Top chef Kylie Kwong’s life-giving recipe of service

Kylie Kwong’s recipe for culinary consciousness has earned her one of Australia’s highest honours.

Chef and restaurateur Kylie Kwong. Picture: Penny Lane

She’s the woman synonymous with silky mouthfuls of delicate morsels, but Kylie Kwong’s recipe for culinary consciousness has earned her an Order of Australia.

Recognised for outstanding service to the hospitality scene, Kwong, who burst into Sydney’s dining scene as head chef at Neil Perry’s Rockpool and Bill Granger’s Bills, opened her own institution, Billy Kwong, at the turn of the millennium.

The restaurateur was on Thursday awarded the Order of Australia medal for her services to hospitality.

In practice, 53-year-old Kwong serves more than sizzling and sumptuous plates elevating traditional Cantonese cuisine to a contemporary audience. She infuses her practice with a commitment to sustainable consumption.

Drawing from her Buddhist learnings, Kwong once likened her food to “life-giving” bites, ­centred around “uplifting and ­elevating the energy, rather than depleting” it.

Named the 2019 ambassador for food, culture and community for the South Eveleigh precinct, the restaurateur swapped degustations and dinner decadence for community nourishment. Her cafeteria-style dining venue Lucky Kwong emerged, nestled in the heart of the precinct, offering a bridge between old and new Sydney, the traditional and the urban.

Named after her late son, the casual eatery focuses on ethically sourced ingredients and nourishing dishes, submerging Australian native ingredients in a blend of caramel-tamari, XO sauces and spice blends. “As always, it is a reflection of my heritage and the food we ate at home when I was growing up,” Kwong’s manifesto for the restaurant says.

Few restaurants retain her ­decades-long dominance.