Kylie Kwong has announced she is quitting the restaurant business after 24 years as a restaurateur and will close her Sydney eatery Lucky Kwong in late June.
The news comes after other Sydney closures by high-profile chefs including the long-running fine-dining restaurant Tetsuya’s by Tetsuya Wakuda, and Fish Butchery and the takeaway shop Charcoal Fish by Josh and Julie Niland.
In Melbourne the owners of the laneway restaurant Gingerboy called in the liquidators in April – the same month new data showed the hospitality sector accounted for 15% of Australian businesses going under.
Restaurateurs have cited various reasons for shuttering their businesses – long-delayed location plans that have fallen through, incorporating a smaller business into the operations of another, and the tough economic conditions of rising operating costs coupled with reduced diner spending.
Kwong in her announcement referred to the “challenges” of restaurateur life, but celebrated “far more positive experiences than negative”.
“These last 24 years have really tested the mettle of one’s character, drawing out strengths I never knew existed, and have instilled deep values which continue to guide my path,” her Instagram post read.
The chef, cookbook author and TV personality said the next phase of her career would continue her passion for “food, art, culture and connection”, as well as her work with First Nations communities.
“Through the lens of food and interconnectedness, I wish to place all my energy, focus and time into helping share and amplify other people’s stories, particularly the important voices of First Nations people and our multicultural communities, who make Australia the rich and diverse country that it is today,” her post continued.
Kwong worked in Neil Perry’s Rockpool and Wokpool kitchens in the 1990s before – with the late Bill Granger – opening her modern Chinese restaurant Billy Kwong in Surry Hills in 2000.
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She became a household name after appearing in her TV program Cooking with Heart and Soul in 2003 and releasing a slew of cookbooks.
After Granger left the restaurant, Kwong committed to incorporating organic and sustainable ingredients – including roasted crickets – on to the restaurant’s menu, as well as native Australian produce.
She closed Billy Kwong in 2019, before opening the casual lunchtime-only eatery Lucky Kwong in South Eveleigh in 2021. The business is named in honour of Lucky, the stillborn son Kwong shared with her wife, the artist Nell.