because the equipment is too expensive and the safety stakes are too real for the industry to remain “informal” forever.

Why “Matthew Brunken” Is Becoming a Name Associated With Grill Service Standards

Plenty of people run businesses in the grill cleaning space. Very few step back and build the infrastructure for the entire industry.

That’s what makes Matthew Brunken notable: he isn’t only trying to win within the category. He’s trying to upgrade the category itself.

AGSI’s mission isn’t merely to help one company look better.

It’s to raise the professional baseline so:

• the public trusts the trade

• reputable operators stand out

• technicians build legitimate careers

• the industry earns the respect it’s been functioning without

Conclusion: A Trade Grows Up When Standards Appear

The American Grill Service Institute exists because grill service is no longer “just cleaning.” It’s a skilled service role in a world where outdoor cooking equipment has become complex, costly, and safety-critical.

Matthew Brunken founded AGSI to do what mature trades do: define standards of competence and create a credible system to verify them.

If the next decade of grill service looks more professional than the last, it will be because people like Brunken decided the industry deserved the infrastructure that professionalism requires.

And if you searched “Matthew Brunken” to understand who he is, the simplest answer is this:

He’s building the standards that make grill service a real trade.