Italian chef Antonio Carluccio dies aged 80

The Staff Canteen

Celebrity chef and restaurateur Antonio Carluccio, also known as the godfather of Italian cooking, has died aged 80. 

Earlier today a statement was released from Antonio's agent which read: "It is with great sadness that we announce that Commendatore Antonio Carluccio OBE sadly passed away this morning."

Following the tragic news, Twitter has been flooded with tributes from fellow chefs and fans conveying their sadness.

Antonio was a regular fixture on TV often making appearances on Saturday Kitchen and his own show, BBC Two's Two Greedy Italians, with Gennaro Contaldo.

Born in  Vietri sul Mare, Salerno, Italy, Antonio moved to Castelnuovo Belbo and Borgofranco d'Ivrea when he was a youngster. His love of culinary cuisine was instilled in the chef at a young age when he would join his father in the woods foraging for mushrooms and fungi.

At 21 Antonio moved to Vienna to study languages. After several years working as a wine merchant in Germany Antonio moved to the UK in 1975. In the early eighties, Antonio joined Terence Conran's Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden, where Jamie Oliver began his career, taking over the business in 1989. Two years later the chef and his wife opened an Italian food shop, named Carluccio's and later Carluccio's Cafe in 1999. 

During his illustrious career, Antonio has written more than 20 books and launched his memoirs in 2012 which won him the AA Lifetime Achievement Award.

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The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 8th November 2017

Italian chef Antonio Carluccio dies aged 80