Kylie Kwong

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. Billy Kwong, Kylie's bustling restaurant of 19 years, celebrated its final chapter in June 2019.

For Kylie 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.

The first television series Kylie Kwong: Heart and Soul premiered in October 2003 and has since been sold worldwide, as has the accompanying book. Her first book, Kylie Kwong: Recipes and Stories, introduced her family and the food that binds them together.

Kylie's latest book, My China: A Feast for all the Senses, reflects on experiences gained while exploring Chinese culinary delights, while taking a deeply personal journey into the history, culture and peoples of China and Tibet. An accompanying TV series is nearing completion.

For Kylie, food is both a way of life in the present and a link with the past and her family heritage - especially for her extraordinary great-grandfather Kwong Sue Duk, who was lured to Australia from his ancestral village in China by the promise of gold. As she says ‘…by sharing the experiences of my family, I hope to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture, particularly within Australia, and to express my pride in my Chinese heritage.