About Shannon
“A NEW APPROACH TO CREATIVE CONTENT
THROUGH CURATED STORYTELLING”
SHANNON HAS 15+ YEARS' EXPERIENCE as a successful magazine editor, writer, journalist, columnist, editorial consultant and content creator across a variety of platforms, including: television, print, digital, book publishing, social, not-for-profit and food education.
From her global travels and tastings for delicious. magazine – where she was Managing Editor for six years, working with inspiring producers and food celebrities such as Anthony Bourdain, Massimo Bottura, Jamie Oliver and Rene Redzepi to produce editorial and advertorial features and events – to her work launching food-waste organisation UKHarvest in London in 2017, Shannon’s approach to creating engaging, compelling content and messaging is via her unique brand of storytelling. Through the lens of a sustainable and mindful approach to food, travel and style, Shannon’s lifestyle content is highly creative, conscious and curated – and this ethos underlies all that she does. Check out her travel, lifestyle and recipe portfolios here.
Highlights of Shannon's time at delicious. include the redesign of the magazine, taking the brand into the premium lifestyle category, and the launch of delicious.com.au as a 24-hour food & lifestyle content hub. Shannon dramatically extended the brand's reach by building her network of influential chefs, producers, artisans, brand-ambassadors and lifestyle-category influencers and trendsetters, who she still works with today. Shannon launched the healthy eating column Balancing Act, foreseeing the health trend and its influence in the food and lifestyle category; and was responsible for the editorial planning and recipe development. Shannon's monthly delicious. column, Future Proof, shifts the focus to global food trends and movements, and their impact on how we eat, travel and live. Shannon's writing repertoire extends from news pieces to long-form features, interviews, recipe development and travel guides with a focus on food culture.
Recently, Shannon spent a year living in the beautiful northern Italian region of Piedmont (known for its truffles, beef and Barolo wine), exploring Europe for various magazine titles, while also undertaking a Master of Gastronomy at the University of Gastronomic Sciences. The university is the heart and home of the global slow-food movement, and it is from here that Shannon deepened her understanding of international gastronomy through the study of regional food traditions, anthropology, food history, health, sustainability, food waste and food justice, plus sensory training in luxury food items, including wine, coffee, chocolate, cheese and cured meats (Shannon was the 'golden nose' of her year!).
Shannon’s unique offering is the combination of her deep and insightful worldly food knowledge (from nutrition and cooking to global trends, regional foodways and folk traditions) and her storytelling ability. Whether it is working on a magazine redesign, branding campaign, website launch, editorial feature, content plan or food-education programme, Shannon’s clear creative vision and her ability to lead a team from the front to deliver a project, set her style of content apart.
All content on this website, including recipes, words and photographs (unless otherwise credited), is Shannon’s own. Through her work creating compelling content that is at once inspiring and engaging, Shannon’s ability to capture the world in a new light is a refreshing approach to storytelling and content creation.
Please contact Shannon for freelance work, commissions and collaborations.
Ethos
"IF IT DOESN'T GIVE YOU BUTTERFLIES, IT'S NOT WORTH DOING." This advice from chef/activist/artist/scientist/legend Massimo Bottura has been my litmus test ever since he first uttered these words over lunch in a Sydney cafe, where they floated across the table and settled on my sleeve like a butterfly.
MINDFUL TRAVEL The trend towards slow food and slow travel, slow living and even slow working spaces is a backlash against the recent fast-paced, mass-produced, quantity-over-quality mentality that influences how we live today. Time is a precious commodity, but it is possible to extend those moments of enjoyment, learning and experience without impacting on your every day. The micro pauses, they are there, we just all-too-often skip over them without a thought. A mindful approach to travel, food, health and style slows us down to soak up the unique beauty of those ephemeral moments and discover the story behind them.
When people ask why food, why travel, I answer that experiencing the world through food, travel and storytelling is not only one of life’s joys, but an essential act that allows us to connect with others, connect with ourselves and connect with the rhythms of the planet. Whether you travel with an eye for design and architecture, a desire to seek out authentic local cuisine, or the mission to simply ‘be a local’ for a week, these real experiences are what paint the colour into your travels. Slow down and smell the roses, or whatever is blooming in your destination, for mindful travel is the new way to explore the endless possibilities of our world.
As a global citizen in a world without borders, travel is our modern language for cultural exchange. With curated travel content guiding our journeys, we can embark on mindful travel that leaves a softer footprint on the lands and peoples we seek out. Curated, conscious travel content will guide travellers through their destination, distilling the most important information, from unique food, wine and art experiences, to the top political issues of a country and how their visit contributes to a bigger global picture.
SLOW FOOD Exploring the world with my camera, fork and passport has opened doors to inspiring people and compelling stories that I have been privileged to share with audiences. In every pocket of the world, food has environmental, social and economic contexts – no ingredient is an island. Food waste, sustainability, food security, peace, climate change, social equality and health are now pertinent issues when it comes to considering food. Every destination visited, every meal eaten or street food snacked on is loaded with information on these critical issues – and this is why food and travel writing continue to give me butterflies. At the most basic level they are a form of inspiration and entertainment, but at the other end of the spectrum they are a compelling way to make sense of the ‘big issues’ and to understand the part we play in the greater network. – Shannon Harley
Recent experience
2018 Columnist
Shannon's monthly column in delicious. magazine, Future Proof, shifts the focus to global food trends and movements, and their impact on how we eat, travel and live.
2017-18 Freelance writer, content producer, sub-editor, editorial consultant, speaker
Shannon's writing repertoire extends from news pieces to long-form features, interviews, recipe development and testing, and long and short-form travel guides with a focus on food culture. Shannon's freelance clients include Vogue Living, Miele, delicious. Australia, delicious.com.au, delicious. UK, delicious. Holland, CES Formulations Skincare + Organics, UKHarvest, Abercrombie & Kent, Biota: Grow, Gather, Cook by James Viles (book launch guest speaker), Caring Canary, Möet & Chandon.
2017 UKHarvest, Education programme consultant & business development manager
UKHarvest’s food education programme focuses on the key areas of food waste, increased health and social connection. By developing the education programme and growing the organisation, Shannon hopes to see tomorrow’s meal served at a table where there is plenty for everyone, where the food consumed comes from a sustainable system and nourishes the individual, as well as their greater community and the planet beyond. Read more about UKHarvest here.
2016-17 University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy, Master of Gastronomy
Shannon has a Master in Gastronomy from Italy’s highly respected slow food university, UNISG, established by the godfather of slow food, Carlo Petrini. The programme, delivered in Pollenzo in Italy's beautiful northern Piedmont region, explores the political, economic, social, cultural, ecological, and nutritional dimensions of food from a global perspective.
2010-16 delicious. magazine & delicious.com.au, Managing Editor
delicious. is Australia’s highest-selling premium food & lifestyle magazine. Shannon drove the magazine redesign into the premium category and the brand expansion from a monthly print title to an international food and lifestyle platform. Subsequently, delicious. won ‘Magazine Brand of the Year’ at Australian Magazine Awards 2016.
She launched delicious.com.au, which exceeded traffic targets in the first month, overtaking established competitors, and headed a national campaign taking the rebrand to market to excite agencies and advertisers. She was responsible for growing traffic and audience over print, digital and social platforms.
The second phase of the redesign included the launch of delicious. brand extensions, including cookbooks, social channels and the glossy weekly national newspaper lift-out, delicious. on Sunday. Shannon was involved in the creative build, taking products to market, recruitment and editorial planning.
Freelance recipe development & catering
Shannon launched the ‘Balancing Act’ healthy eating column in delicious. magazine and collaborates with Back2Roots Retreats to design and deliver their yoga retreat menus. Read more about Shannon's healthy catering service here.