It’s no easy feat to forge through the long days and many hours required to make it to the top, reach the peak of career success and come out the other side knowing that the biggest priority in your life is not your job, but your family.
“Family is the most important thing to me,” explains Shane Delia, celebrity chef and SBS Food star of the series, .
“Now everyone says that but it really is everything. There’s no chance I’d be where I am today if it wasn’t for the people around me. They are the ones who have enabled me to push on.”
True to his word, Shane still shares Monday night dinners with his wife, children and extended family each week, despite his busy work schedule. Yet you’ve got to wonder how Shane – a famous chef who has travelled the world presenting television travel-food shows, publishing cookbooks and running celebrated kitchens – ended up so family-focused.
The father of two tells SBS he attributes his strong family values to his cultural upbringing and humble start in life. As the son of a first generation Maltese-Australian mother and Maltese father – who immigrated to Australia in the 1970s – family took on a special meaning. Family, including extended relations, offered the chef a community of support, friendship and connectedness that has stayed with him since childhood.
“On Sundays, we’d have lunch at my Nunna Mary’s house,” says Delia. “We’d have ghagin (Maltese pasta). I’d run around with my cousins and then for dinner, we would jump in the car and drive to Nunna Carmello’s house. I’d be there with my 30-odd cousins. We’d eat, drink and run amok. That was every Sunday.”
Every time we came together, there was always food.
Meanwhile, Saturdays were spent at home with mum and dad: “we’d have (bread) for lunch and go to the footy”.
“Spending time with people, having a relationship with Nunna and getting in trouble with your cousins – that was just life. But we didn’t realise how lucky we were to have that [upbringing] until much later in adult life.”
Growing up in Melbourne, entrenched in the local Australian-Maltese community, Shane’s life today is a product of his heritage.
“Up until I went to secondary school, I thought everyone was Maltese,” he jokes. “My family were Maltese, my cousins – who were my friends – were Maltese, I lived in a migrant Maltese area in Australia, went to a Catholic primary school where everyone was Maltese and we did Maltese things: we celebrated [religious] feast days and my grandfather was in the Maltese band.”
But one of the most important cultural influences on Shane’s identity today was the European adoration of food. “Every time we came together, there was always food.”
The chef tells SBS about days past, spent watching his grandmother create simple but wholesome Mediterranean dishes and making sweets. His grandfather was also a food influence, passing on an appreciation of a rustic garden-to-table style of eating (which involved practising sustainability before it was on-trend).
Spiced up
7 times Shane Delia gave us Moor
“I think the happiest memories I have all have something to do with food, usually at Nunnu’s house in his garden, growing stuff. I remember Nunnu breeding rabbits and giving the litter to all of his grandchildren to take home. We wouldn’t really understand why he was doing that as kids. We’d watch the rabbits get fat, then they’d disappear and suddenly you are having rabbit for lunch.”
As Shane explains, most Maltese families make rabbit stew () and every family’s recipe is usually unique. He cooks his family’s version in Recipe For Life alongside his father, one of his food mentors.
“My grandfather taught my dad how to make it. He taught me and I will teach my son. It’s our family recipe with our spice blend.”
The Delia family's Maltese rabbit stew. Source: Shane Delia's Recipe For Life
Another one of Shane’s favourites is the Maltese dish, Malti ravjul (Maltese ravioli) – a large adaptation of the Italian ravioli.
“When my grandparents would make it, it would be from scratch. Now, you can’t beat that. And it’s so beautiful. Some people say it’s just like Italian ravioli and I say to the laymen ‘it isn’t’. Ravjul is made from a thick, doughy semolina base that is pretty simply prepared with a sauce of tomato, onion and a touch of spice. It is really beautiful and when cooked properly, it’s stunning.”
Shane continues to explain his connection to family and how this theme resonates throughout the series. Well appreciative of his past, Shane says he now aims to instil a strong sense of family and culture in his children by sharing his stories and passing on traditions that he holds very close to his heart.
“I try to share these food and family memories now with my kids, as [these moments can tell you a lot] about who you identify with, what you eat, how you eat and who you eat it with. These food memories become the cornerstones of who you are.”
You can find the recipes and more features from right . You can follow Shane Delia via Instagram .
His restaurant is throwing a 2018 Maltese Independence Day celebration on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 September. Fresh from an extended holiday in Malta, chef Shane Delia has come back to the Maha kitchen with a new perspective of what Maltese food can be. This year, our Maltese Independence Lunch will showcase Shane’s vision of the future of Maltese cooking. .
Shane's Maltese masterpieces
Open sandwich (hobz biz-zejt)
