Taking It Slow: Lisa Minder Wu of The Orchard

During her 16 years in Beijing, Lisa Minder Wu has been a journalist, is the wife to a Chinese rock star, and also ranks as one of the forerunners of the city’s locavore and slow food scene. She owns The Orchard, a restaurant in Shunyi that includes a working orchard and farm, the popularity of which spearheaded the growth of Hegezhuang Village and surrounding areas. Wu recently took a few minutes to share her experiences with us.

What does slow food mean to you?
Slow food means made from “scratch” where I come from. Gravies, sauces, dressings, breads … we made them all as kids. The Orchard is the “grown-up” version of that idea and we were “slow food” from the start. I don’t have restaurant training so I don’t know how to cut corners – instant potatoes and packaged gravies seem like cheating. I wouldn’t want to eat it, so I certainly don’t want to serve it. We smoke our own fish, we make our own gravies and sauces, and we make our own ice cream.

Where is The Orchard’s food sourced from?
All our salads, herbs and some tomatoes– and this year many squashes – came from our farm. When we took the big fish out of our lake, we made stews and soups out of them. I’m still trying to try to find a group of organic suppliers who will be able to give me a good price and reliable delivery of vegetables and meat so that we can offer a fully organic menu. We currently offer Wondermilk dairy milk and yogurt and are using locally made cheeses from Yellow Valley and Le Fromager de Pekin.

What are the biggest challenges of operating a farm in the suburbs?
We are not fully organic, but “transitional” and “green.” We do not spray the herbs and salads. However, we still spray the fruit trees with agricultural sulfur and some low-toxic pesticides. The real challenge is teaching our caretakers. I’ve been trying to teach them about companion planting and even started a worm farm. But because I primarily run a restaurant and the garden comes after the restaurant, I have trouble keeping up with the arbitrary farming practices that go on.

What do you think of the development going on near The Orchard?
Hegezhuang was a poor, sleepy village with no paved roads when we created The Orchard. Now there is a lot going on and we are trying to create a courtyard community in this village – Green T. House Living, Art Base One, the 318 Art Colony, cafes and shops. But we were the first to arrive and I hope that we will stay for a long time, even as the city flows around and past us.