Shannon Bennett Joins Audi As Newest Brand Ambassador

MELBOURNE - June 17, 2008: Melbourne super-chef, Shannon Bennett, has swapped his whites for a cobalt blue Audi Q7, joining Audi Australia’s Ambassador program.

Along with talented Sydney-based Matthew Moran, of ARIA, Bennett adds a new dimension to the German luxury carmaker’s brand Ambassador program. Both chefs join other Australian luminaries like Collette Dinnigan, George Gregan, Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Catherine Freeman to name a few.

Bennett ideally reflects Audi’s brand’s values of ‘progressiveness’ and ‘sophistication’ thanks to his unique cooking style and forward-thinking approach to business. In becoming an Audi Ambassador Bennett says “I am honored to be involved with such a great company and see a strong synergy between the philosophies of our brands.”

Bennett’s restaurant Vue de monde has received widespread critical acclaim including being listed in Restaurant Magazine UK’s Top 100 restaurants in the world. Recently, Vue de monde partnered with Dom Pérignon to launch Australia’s first Dom Pérignon room – another example of Bennett’s commitment to quality and sophistication.

Never one to rest on his success, Bennett continues to look for new projects like the Dom Pérignon room and Audi partnership, including the expansion of the brand into international markets and the launch of ‘Vue by Shannon Bennett’ at the Al Bustan Palace hotel in Muscat Oman.

As part of the brand partnership, Audi will host around 250 high profile R8 customers at Vue de monde in July, ahead of the brand’s spectacular “Dimension R8” sportscar drive program at Philip Island Raceway, Melbourne.

The Audi Ambassador program was established in 1997 to give the German premium brand an Australian face, by working with high-profile individuals who embodied the brand’s values of sporty, progressive and sophisticated.

Now in its 11th year in Australia, the program has been incredibly successful, generating long-term relationships with key Australian icons, raising brand profile and awareness by working with local personalities that reflect the brand’s humanity.