image: Taste of the Tropics season two, Share Plates presenter Steph Tisdell with Tahlia Burchill, courtesy of Resonant Films.
Screen Queensland has today revealed that the tantalising second season of Taste of the Tropics returns with three new episodes on SBS Food and SBS On Demand from Thursday 30 April.
Audiences will be taken on a delicious culinary journey across North and Far North Queensland with episode hosts comedian and actor Steph Tisdell, restaurateur Oliver James and scientist Sharon Cavanagh-Luskin, as they uncover the people, places and local ingredients that make this region so unique and unforgettable.
Not only is Taste of the Tropics a delightfully compelling series, it’s building the broadcast experience of emerging producing talent from the region with the support of Screen Queensland, Screenworks and SBS.
As part of the talent development program behind the scenes, three producing teams led by Glenn Saggers, Caden Pearson and Kate Boylan-Ascione received $35,000 in funding to develop their episodes Share Plates, Foodie Friends – with Oliver James and Tropical Innovators. All were carefully crafted under the guidance of independent Supervising Producer Karen Warner and assistance from Brisbane post-production house The Post Lounge.
Minister for the Arts John-Paul Langbroek said that the Crisafulli Government was committed to supporting skills development and career paths for screen practitioners in regional centres.
“Through Screen Queensland we are delivering new opportunities for regional communities to be part of the state’s creative economy and Taste of the Tropics is a fantastic example of this work in practice, while also putting tropical Far North Queensland on the map with audiences across Australia.”
Screen Queensland CEO Jacqui Feeney said that creative partnerships like Taste of the Tropics provide regional practitioners with practical and meaningful support that actively elevates careers.
“We are proud to partner with Screenworks and SBS to invest in exciting new screen talent through Taste of the Tropics. North and Far North Queensland is rich with authentic stories that resonate with audiences. Screen Queensland is committed to building the skills and experience of local practitioners to bring stories like these to life on screen.”
Screenworks Interim CEO and Vice Chair Rodney Cambridge said “We’re thrilled to partner with Screen Queensland and SBS for the second iteration of Taste of the Tropics. This hands-on initiative creates real opportunities for filmmakers across North and Far North Queensland, while supporting the development of world-class screen content that showcases regional talent.”
Head of Entertainment and Food at SBS, Emily Griggs said “SBS is excited to bring audiences back to Tropical North Queensland through stories that go beyond the plate – exploring the people, produce, and places that shape the region’s dynamic food culture.”
“We are proud to partner with Screen Queensland and Screenworks on Taste of the Tropics, which reflects our commitment to highlighting the diversity of Australian stories and championing local voices and screen talent.”
Taste of the Tropics is part of Screen Queensland’s North Queensland Regional Program, delivered by Screenworks, in association with SBS and supported by The Post Lounge.
Episodes release weekly from Thursday 30 April on SBS Food and will also stream on SBS On Demand.
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Media contact
Amanda Lawson
Head of Marketing and Communications
media@screenqld.com.au | 07 3248 0500
Above: Taste of the Tropics presenters Steph Tisdell, Oliver James and Sharon Cavanagh-Luskin.
EPISODE GUIDE
Share Plates airs Thursday 30 April on SBS Food
Yidinji comedian and actor Steph Tisdell heads back to her roots in Far North Queensland for a heartful and humorous episode about what belonging really means. From a hidden Indonesian café serving a nasi goreng rich with childhood memory, to a beachside cook-up where pipi aljotta blends Kuku Yalanji and Maltese traditions, and a Sicilian cane-farming family honouring their grandfather through handmade ravioli, Steph discovers how food carries culture across oceans and generations. Each shared plate becomes a story of migration, resilience, identity and connection, revealing that in the tropics, belonging isn’t something to find, but something already woven into the people and the place.
Production team: Caden Pearson and Kate Boylan Ascione, with Alison George as Director of Photography.
Oliver James – Foodie Friends airs Thursday 7 May on SBS Food
After more than 15 years as one of Tropical North Queensland’s most loved restaurateurs, Oliver James knows the best food tells a bigger story. One about people, place and connection.
In Oliver James – Foodie Friends, Oliver steps out of the kitchen and into the lives of the locals who have shaped his culinary world. Equal parts travelogue, food show and personal portrait, the Albert-certified episode invites viewers to journey across some of the region’s most breathtaking landscapes to meet the friends, farmers and Custodians who call it home. From free diving for fresh crayfish on the Great Barrier Reef, to a remarkable red papaya plantation on the Atherton Tablelands and experiencing the living culture of Tropical North Queensland’s First Nations community in the remote Cape York, Oliver James – Foodie Friends is a celebration of place, people and the connections built through food.
Production team: Glenn Saggers and Tamera Simpson, with Sarah Scragg and Jannah Dryden.
Tropical Innovators airs Thursday 14 May on SBS Food
Join Sharon Cavanagh-Luskin, a Kuuku Ya’u, Irukandji and Wonnarua public health scientist and community organiser, as she travels across Far North Queensland to track down the latest in food innovators in the tropics. Along the way she will discover how tropical ingredients spark bold new ideas. Learn from a trailblazing banana farmer transforming product waste into a patented flour sold around the world, that inspires a boundary-pushing local chef. Dive into home cooking with a twist from a tech entrepreneur and hear from a Gangulu medical doctor and space medicine scientist about how traditional ingredients like lemon myrtle and kangaroo meat can power astronauts in space.
Together, these stories paint a vivid portrait of a region where ancient knowledge, creative ambition and scientific innovation are quietly reshaping the future of food. Always ahead of the curve, Sharon’s even used AI to clone her own voice, proof that innovation isn’t just part of the show, it’s part of her DNA.
Production team: Kate Boylan-Ascione and Karen Jackson, with Ewan Cutler and Alison George.
Above: painted crayfish (ep 2), preparing aljotta (ep 1) and plantain emolada (ep 3).
