Shane Delia’s Love for Malta
Sometimes a ‘non-local’ gives you some insight to the place you live in; sometimes that insight is eye-opening in a bad way; but sometimes it’s jaw-droppingly positive and somehow fills you with a resurgence of pride.
Shane Delia further fuelled my love for these Islands I call home.
I met Shane at a casual dinner at Salumeria Gardens, the pizza place to be in my humble opinion. Easy slices of some serious dough (shout out to Naqa Patata), a few local craft beers and debates between friends gave the meet up an angle that the bajtra team are always hungry to delve into. The root of the topic of conversation: what makes Malta special?
Granted, tonnes of bad things happen in the world, and Malta is by far not exempt from sad or baffling stories in the news (to say the least); but man… there’s so much good. And I’m so truly sorry for those living here who cannot find the good – or perhaps choose not to seek that goodness.
Shane is a third generation Maltese Australian; his grandparents his direct link to his heritage; food as the major connector of this lineage. Maha’s Chef Delia must have been inspired by the food in his upbringing — hence Chef Delia — with one aunt specialising in għaġin il-forn (baked pasta), another cracking out his benchmark for his favourite Maltese dish, ravjul (ravioli) and of course Nannu’s sanctimonious Sunday fenkata (rabbit, prepared in all its glory). Each holding taste of a home away from home.
Malta and Gozo have a Marmite (or should I say Vegemite) effect on people; you either love them islands or you hate them. And that’s perfectly fine, not everyone is built for the close conformities of island life. Totally understandable. Luckily that pull to heritage was instilled in Shane so profoundly that discovering his roots was a natural rite of passage.
My inherited family, much like many other Maltese families, emigrated to Australia in the 1950, post WWII Malta; some ventured back, some stayed put in Perth. One of the most impactful things cousin Liz always nods to is the ‘ancient-ness’ of Malta, followed by “because Australia has such a new culture” - which baffled me at first; but then stuck with me because, wow… these guys really appreciate their heritage; and it’s so beautiful (and delicious) .
Shane Delia is bringing this love, this eye-opening and jaw-dropping fascination of our Islands to the Land Down Under. He started off with Shane Delia’s Malta, a SBS TV Series that gave viewers an insight to the prime cities of culture in Malta as well as the bombshell that is Gozo. He discussed the many rulers of the Mediterranean gem and gets that message across through the world’s biggest connector: food.
There’s something so special about wanting to share your excitement for something you love and see worth in.
Shane experienced Malta with the leaders of the culinary and cultural world guiding him from Valletta to Mdina, to Birgu and more; and from 2027 he will be sharing that experience with Aussies who share that same curiosity and pull to the Islands.
A signature series exploring the cultural and gourmet facets of Malta, led by Chef Shane Delia himself will open the doors to luzzu rides, flaky pastizzi and that soulful Mediterranean energy that Malta and Gozo beam with so gracefully (if you’re looking in the right places).
It’s clear to say that the rural and cultural paths of the Maltese Islands are far more preferred by the seekers of the real world. There’s always some kind of party with thumping music, but we’ll take the festa or każin over any crowded venue any day. I feel that Shane has this same penchant in his heart; I only met the guy once, but sometimes you really know when someone loves what you love.
That spark in his eye, and his cheeky smile gave me full confidence that this Australian Malteser knows what he’s talking about, and that Malta, our food and our ancient world are worth exploring.
