Chef and restaurateur
Juror
Shannon Bennett is a Melbourne-born chef, former restaurateur, TV personality and author of eight books. He started work at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne then moved to Europe at the age of 19 and worked at various renowned Michelin-starred restaurants, including L’Ortolan and Marco Pierre White’s three-star Michelin The Restaurant. Founding head chef in 2000 and up until 2016 sole owner of restaurant Vue de monde, now located for the past 10 years at Melbourne’s iconic Rialto Towers.
In 2015, Shannon founded the Vue Group, which included venues in Melbourne such as The Lui Bar, Bistro Vue, Benny Burger, Jardin Tan, Piggery Cafe, Burnham Bakery and Café Vue brands. The group was later sold in 2017 to the Far East Group. Bennett now resides full time in Byron Bay and is working on several projects in both the hospitality sector, property development and design (especially sustainable and passive architecture) and renewable energy and impact investment sectors.