Shannon Bennett opens Benny Burger in Richmond, with more outlets to come

CELEB chef Shannon Bennett is the latest to offer a fast food spin-off, saying it’s a “big middle finger” to a noted gourmand who infamously roasted Australia for its burgers.

Fine-dining chef Shannon Bennett has launched Benny Burger, which opens on Saturday. Pictures: Norm Oorloff

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FINE-dining’s Shannon Bennett is the latest chef to get up in the grill of burgers.

His first Melbourne Benny Burger is due to open in Richmond on Saturday, with three more city locations coming.

The empire follows fast food spin-offs from other top-end chefs such as Neil Perry’s Burger Project chain, souvlakis at George Calombaris’s Jimmy Grants and Shane Delia’s kebabs at Biggie Smalls.

Benny Burger is named after Mr Bennett’s dad, who is not acclaimed for his cooking but does do a mean burger. But it was the Vue de Monde chef’s children — he has six with actor Madeleine West — who were the inspiration.

“Burgers are in everyone’s lives at the moment, particularly my kids,” Mr Bennett said.

“But I wanted to make sure what we were putting in our kid’s mouths is what we thought we were putting in.

The Chang burger is one of 10 offerings at Benny Burger.

“Turns out frozen French fries have up to 19 chemicals and preservatives in them, which is nuts.

“The motivation was then to make a burger that reflects the knowledge in ingredients I’ve built up in the past 18 years.”

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His menu uses organic grass-fed beef from Queensland, potatoes grown in Gembrook, organic milk buns, and cheddar and shakes from organic Schulz milk, as well as sauces and syrups made in house.

There are 10 burgers on offer, including The Chang featuring the typically Aussie combo of fried egg and beetroot in rebuke to Momofuku founder David Chang, who said Australians “f--- up” burgers more than anyone else in the world.

“He’s got an ego and a half, so we thought we’d match it when he’s criticising Aussies for not having food culture,” Mr Bennett said. “It’s a big middle finger to him.”

Being ethical, yet affordable, was important to the MasterChef mentor.

The first Benny opened at Sydney International Airport last year, charging $19 for burgers under a license agreement.

“I will never open anything else in an airport again. They’re just rip-off merchants,” Mr Bennett said.

Prices here range from $8.90 to $15.50.

“Having six kids it’s difficult to comprehend sometimes the bills you get for a simple meal,” Mr Bennett said. “I want to show people that having an organic product doesn’t mean it’s double the price. We’ve unravelled that if you go directly to the supplier or producer you can get the price managed.”