Will Yorke

Name:  Will Yorke
From:  Surrey
Lives in: Beijing

“The joy is that you never stop learning”.

Will is from a nice little village in Surrey called Chiddingfold. One day he might return to the village green, but for now he still thinks there is much more to do and learn in China.

He came to Beijing in 1997 to study Chinese for a year. He was a terrible student whom his teachers were ever hopeful would ease them of their pain by failing the end of year exams. He didn’t fail, and the moment he arrived at Beijing airport he was immediately hooked.

His interest in electronic music and DJing made sure that he made friends quickly and he made quick progress with the language. Will was amongst the first phase of people who brought DJing culture to China and after his graduation from University he immediately came back to continue organising electronic music events. He also worked for a company that organised large international music events such as the Ritan outdoor festival, Jazz festivals, Whitney Houston and the Backstreet Boys.

In 2004 he opened a Kung Fu school in Beijing with a teacher he met in 1997. Will got extremely fit, but his lanky frame was not cut out for the moves and after four years his back gave in. This introduced him to the wonders of acupuncture but ended his kung fu career.

Will is married to a Beijing woman he met in 2000. In 2004 they opened a restaurant in a hutong near the Lama temple called “Vineyard Cafe” serving simple European cooking. The restaurant has proven to be very popular with foreigners and Chinese, and the “English breakfast” brunch at the weekend is highly renowned.

Will and his wife are currently working hard to improve the management of their business so that the possibility of opening another restaurant might become a reality. It is not easy, but it is highly rewarding working in Beijing with a great team of people and meeting new people every day.