Main content

Antonio Carluccio: My life in five dishes

Antonio Carluccio, known as the 'Godfather of Italian cooking', describes his life in food in an interview recorded days before his death.

Antonio Carluccio describes his most memorable dishes in his last ever interview. The cook, restaurateur and writer, known as the 'Godfather of Italian cooking', died five days after this recording was made, aged 80.

He tells Emily Thomas about his passion for simple, authentic Italian cuisine, and why he only began to pursue it professionally relatively late in life. He describes his horror at Britain's version of Italian food in the 1970s, his obsession with mushrooms, and reveals how much the late opera singer Luciano Pavarotti could devour in one sitting.

Plus, hear about his struggles with fame and heartache, the tensions that came with expanding his eponymous chain of restaurants and delis, and the dish he would choose as his last.

This interview was first broadcast on 16 November 2017.

(Picture: Antonio Carluccio. Credit: Fred Duval/FilmMagic via Getty Images/Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Mon 22 Jun 2020 00:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 16 Nov 2017 00:32GMT
  • Thu 16 Nov 2017 03:32GMT
  • Thu 16 Nov 2017 11:32GMT
  • Thu 16 Nov 2017 21:32GMT
  • Thu 16 Nov 2017 23:32GMT
  • Sun 19 Nov 2017 08:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 2020 10:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 2020 15:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 2020 19:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 2020 21:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 2020 22:32GMT
  • Sun 21 Jun 2020 07:32GMT
  • Mon 22 Jun 2020 00:32GMT

Featured in...

Food Chain highlights

Tea, coffee, spices, chillies ... snack on a selection of programme highlights

Podcast