You won’t find any white table clothes at Cenex Gas station in Walla Walla, but step inside and you will discover one of the best restaurants in the state. You might still find a few pretentious foodies, but no pretention with décor, prices, or booked out reservations. Andrae's Kitchen, run by chef Andrae Bopp, serves up “…a blend of Cajun and Southern, with a heavy influence of smoke, spice and south of the border. Our onsite smoker pumps out some killer brisket and pulled pork.”
The man behind it all, Andrae Bopp, has been passionate about food and wine his entire life. “I have always been someone not afraid to work hard to achieve what I set before me. It has carried through pretty much in every venture that I have started. I also go with my gut feeling…a lot, and so far it has steered me down the right path. “ says Bopp, and what a path he’s had. Food was always at the center of his life and he has an extensive background to prove it. Graduating with top honors, from the French Culinary Institute located in New York City. Following graduation, Andrae worked and interned in some of the world’s finest restaurants; including Bouley, Danube, Balthazar and Le Bernardin, a Michelin Three Star restaurant. He went on to open his own restaurant in Boise, and accumulating accolades, honorable mentions, and awards. He became known throughout the Pacific Northwest for the numerous wine dinners with some of the industry’s top winemakers and his work with local farmers.
With the plan of combining his love of food with his passion for wine, he made his move to Walla Walla. He began the process for opening up Andrae’s Kitchen, one of the first mobile Food Trucks in the Pacific Northwest, and soon after Andrae opened a permanent restaurant inside the Cenex Convenience Store and has been garnering National attention and awards since, including: Pacific Northwest Caterer of the Year (2012), Best Food Truck Restaurant in North America (2016), Best Gas Station Breakfast in America (2016). And has been featured in The New York Times, Travel and Leisure Magazine, USA Today, Food and Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Sunset and many other Regional and National publications. In 2019 Andrae’s Kitchen was featured on The Cooking Channels show Food Paradise, as he continues to push the envelope with his creative “Gas Station Cuisine”.
For his most recent project he partnered with Minam Store Outfitters and began “Wine and Food on The River” trips, featuring gourmet dinners all paired up with Walla Walla Wineries, served each night at camp. “We have been doing these for 6 years and have grown to include the Salmon River, Hells Canyon and the Wallowa/Grande Ronde. We have all different price points, adrenalin levels and length of trips, so really something for everyone,” says Bopp.
For more information, check out www.andraeskitchen.com or follow along on Instagram: @andraeskitchen or Twitter: @andraeskitchen