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SINGAPORE: Kylie Kwong was at a loss for words the first time she set foot in her ancestral home, Toishan Village, in Guangzhou, China.
It wasn’t because the celebrity chef, born and bred in Sydney, Australia, was choked with emotion. It was because she couldn’t — and still can’t — speak much Mandarin or her dialect Cantonese.
Thank goodness, then, for her fiery passion for food and flair for cooking, which broke the ice between this foreigner — who looks typically Chinese with jet-black hair and smallish eyes — and her Cantonese-spouting Toishan clan. As they cooked together and exchanged recipes, language ceased to be a barrier. A more visceral form of communication took over and a strong bond was quickly forged.
The 39-year-old chef has been going from strength to strength. She started by working with Australian chef/cookbook writer Bill Granger at two of his restaurants, bills. She then opened her first restaurant with him, Billy Kwong, in Sydney eight years ago. Kwong now has four cookbooks of her own and three TV shows under her belt.
Sceptics might question the authenticity of the Sydney-sider’s brand of “traditional Chinese food”. To that, Kwong — who grew up learning to cook and eating Cantonese fare her mother is so adept at — had this to say: “I don’t try to reinvent the wheel. I just do the classics and do them really well.”
Avid followers of her TV shows, Simply Magic and Heart and Soul, will be familiar with Kylie’s mother. The mum-cum-mentor features frequently and rather prominently on the shows to lend her Midas touch. Even though she was not by her daughter’s side at the KL media luncheon, her influence on Kwong is palpable — the star chef started many a sentence with “my mum”.
And it seems her mum has taught her well. At the Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur to promote her TV show, Kylie Kwong: My China, which premieres on Wednesday, the TV chef treated journalists to a live cooking demonstration and her signature dishes. On the menu was such ambrosia as stir-fried razor clams with black bean and chilli sauce, and steamed chicken with hot and sour dressing. The chicken was so good we drank up every drop of the gravy along with our social decorum.
Chefs like it when people do that, right?
1. Chef, author, restaurateur. Which label best fits you?
Restaurateur. I feel like I’m a little bit more than a chef, which to me is just someone who does the cooking and is always in the kitchen. In my restaurant, I haven’t cooked for four years. The business runs itself, so what I like to do is go out and wave the flag and do things like TV shows, cookbooks and travelling.
2. What do you think of the term “celebrity chef”? And how do you feel about being one yourself?
What I try and do is use that high public profile in a positive way. For example, in Australia, we serve all organic produce, and we’re champions for the organic cause and the sustainable food movement. When you get too inflated about yourself, that’s when you lose touch with what’s real. Don’t forget where you came from and how you got there.
3. How is your cooking style different from other TV chefs like Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson?
I draw on very traditional Chinese recipes ... My cooking style does not include using MSG - now that is unusual. We’re probably the only Chinese restaurant in the world that doesn’t use it. And also the use of organic produce sets me apart, as well. The recipes in my cookbooks are really simple, because novices to Chinese cuisine are not going to buy my cookbook if they feel intimidated by the recipes. I want my cookbooks to educate as many people as they can.
4. You speak very passionately about organic food. How and when did you get into it?
Four years ago, I shifted the menu from conventional produce to organic produce. Growing up in a family where food is so important - my mum always talked about fresh produce - the most important thing for us is to send out the right message to the public. I feel a sense of responsibility. It’s not just about having a little restaurant that serves good food - you need to keep evolving yourself as a person.
5. How instrumental was your mother to your success?
She was my first mentor. She taught me everything from market to table. She teaches me how to choose fresh fish, how to get the best root of ginger or the best bunch of bok choy, how to stir fry, how to trim shiitake mushrooms ... and how to finish the cooking and serve it.
6. Other than your mum, who’s your favourite chef?
Jamie Oliver. He’s a natural talent. I mean, he’s like the most famous and busiest man in the world but he’s so compassionate, kind and humble - he doesn’t let fame get to his head. And in such a short life, he has raised awareness for things like climate change and (revolutionised) school children’s dinners in the UK.
7. What have you learned about your heritage from doing the show?
I learned a lot more about the Chinese street food, all the snacks which I love. I love the fact that the street cooks are all very hands on, very artisanal. The Chinese are very dexterous with their fingers, from noodles to calligraphy. I love going to the parks, for example, in Beijing and Shanghai that are built and devoted to the elderly. The way the Chinese treat the elderly is very inspiring - they are very highly revered. Getting old is something to look forward to.
8. Have you been to Singapore?
Yes, two years ago. Singaporean food is a little like Malaysian food, would it be correct to say that? Like we had the roti ... oh, I forgot what it’s called. I like Singapore chilli crab, of course.
9. What’s the most exotic thing you’ve had in China?
Oh god, when we were in Guangzhou, which is famous for the its live food market, they got us skinned dog and dissected fresh water alligator. And that was when I went: ‘You know what, I think I need to go home!’
10. What’s cooking now that filming has wrapped?
I’m working on another new book on sustainability and organics. Next year, I’d like to go on a trip to Paris and Italy to discover the food more. Last year was very intense in terms of travelling, so this year I just want to relax a bit more at home, to centre myself and refocus. I think you can go too fast sometimes and you miss the moment.
Catch Kylie Kwong: My China every Wednesday starting from June 25 at 8pm on Discovery Travel & Living (StarHub Channel 16). Encore episodes will be shown on Saturdays at 2.30pm. - TODAY/ra
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