Author profile: Antonio Carluccio

With four cookbooks by Antonio Carluccio added to ckbk this week, we look back on the much missed Italian chef’s journey from son of a stationmaster in a small Italian village to becoming the beloved “Godfather of Italian food” in the UK.

The legacy of Commendatore Antonio Carluccio, OBE (to give his full title), spans decades and has forever changed British food culture, bringing authentic Italian flavours, ingredients and recipes to the forefront. 

We spoke to fellow chef and friend Gennaro Contaldo and two of the trustees of the Antonio Carluccio Foundation—Simon Kossoff (co-founder of the Carluccio’s restaurant business) and Sabine Stevenson (Carluccio’s “partner in happiness” in later life).

By Ramona Andrews

Early life and the foundations of a culinary legend

Born in 1937 in Vietri sul Mare on the Amalfi Coast, Carluccio’s early years were steeped in the traditions of Italian cuisine. His family moved to Piedmont in North West Italy, where he developed a love for foraging mushrooms and truffles, a passion that would later become an essential part of his culinary identity in the UK.

Carluccio’s early career took him across Europe, first as a naval cadet and later as an Italian wine merchant in Germany and the UK. It wasn’t until the 1980s that he fully immersed himself in the culinary world, when restaurateur Sir Terence Conran (the brother of Carluccio’s wife Priscilla) invited him to become managing director of The Neal Street Restaurant in London’s Covent Garden. Renowned for its focus on wild fungi and truffles, this iconic establishment became a cornerstone of the food scene. It was also where Jamie Oliver launched his career, describing it as “an institution and Mecca of wild mushrooms.”

Transforming British food culture

In the early 1970s, British food culture was a far cry from what it is today. As Gennaro Contaldo, Carluccios’s close friend and fellow chef, recalls, “Food in the UK was really not that great in the early 1970s when I first came to England - especially Italian food. I felt it was bland and boring and it seemed people just ate to feel full.” Convenience foods dominated and authentic Italian cuisine was a rarity. 

Contaldo and Carluccio first crossed paths at The Neal Street Restaurant, where Contaldo initially supplied wild mushrooms and herbs. He later became more involved, making bread and focaccia and assisting Carluccio with testing recipes for his books and filming projects.

Through The Neal Street Restaurant and subsequently Carluccio’s deli and restaurant chain, set up by Antonio and Priscilla and thriving to this day, Britons were introduced to the richness, diversity and depth of Italian regional cuisine, and this has left a lasting impact. “Antonio was definitely the Godfather of Italian food in the UK” says Contaldo.

Simon Kossoff, who helped found Carluccio’s restaurant business in 1999, remembers the groundbreaking nature of the chef’s work. “At that time, it seems crazy to say it, but it was really quite unusual that Antonio stocked a panettone, a chocolate panettone and a pandoro in his shop. He contributed very broadly to the interest in the full range of Italian foods.” Today, these products are staples in British supermarkets.

Carluccio’s philosophy was simple: celebrate authentic, simple, and high-quality ingredients. Kossoff recalls how he introduced dishes like arancini, mushroom risotto, swordfish ‘muddica’ and pasta e fagioli to British tables: “He always taunted me about our ability to make a soup pasta fagioli, which is a bean and pasta soup. There's all sorts of varieties of it. We had our own particular one. And he regarded it as the test of any of the restaurants that we opened—that is, if the pasta e fagioli was good enough.”

Carluccio titles now on ckbk

First published in 1986 and updated by the author in 2005 for this new edition, An Invitation to Italian Cooking remains an essential introduction to the cooking of Italy.

The chef’s lifelong passion for fungi is in on full show, both in The Complete Mushroom Book and in the video below.

Antonio Carluccio's Italia, meanwhile, offers an in-depth exploration of Italy's regions and culinary traditions. Carluccio's family moved across the country during his childhood, following his father's work as a railway stationmaster, and this formative experience is reflected in the book.

Finally, in Antonio Carluccio – The Collection more than three hundred of the chefs most popular recipes are compiled, spanning his entire career.

The Two Greedy Italians: a culinary adventure

Carluccio’s charisma and deep connection to Italian food found a perfect outlet in television. His BBC series, Two Greedy Italians, co-hosted with Gennaro Contaldo, was a celebration of Italian cuisine and culture. The show was more than a cookery show; it was a heartfelt journey through their homeland, filled with laughter, bickering and plenty of delicious food.

“Filming together for Two Greedy Italians was a fabulous time for us both,” Gennaro reminisces. “We laughed, we cried, we bickered, we joked… What you see on the screen is exactly what we were like - a couple of big kids I suppose!” The series and its accompanying books inspired home cooks and professional chefs alike to embrace the simplicity and authenticity of Italian cooking. “I really do miss him,” Contaldo says, “I sometimes like to rewatch clips of Two Greedy Italians which transports me back to those wonderful days together.”

A lasting legacy

Carluccio’s impact extended beyond the kitchen. Contaldo fondly recalls their shared mushroom-foraging adventures, including playful moments where he’d mix his mushrooms with Carluccio’s to trick him into thinking he’d foraged more.

Sabine Stevenson, Carluccio’s “partner in happiness” in later life, treasures the memory of the first dish he cooked for her: Tagliolini with white truffles. Tagliolini is a long, flat pasta slightly thinner than tagliatelle, and featured prominently in Carluccio’s restaurant cooking. This recipe for taglioni can be served either with black truffles or with the even more prized white truffles. “It’s simple, and he loved white truffle. He knew all about finding it and going with truffle hunters and dogs in Alba, Piedmont”.

Carluccio’s humanity and humility left a lasting impression on everyone he met. “He clearly had super-taste and always total focus on what he was cooking at the time,” Sabine says. “Basically when he was cooking his attention never wavered even when people were trying to get him to promote his books. The food was always more important!”

In his later years, he established the Antonio Carluccio Foundation to support aspiring hospitality professionals and combat food insecurity. Simon Kossoff, a trustee, highlights its ongoing work, from training programs in prisons through The Clink charity to emergency feeding initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re also engaged in trying to maintain and develop Antonio’s legacy. That’s why we like the idea of getting the books available digitally.”

A culinary archive for future generations

Carluccio’s legacy is preserved not only in his books and television shows, but also in his meticulously kept archive. Sabine, an archaeologist, ensured that his papers, journals, and artefacts found a home at Oxford Brookes University and at Ulster University in Belfast. 

Antonio’s archive, including his manuscripts, his paintings and even his intricately patterned, hand-whittled walking sticks, and a portion of his library, are now accessible to the public as part of the Special Collection at Oxford Brookes, in keeping with Carluccio’s philosophy of inclusivity and education. A second portion of the library resides at Ulster University.

Remembering Antonio

Antonio Carluccio died in 2017, but his influence endures. His recipes, books, and television programs continue to inspire cooks worldwide. Gennaro notes, “Each year at Easter, I make Pastiera di Grano—a Neapolitan sweet tart that appears in his first book, An Invitation to Italian Cooking.”

“I always made him one to enjoy at home, even long after we all left Neal Street. For southern Italians, Easter just wouldn’t be the same without this wheat and ricotta dessert. He loved my version and even now when I make them, I always make an extra one in memory of Antonio.”

Carluccio’s life was a celebration of food, family, and friendship. His simple yet profound approach to cooking — “cook with love, and it will taste good”— remains a guiding principle for anyone seeking to honor his legacy.

ckbk Premium Members have full access to almost 1000 cookbooks including Antonio Carluccio – The Collection, An Invitation to Italian Cooking, Antonio Carluccio's Italia and The Complete Mushroom Book. Sign up for a 14-day free trial.

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