How a pear whisperer became a darling of Chicago’s top chefs

On a recent morning, Oriana Kruszewski started her workday on her 40-acre farm in Winslow, Ill., by hopping aboard her golf cart and zipping past her farmhouse, fresh-water creek, fire pit and stack of bee boxes.

After stopping to check on an apple tree she planted more than 20 years ago, she looked back toward a chatty group of farm hands slowly trailing on foot.

“Hey, you guys coming?” she yelled, playfully. “I want to join the party!”

The volunteers were from North Pond restaurant, Green City Market and Google, which hosted the farmer for a talk last summer. They eventually caught up to the petite 78-year-old, who wore a gray bun, an “Oriana’s Orchard” T-shirt and green pants — a.k.a her “kitchen towel” — that she used to clean a knife.

Before harvesting began, she held court, slicing open fruit and passing around juicy samples while sharing a history of the pawpaw, a native North American fruit that she also grows. She told stories, cracked jokes, doled out life advice and took a picture of the clan that she would later post herself on her picturesque — and often funny — Instagram account.

That is a snapshot of what it’s like to work with Kruszewski, who has developed a popular following among Chicago chefs. They say they are inspired by her wisdom, culled from years tending to an acreage she purchased at $3,000 an acre decades ago. It was a meager price compared to what the land is worth today, she told her volunteers, turning the story into a lesson.

“Why are you wearing nice clothes and driving a nice car?” she said. “Come on, put that money in land.”

During fruitful years, she yields about 20 tons of pears and about 400 pounds of pawpaws, some of which are used in dishes and beverages at North Pond, Feld, Eden and Moody Tongue. She is a beloved longtime vendor at Green City Market and Logan Square Farmer’s Market, as well as the subject of a short documentary, “Oriana’s Orchard,” which premiered at the brewery Middle Brow, another one of her customers, and will be released in the future.

“She’s a treasure,” said North Pond Executive Chef César Murillo, who incorporates her produce in a Knox Pears dessert and other dishes on the menu. “She’s more than double my age, and I’ve just learned so much from her. And she’s so willing to share it all. She’s such a great resource. Why not hang out with her? And the work is fun. It’s so fulfilling.”

Born in China and raised in Hong Kong, Kruszewski said pears were too expensive and therefore a novelty for her family. As an adult, she became determined to grow her own, so she could enjoy them any time.

But before embarking on her green-thumb adventures, Kruszewski moved to the United States at 28, married a year later and worked in marine insurance while raising two kids. In her late 40s, she started growing pears in her backyard as a hobby.

“I gave it to my friends and other people like my doctor,” said Kruszewski, who lives in Skokie when she isn’t at the farm. “They were impressed.”

Once she began producing more than she could consume, her business was born.

Kruszewski specializes in Asian pear varieties, including the Korean Giant, which makes up 90% of her orchard. Avoiding pesticides, she keeps her farm in good shape by mowing the lawn, pruning and grafting the trees, and relying on rain water. She learned what she knows through training with other growers over the years and her own trial and error.

Her clients also include a community-supported agriculture group, which pays a fee to receive a share of her produce.

But Kruszewski said she is not in the business for profit, which is not significant, especially for small farmers.

“If I can pay for my taxes, gas and have a little on the side, I’m pretty happy,” she said.

Now divorced with grown children, Kruszewski runs the farm alone with help from volunteers, many of whom she met at farmers markets. She said interacting with people while vending is her favorite part of the job.

“You have the same interests,” she said. “They get to know you slowly, not in one day.”

Green City Market Executive Director Letisha Steele said she was inspired by Kruszewski.

“She’s someone that went after her dream and is living it and doing it,” said Steele, who volunteered on Kruszewski’s farm. “I hope to still be that passionate about something and doing what I love no matter what age I am.”

Steele also marveled at the community Kruszewski has built.

“These young dudes, they want to come hang out on the farm on a Tuesday morning and make some food and pick some pears,” Steele said of the North Pond staffers. “And I just think that’s so incredible.”

John Brandon, the chef de cuisine at North Pond, said he enjoyed learning tips from Kruszewski, such as which ailments can be treated with the medicinal Chinese herbs that she also grows.

“We put on our menu what we get from every farmer,” Brandon said. “For her, we put ‘wisdom,’ because she just has all these great little nuggets.”

Middle Brow owner Peter Ternes quickly learned about the quality of Kruszewski’s produce when he tried a pawpaw sample more than 10 years ago at the farmers market.

“I was stunned and wanted to buy one,” said Ternes, who now uses the fruit in a seasonal saison. “So, I walked over to a garbage can and just split it open and consumed the entire thing, spitting out the seeds as I went.”

“Oriana’s Orchard” film director Krista Kane reported a similar experience sampling the different varieties of Kruszewski’s pears.

“The difference in flavor is wild,” Kane said. “It’s like nature’s Willy Wonka. Like going from tree to tree and saying, ‘Whoa, I didn’t know a pear could taste like that.’ Because of how she grows things, the depth of flavor is so much more interesting than I find in a lot of things that I buy from the grocery store. I brought one of her apples home to my partner and he was like, ‘This is the best apple I’ve ever had.’”

Kane said she appreciated Kruszewski’s knowledge, encouragement and grit.

“She’s such a problem-solver,” Kane said. “She just doesn’t give up. So, it’s inspiring to see how resilient she is.”

Determination is another lesson Kruszewski passes along to her helpers.

“If you have a good job, keep your good job and work on something else that you like,” she said. “Eventually you can afford to quit your main job and do what you like. I’m lucky.”