Australian Story: May 27

Monday’s Australian Story profiles restaurateurs, Kylie Kwong as she embarks on a new direction in life.

“I’ll still be very much connected to the food industry, but I’ll just be doing it in a different way,” explains the chef, author and TV presenter.

Australian Story was with Kylie when she made the surprise announcement that she is closing her restaurant Lucky Kwong, named in honour of the stillborn son she had in 2012 with her wife, the contemporary artist known as Nell.

“The loss has really given way to this sense of nurturing,” says close friend and celebrity cook Nigella Lawson. “But more than that, I think that it fires her up with a sense of what’s important.”

Channeling her grief into something positive has been paramount for Kylie, 55, who has found a way to harness her abundance of maternal energy.

“In the last 12 years, Lucky has been my, my driving force,” she explains. “He’s like my spirit guide. He is saying to me all the time, Mum, we have to be a force for good. And I’m like, okay, let’s do it!”

In a poignant Australian Story, Kylie talks candidly about coming out to her parents at 19, how she and Nell dealt with trauma of losing Lucky and her plans for the future.

8pm Monday on ABC.