After more than two decades of wowing Australian diners, culinary icon Kylie Kwong has announced on Monday, she is closing the doors to her restaurant Lucky Kwong and ending her career as a restaurateur.

The trailblazing chef, author and TV presenter has long been celebrated for her elevated take on classic Chinese food, with her unique introduction of native Australian ingredients underpinning her status as one of the most respected names in the industry.

“I’ve been running my own restaurants — Billy Kwong and Lucky Kwong — for 24 years and cooking professionally for more than 30 years,” Kwong told Australian Story.

“I just feel like it’s the right time. I have given this piece of my life everything I can give it.

“There is sadness around this decision, of course, because it’s three decades of my life. But I also feel an excitement because another door is opening, as only it does when we close one door.”

With the last day of service at her inner-Sydney eatery, Lucky Kwong, scheduled for June 26, Kwong is looking forward to a break before she moves on to the next course of her career — using food as a catalyst for positive social impact and cultural exchange.

Leaning heavily on her long-held philosophy that food is a connecting force, Kwong, 55, hopes to further build on her existing relationships with social enterprise and charity organisations focused on First Nations and multicultural communities.

“For the past few decades, I’ve been directing the narrative because it’s been my story,” Kwong said.

“And what I’m really excited about with this next phase is I’ll now have the time and energy to amplify other people’s stories.

I’ll still be very much connected to the food industry but just I’ll be doing it in a different way.”

After working under chef Neil Perry at his signature restaurants Rockpool and Wokpool for six years in the 1990s, Kwong became one of Australia’s first female chefs to rise to national prominence when she opened acclaimed restaurant Billy Kwong alongside the late Bill Granger in 2000.

After cementing her celebrity chef status with a raft of TV cooking programs and cookbooks, Kwong continued her path as a pioneering force — introducing organic and sustainable produce to her cooking in 2005.

Several years later, Kwong committed to championing native Australian ingredients within her Chinese offering, with stir-fried warrigal greens and saltbush cakes becoming staples on the menu.

After 19 years in operation, Billy Kwong was shuttered in 2019. Two years later, Kwong opened the smaller eatery Lucky Kwong, named in honour of the stillborn son she had in 2012 with her long-term partner, Nell.

“I’ve spent the last three or four decades of my working life going from one project to the next,” said Kwong, who was appointed a member of the Order of Australia in 2023.

“This time I’m doing it differently. And I guess what I’m focusing on now is just really making this ending of this era really special, because it is.”

Kwong joins a number of high-profile industry figures recently hanging up their restaurateur hats, with rising rents and the cost of living being blamed for the closure of other established eateries.

Kylie Kwong’s Australian Story, the final course of the program’s trilogy, Off Menu, airs Monday, May 27, 8pm, on ABCTV and ABC iview. 

Missed course one? Stream Josh Niland’s Australian Story now on ABC iview.