Sydney restaurant Lucky Kwong closes down, chef Kylie Kwong quits industry after 24 year career

An iconic Australian chef has announced she is closing down her restaurant and quitting the hospitality industry for good.

An iconic Australian chef has announced she is closing down her restaurant and quitting the hospitality industry for good.

On Monday morning, Kylie Kwong, a well-known chef who has been a staple in Sydney’s culinary scene for the past 24 years, delivered the news to her 100,000 followers on social media.

“At the end of June I am hanging up my restaurateur hat,” Ms Kwong wrote.

On June 26, Lucky Kwong, her Australian-Cantonese restaurant based in Eveleigh in Sydney’s inner west, will close.

Ms Kwong, 55, plans to use the new-found time on her hands to “relax and reflect” before using her food background to become involved in social enterprises, particularly with a focus on Australia’s First Nations people and multicultural communities.

Kylie Kwong is hanging up her chef hat after a successful 24-year career.

Kylie Kwong with the late Bill Granger. The pair opened a restaurant together.

Ms Kwong made reference to the fact that the hospitality industry is facing tough times, but that this played only a small role in her decision to move her career in a different direction.

“For all the many challenges that come with being in the hospitality industry, I consider myself fortunate for I have had far more positive experiences than negative,” she said.

“Everyone is feeling it. I have never seen the restaurant industry in such tough times as it is right now.”

Ms Kwong became a household name in Australia after doing an apprenticeship with famous Aussie chef Neil Perry in the 1990s and working her way up the food chain.

She became one of the nation’s first female culinary icons through her TV cooking programs and cookbooks.

In 2000, Ms Kwong opened her own restaurant, in partnership with the late Bill Granger.

This restaurant, named Billy Kwong, was first based in Sydney’s Surry Hills but then moved to Potts Point. It shut down in 2019.

In 2021, she opened Lucky Kwong, but that too is now closing.

Ms Kwong was appointed a member of the Order of Australia last year.

“Food and cooking continues to be my love language, and with you, I want to farewell these last 24 years on an absolute high,” she added.

Lucky Kwong was a fusion of modern Australian and Chinese food.

The restaurant will close in late June.

The closure generated an outpouring of support.

UK television cook Nigella Lawson wrote, “Thank you for all those years, and for your delicious and soulful genius! I feel a pang knowing that the next time I come back to Sydney there won’t be your restaurant to make a beeline for, but I’m so happy for you to have the time to do what’s right for you.”

“Incredible Kylie. How wonderful! Take time for you,” Sydney chef Simmone Logue added.

“Thank you for the delicious food and special dining experiences, I feel very grateful I got to eat at your restaurants. Best of luck and excited to see your next adventure,” wrote another fan.

It comes as a number of other hospitality venues have shut down in recent months as industry woes continue.

Kylie Kwong has had a massive career in Australia’s cooking scene.

Last week, the Botswana Butchery chain which operated as a high-end steak restaurant across three cities went bust, with debts of more than $23 million and more than 200 staff sacked.

The last remaining NSW store of fast food chain Lord of the Fries appears shut down earlier this month after the landlord repossessed the property.

Last month, after 18 years in business, Asian fusion restaurant Gingerboy shut down blaming “market pressures since Covid lockdowns”.

News.com.au also spoke to a hospitality insider who said he was deciding if he was going to liquidate his business in the next 48 hours because things were so dire.

A number of other restaurants have joined the growing pile of corpses, including Japanese chain Sushi Bay, Elements Bar and Grill and three stores in Sydney restaurant franchise Bondi Pizza.

Late last year, arm of major Victorian catering business, Legacy Hospitality Group, went bust with debts in excess of $1.7 million.

[e-mail]

Originally published as Sydney restaurant Lucky Kwong closes down, chef Kylie Kwong quits industry after 24 year career