Shane Delia's Spice Journey
May. 02,2013In 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.
Seasons & Episode
Shane’s mission of gastronomic discovery continues as he explores the souks of Tripoli and learns how food traditions of the ancient port city have been shaped by centuries of trade and travellers – before he heads home to create his own modern day Tripoli banquet; samke harra, moghrabieh and traditional ice-cream.
Shane explores mountain hideouts of central Lebanon where he learns age-old methods of meat preservation from members of the ancient and mysterious sect of the Druze.
Shane travels to the Beqaa Valley and visits the ancient temple of Bachus the god of fertility. Here, he visits Lebanon’s finest vineyards and learns the art of Arabic winemaking.
Shane visits the twin port cities of Sidon, where the beautiful people play and pop-up restaurants cover the beach. Then he travels into the hills to visit an area devastated by bombs but which now produces some of the best goat's cheese in Lebanon.
Shane takes to the silk road to meet nomads that have been keeping ancient methods of baking alive. He visits the largest saffron farms in the region and crosses a desert to the hottest city in Iran to taste pashmak – the original fairy floss.
Having travelled close to 2,000 kilometers and gained glimpses into 2,000 years of Persian culinary history, Shane arrives in Iran’s north, which borders Turkey and the Caspian Sea and where the food influences are very Ottoman. In the finale of Shane Delia’s Spice Journey, Shane visits the world’s oldest covered bazaar.