Last year, Zhang Bensheng, the founder of Beijing's Yunnan restaurant chain Under Clouds, approached her with a vision. He wanted her to join the team and help create Under Clouds Green, a fine-dining, plant-based Yunnan experience.

"We wanted to explore the possibilities of Yunnan's abundant ingredients together," Zhang Bensheng explains.

"I hope this restaurant feels warm, full of life, and resonates with both the local Yunnan lifestyle and the urban lifestyle of Beijing.

"Yunnan cuisine suits this era. The ingredients are fresh. It defies rigid definitions and yet, its breadth is immense, and the cooking techniques are straightforward and direct."

A culinary journey

True to her philosophy, Zhang Yunjia spent a full year preparing the first seasonal menu. She envisions dishes that balance refinement with wildness "through a return to some of the cooking traditions of Yunnan's ethnic groups, such as fire, smoking, salting and fermentation".

Two-thirds of the ingredients on her menu travel over 2,000 kilometers from Yunnan. Ingredients arrive in Beijing roughly every three days. Even with today's efficient logistics, some ingredients, such as grass shoots from Jianshui, are so delicate that transporting them to Kunming alone results in significant spoilage, let alone traveling all the way to Beijing.

Yet, other ingredients, including a wide variety of wild mushrooms, do make the journey, arriving in the morning, prepared by the afternoon, and served fresh to diners by the evening.

Zhang Yunjia's commitment extends to every detail, including the restaurant's tableware.

Ceramics, with shapes that carefully match the dishes, are crafted under the guidance of a ceramics instructor from Jianshui.

The chef sketches her designs before they are fired. She recently began exploring vegan leather made from mycelium to use as placemats, a sustainable touch for future menus.

Her autumn menu is her second seasonal one at Under Clouds Green. This one is more focused: 15 dishes and three beverages that guide guests on a whimsical journey through the world of mushrooms.

One standout dish is inspired by Cockscomb Flower, a painting by Zeng Xiaolian, 86, a veteran botanical artist in Yunnan. This painting was one of his first works after undergoing cancer surgery in 2019.

Zhang Yunjia uses maitake mushrooms and cauliflower fungus to mimic the flower's form, wrapping the "bouquet" with seaweed for added texture and flavor.

In designing each seasonal menu, she not only creates new dishes but also studies traditional Yunnan recipes with master chefs, determined to preserve and pass on the cuisine's rich heritage.

"Yunnan cuisine isn't just about stir-frying or roasting," she says.

"It needs to be explored. Young chefs in particular should delve deeper into the traditional techniques and methods of Yunnan cooking."

For Zhang Yunjia, fine dining is more than a format; it's a language, a way to express the essence of each ingredient with precision and care. Through her interpretation, she hopes diners from China and abroad can gain a deeper understanding of Yunnan cuisine.