For Kylie Kwong cooking is a call to act. The constant question that drives her practice as a cook, as a collaborator and creative is how her practice can drive positive social change.
This energy is driven by a philosophy that the best way to care of self is to be connected to community. Kylie believes, that when we take care of self, we are better equipped to take care of others. Through her multiple connections and collaborations, she creates space, time and experiences that allow us to imagine that there is a better, more sustainable more interconnected way.
Kylie Kwong has become synonymous with modern Chinese cooking in Australia. As a third- generation Australian, she has drawn on her southern Chinese heritage to reinterpret Cantonese cuisine, combining uniquely Australian ingredients with traditional Chinese cooking methods and flavours. Kylie’s food highlights partnerships with the local community and collaborations with long- term suppliers and producers.
After 30 years of working in kitchens and running restaurants, including the highly acclaimed Billy Kwong in Surry Hills and Potts Point, she recently closed her eatery in Sydney, Lucky Kwong.
Kylie is now embarking on a number of new and exciting projects and was recently appointed as an Associate for Powerhouse Parramatta. In this role Kylie will be connecting with community at-large through food and programming.
On a global scale, Kylie is Parabere Forum’s Australian correspondent, an independent and not-for-profit platform featuring women’s views and voices on major food issues. At the 2019 Parabere Forum in Oslo Kylie delivered a keynote address on the theme of ‘Changing the Game’.
In 2023 Kylie was honoured to be one of ‘Sydney World Pride’s 45 Rainbow Champions’ and also this year received an Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the hospitality industry and the community, and this year, Kylie was honoured to be made one of the Patrons for Equality Australia and an Ambassador for DeadlyScience.
Kylie continuously thinks critically about what it means to be a cook and how she can best serve the community around her.
Video
How chef Kylie Kwong channelled the ‘overwhelming energy’ of grief | Australian Story
In the third and final instalment of Australian Story’s series on restaurateurs, Kylie Kwong looks back on her stellar 30-year career and reveals why it is time to embark on a new direction in life. Kylie reflects on the pivotal moments of her life, including the trauma she and her wife Nell endured when their son Lucky was stillborn in 2012 and how she channelled that grief into something positive. Other interviewees include friend Nigella Lawson and friend and mentor Maggie Beer.COOKING WITH HEART & SOUL with Kylie Kwong at Happiness & Its Causes 2018
COOKING WITH HEART AND SOUL | Kylie Kwong, celebrated chef and TV personality
