A businessman whose gourmet delivery service went out of business due to millions of dollars, flaunts his lavish, luxurious lifestyle on social media, which includes restaurant events on the red carpet and business trips to luxury resorts in Dubai.
Providoor’s founder Shane Delia announced the company would close in April and thanked its “loyal customers” — out of pocket to the tune of $4.4 million — for their support.
The company collapsed thanks to creditors $6.32 million, including more than $4 million owed to thousands of customers holding now-defunct gift cards.
But despite his company’s litany of debt, the celebrity chef, who is the mind behind Melbourne’s highly successful Middle Eastern restaurant chain, Maha, continues to flaunt his lavish lifestyle on social media.
Over the past few weeks, the entrepreneur has been enjoying lavish vacations abroad, throwing lavish red carpet dinners, and engaging in intense personal training sessions.
Photos recently posted to Instagram show Mr Delia living life in notoriously expensive Dubai after a business class flight to the United Arab Emirates with his wife, Maha.
Providoor founder Shane Delia (pictured with his wife Maha) announced the collapse of his gourmet delivery service in April
The celebrity chef launched his brainchild during the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing top restaurants to continue selling meals to the public
One photo showed the pair beaming from their Emirates cabin as they departed on Friday evening.
Business class flights on the airline from Melbourne to Dubai currently fetch around $12,000-$13,000 round trip for one person.
Another photo taken on Sunday showed Mr. Delia reclining in an armchair while smoking a shisha at the five-star Atlantis resort, The Palm, where rooms range from about $576 to as much as $39,000 a night for the most exclusive suite.
The couple appeared to be there visiting their friend Ali El Bourji, the Arab chef at the iconic luxury hotel, for several days before heading out of town on Monday night.
“Goodbye Dubai, we love you,” Mr. Delia wrote, sharing images of the city’s sparkling skyline taken from one of the higher floors of the resort.
Aside from the outing, reports online indicate that the restaurateur has also been busy “getting his gear back into shape” through an eight-week program with two personal trainers, refurbishing his newly opened restaurant and organizing events. big events.
On June 1, the businessman – who is an ambassador for pension fund Hostplus and Mercedes Benz – held a party with more than 100 guests to celebrate the 15th anniversary of his flagship restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD.
Mr. Delia is a Mercedes Benz ambassador and has purchased a number of different models for his wife over the years
Mr Delia – whose company owes $6.32 million to creditors – shared photos online last week from his business class flight to Dubai
Mr. Delia is pictured posing with his mate, Executive Arabic Chef Ali El Bourji at Atlantis, The Palm
According to a publicity post online, attendees were ‘treated to an arrival of fire spinners and live music’ as they arrived on Bond Street to sip cocktails at bar Jayda before heading next door for a sit-down dinner at the award-winning Maha.
The $185pp event included The Project host Waleed Aly and his wife Dr. Susan Carland, comedian Kate Langbroek and her husband Peter Lewis, and Channel Nine TV presenter Lauren Philips.
Meanwhile, Mr. Delia has also been working on his latest venture in his expansion of his restaurant empire following the opening of a new store in Collingwood in March.
Promotions for Maha North, the latest addition to the Delia Group restaurants – which includes Maha Restaurant, Maha East, Jayda and Melbourne Airport eateries Middle Ground and Biggie Smalls – have highlighted dishes and urged diners to make reservations.
‘Round your crew. It’s never too cold for a Sunday sesh. Book now via the link in the bio,” the company page wrote three days ago.
Mr. Delia’s displays of opulence online have outraged some Providoor customers who have left hundreds of dollars out of pocket.
“How can you go bankrupt, owe people and then publicly flaunt an expensive overseas trip?” an angry holder of a $200 gift card told Daily Mail Australia.
“We’re talking $4 million in gift card debt.”
Mr Delia and his wife are photographed on June 1st celebrating the 15th anniversary of his flagship store, restaurant Maha.
Fire twirlers and live music were part of the entertainment at the 100 plus event
The celebration was attended by Waleed Aly and his wife Dr Susan Carland
Comedian Kate Langbroek is pictured with her husband Peter Lewis at the event
When contacted on Tuesday, a Delia Group representative said Mr Delia was still abroad, but did not answer how long he would be gone.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Delia for comment.
Providoor was a huge success during the pandemic and quickly established itself as a high-quality restaurant food delivery service during the first wave of Covid lockdowns in 2020.
The gourmet food service – which first opened in Melbourne and Sydney before expanding to Brisbane in 2022 – provided a lifeline to the struggling hospitality industry by allowing the sale of meal kits to the public.
Dishes were delivered via cold freight with exclusive Sydney restaurants on the menu including Cirrus, Monopole, Yellow, The Apollo, Cho Cho San, Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, Golden Century, Spice Temple, Rockpool and Cicciabella.
The closure reportedly laid off the company’s 15 employees.
Announcing that his brainchild had been liquidated on April 28, Mr Delia said, although it was a sad day, he was “proud of Providoor and what it has achieved.”
Providoor, which delivered meals from top restaurants (pictured) operating in Melbourne and Sydney before later branching out to Brisbane
Thousands of customers owe nearly $4.4 million in gift cards since the company collapsed
“Providoor meant we could secure and create jobs and give people a little bit of restaurant joy in a pretty bleak time,” he wrote.
“When people continued to use Providoor after the social restrictions were lifted, it turned out to be a really good idea. I wish it had had a chance to work through the challenging economic conditions.
“I want to thank the team, advisors and our valued restaurant partners who have all worked so hard to make Providoor a success. And to our loyal customers, thank you very much for your support.’
A few weeks later, Mr. Delia that the only reason the company went bankrupt was because an investor withdrew his money after losing confidence in the company.
“There was a technical leak – a notification leak (by Provider) – that they didn’t give us a chance to fix it, and they used that to raise the money. It was a mistake,” he told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald in May.
“I still sincerely believe that the company would still be here, still trading and navigating whatever rough waters lay ahead.”
After gaining fame as a chef and restaurateur, Mr. Delia starred in his own TV shows Spice Journey and Recipe For Life which first aired in 2013 and 2018 respectively.
He is also an ambassador for Western Bulldogs Football Club, Melbourne City Football Club and La Marzocco.
Mr. Delia named his flagship restaurant after his wife, Maha