“Andrei loved food, he loved making cocktails, he was always the life of the party,” explains Natalia Ostensen, owner of Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine & Cocktails. Natalia, Andrei’s sister, has been the owner of the high-end establishment for a decade. They recently celebrated their 10-year anniversary in July. 

Andrei Olenicoff was born and raised in Orange County and was diagnosed with retinal eye disease while in his 20s. This condition led Andrei to the “conscious cuisine” that is served in Andrei’s to this day. 

Andrei Olenicoff

“He got really involved in how to slow the progress [of the disease], and he found nutrition was a big part of  that,” Natalia told Irvine Weekly. 

According to his family, Andrei moved to an all-organic and non-GMO diet while he was sick and saw results through clean eating. Unfortunately, Andrei tragically passed away in a car accident in 2005, but he left a legacy of fresh and delicious meals through his family and their conscious cuisine restaurant, founded in his honor.

Fall winter 2019 cocktails (Courtesy of Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine)

“He was seeing results from his diet, so when we lost him it just made sense to make our food consciously, and name our self Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine. A big part of our mission was to source everything locally and organically as much as possible,” Natalia shared with us. 

Andrei’s “conscious cuisine” not only refers to the fact that all of their food is organic and locally sourced, but also that every dollar of profit made from Andrei’s goes to the Andrei Olenicoff Memorial Foundation. 

“We decided that if we were gonna start this restaurant, it wouldn’t be to make money,” Natalie explained. “And if we did make any money, the profits they would go to the Andrei Foundation. Through the Andrei Foundation, we support a number of organizations.” 

In the past few months, Andrei’s has donated to organizations including Hoag Hospital Foundation, who received a $50,000 donation from the foundation last month, and Miracles for Kids, who received a $20,000 donation the month before.

Mozzarella di Bufala (Courtesy of Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine)

“The best part about it for us is when we come to the restaurant and see Andrei’s friends, our family friends, work colleagues and members of the community, all supporting our mission,” Natalia said.

Andrei’s is a true farm-to-table restaurant, sourcing most of their ingredients from Irvine Farms, just a few stoplights from their location within Irvine’s UCI Center. “We get a lot of our produce from Irvine Farms, so were getting a lot of our ingredients from right up the street,” Natalia told us.

Andrei’s will soon be instituting their fall and winter menu, and also offering catering for events and parties.

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