EPISODE ONE — INDONESIA
The opening episode of Joanna Lumley’s Spice Trail Adventure sees her heading to a collection of remote Indonesian islands, The Banda Islands, which were once the only place on Earth where nutmeg grew. Joanna meets a family who make their living from harvesting them, and uncovers the dark history of Banda’s past
“In the Middle Ages, nutmeg was the most valuable commodity on Earth, and it could only be found on these islands in the extreme east of Indonesia,” Dame Joanna says.
“The Dutch, Portuguese and the English were all desperate to get hold of this incredibly valuable spice, which at the time was even believed to be able to cure the plague.”
EPISODE TWO — INDIA
Joanna returns to her birthplace, India, in search of a kitchen cupboard staple once known as “black gold”. Starting in the ancient city of Hampi, she’s invited to a Hindu festival by a local rock climber and later explores the lush backwaters of Kerala.
Joanna says, “India has got every spice under the sun, so we traveled to Kerala, Karnataka and Goa and concentrated on the story of ginger, black pepper and turmeric.
“In Goa, we tried extraordinary spice-flavoured drinks, which were delicious.
“We also visited a place in Karnataka called Hampi, which was once the second-largest city in the world.
I’d never heard of it before, and I was born in India!”
EPISODE THREE — MADAGASCAR
Joanna ventures to the African island of Madagascar. Travelling overland on the country’s notorious pot-holed roads, she discovers the secrets of the world’s second most expensive spice, vanilla. From the unique way it’s grown to how it’s dealt on the streets. She searches for gold and finds out how cacao is used to make some of the world’s best chocolate.
Joanna says, “Madagascar is, of course, known for vanilla, which incredibly we learned is pollinated by hand because the only bees that can pollinate vanilla orchids naturally are wild bees found in Mexico.”
EPISODE FOUR — ZANZIBAR AND JORDAN
The last leg of Joanna Lumley’s journey takes her to Zanzibar, the spice island of Africa where merchants from around the world have left their mark on the architecture, religion and music.
“Zanzibar became the great trading station of the spice trade where everything was loaded up and transported to Jordan, our final destination of the series, where they’d then be traded.”
“Zanzibar is a mythical place, filled with the darkest, saddest history of the slave dungeons where they kept people who’d been rounded up in Africa”
