Andrew Wong

Andrew Wong is a pioneer in bringing a glimpse of the true extent of the vastness of Chinese cuisine to these shores. He grew up the son of the owners/chefs of a Chinese restaurant who wanted nothing less than for their son to follow in their footsteps, yet driven and passionate, Wong found himself not only in that profession, but excelling

Find Andrew Wong on social media

The first thing Andrew Wong will admit is that he never wanted to be a chef, at least when he was growing up. The odd thing was that he was never put under any pressure to be a chef either, his parents never encouraged him, never even wanted him to be a chef. When asked ‘how would your father feel about your success if he were still alive?’ Wong responded, ‘He would have been proud of my achievement, but not how I got here.’ Wong admits that for a long time at the beginning of his career, his mother would tell friends of hers that he was still ‘thinking about law school’, not that she was overly ashamed of his choice at the time, but it did take some getting used to. When Wong was growing up, working in the kitchen that his parents ran was used as a less-favourable alternative to doing homework. One thing that is clear, though, is that Wong was raised with the appetite for hard work and achieving success, he has just channelled this into cookery, rather than law or chemistry.

Andrew Wong became fascinated with the connection between cookery and culture in the wake of his father’s death. He’d dropped out of Oxford and started social anthropology at LSE, which provided the intellectual materials to make connections between the food his parents served and the culture they were from. His mother was of a Hong-Kong, Cantonese background, while his father was of a Sichuanese background. Wong realised that as so much of British Chinese restaurants served only Cantonese food – with a small, growing number of Sichuanese – there was a lack of understanding in the country for the sheer breadth of Chinese cuisine, something he recognised as a gap in the market that could be filled.

The result of this realisation was the re-inception of his parents’ restaurant, previously named Kym, into A. Wong (after his parents, not himself). After a six-month period of travelling China, learning regional cuisines, and twisting chef’s arms to learn their secrets, Wong returned to embark on the six-year process of transforming the restaurant. In 2012 the restaurant was reopened, five years later it was awarded its first Michelin star, four years later it achieved the second. A. Wong offers an education into Chinese cuisine as much as an experience, the meals are to be shared and the service staff will provide information on the regions, explain flavour pairings, and provide general context.

In 2018, Wong opened Kym's, a meat roasting restaurant named after his parent’s original Kym restaurant (of which he renamed). Unfortunately, the restaurant shut down in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite its successes.

Andrew Wong's Restaurants

A. Wong

Head Chef and Owner

2012 - 2023
"‘I always like to use this term when it comes to Chinese cooking, which is ‘deceptively simple’’"
"'We were always given the ultimatum: go and do your homework or come and work in the restaurant. So I’d go and study a little bit extra.’"

Andrew Wong's Books

Andrew Wong has written one cookbook, named after his flagship restaurant

A. Wong - The Cookbook
A. Wong - The Cookbook
Published 2015

FAQs

Where is Andrew Wong from?
Andrew Wong was brought up in Pimlico, London

What happened to Andrew Wong's restaurant Kym's?
Kym's was successful, yet the Covid-19 pandemic proved too much of a financial hit for the restaurant, which was forced to close in 2021

How old is Andrew Wong?
At the time of writing, Andrew Wong is 40 years old

Is Andrew Wong married?
Yes, his wife's name is Nathalie. She organises the front of house staff at A. Wong

Why is A. Wong named that way?
The restaurant is actually named after Andrew Wong's parents, Albert and Annie Wong (they clearly like names beginning with 'A')

Andrew Wong's TV Shows

Andrew Wong has appeared in a few TV shows, shown here

Saturday Kitchen
2020 - 2020

Saturday Kitchen

Food Paradise
2018 - 2018

Food Paradise