Shane Delia's Spice Journey

Shane Delia's Spice Journey is an Australian cooking and travel television series aired on SBS One on 2 May 2013 until 4 July 2013.

Program synopsis

In Shane Delia’s Spice Journey, Shane takes us on a culinary pilgrimage to explore his heritage and discover Middle Eastern food traditions that go back thousands of years.

His journey starts in his homeland, the old Phoenician outpost of Malta, where the aromatics and spices of the Middle East mingle with the European traditions of the Mediterranean to produce a unique food culture. This is the island archipelago where Shane’s love of cooking was born.

Shane then heads across the sea to Lebanon; seat of the ancient Phoenician Empire, original Land of Milk and Honey and the birthplace of contemporary Middle Eastern mezze. Here, Shane experiences the ancient civilisations that shaped the landscape, and left their mark behind in the regional cuisine.

Finally, Shane follows the time-worn caravan trails of the spice route to ancient Persia, aka Iran, home to saffron, pomegranate and rose water. And the oldest surviving recipes on earth. In tearooms, walled gardens and nomad tents, Shane experiences an Iran very different from anything he’d previously imagined.

Inspired by medieval Arab and Persian recipes passed down through generations, as well as simple rural and regional dishes, Shane then heads back to his Melbourne kitchen to put his take on some of the world's most ancient and influential culinary traditions.