Kylie Kwong

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Kylie Kwong at a book signing

Kylie Kwong (born 1969 in Australia), is a prominent Australian television chef, author, television presenter and restaurateur.

As a fifth generation Australasian, she learned the art and fundamentals of Cantonese cooking, by her mother's side. She undertook much of her apprenticeship at Neil Perry's Rockpool and Wokpool and then at Restaurant Manifredi.

Kylie Kwong has since opened the appropriately labelled 'Billy Kwong' restaurant, her first, in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills and is not, as some people think, named after Kylie's father but rather a result of her partnership with Sydney celebrity chef Bill Granger. Kwong is currently the sole owner, but kept the name because it fit the place.[1]

In 2003, Kylie Kwong: Heart and Soul was published by Penguin Viking/ABC Books in October 2003 to coincide with her first TV series which was screened on the ABC at the same time. Her first cookbook Kylie Kwong: Recipes and Stories was published by Penguin in April 2003. The television series was screened both on the Australian ABC, but also on Foxtel, on the LifeStyle Channel, and on Discovery Home in the U.S..

In January 2005, Kylie was fined $AU750 and had her driver's licence revoked for three months after pleading guilty to low-range drink-driving. She was stopped by NSW Police for proceeding through a red light in Darlinghurst, Eastern Sydney on November 30, 2004, and recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.07. At the time, she claimed that this was a result of only one glass of wine four hours earlier, but on an empty stomach. [2]

In late 2005, the LifeStyle Channel released a statement revealing that a second Kylie Kwong series would be released. The 6 part television series would be named Kylie Kwong: Simply Magic. This series was then televised in January 2006 on the LifeStyle Channel and later in 2006 on Discovery Home. A new Kylie Kwong book was released in 2006 under the name of Simple Chinese Cooking. The book aims to make Chinese cooking as easy as possible, with every recipe accompanied by a full-page colour photograph.