Antonio Carluccio
Encyclopedia
Antonio Carluccio, OBE
OMRI (born 1937) is an Italian
chef
, restaurateur
and food expert, based in London
.
, Salerno
, Italy
. His father was a stationmaster, and he moved with his father's job when he was young and grew up in Piedmont
. Living near the northwest, an area with great vegetation, as a child Antonio would hunt through the forest for different mushroom and fungi with his father.
at age 21 to study languages. He lived in Germany
from 1962 to 1975, working as a wine merchant
in Hamburg
. He came to the United Kingdom
in 1975 to work as a wine merchant, importing Italian wine
s.
Carluccio became the manager of Terence Conran
's Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden
in 1981, and became its owner in 1989. British celebrity chef
Jamie Oliver
began his professional career at the Neal Street Restaurant under Carluccio, which closed in 2006.
Carluccio has written thirteen books on Italian cuisine and appeared on television in the BBC
's Food and Drink Programme, and in his own series Antonio Carluccio's Italian Feasts in 1996. In 2011 his travels around Italy were filmed for the BBC series Two Greedy Italians
.
and later discharged.
Carluccio later admitted himself to The Priory clinic, with it reported that Carluccio was suffering from depression. but latest reports are that he is suffering from exhaustion and that incident was an accident
In an interview from March 2009, Carluccio revealed that although he was feeling "desperate" and "very depressed" at the time of the stabbing incident, that it was an accident that occurred while cutting a loaf of bread. He also noted that the time spent at the Priory clinic was a "positive experience" that allowed him to realize how his problems paled in comparison to others he saw while there.
business.
In 1999, the first "Carluccio's Caffè" was opened in Market Place, London. A joint authentic Italian restaurant with integrated food shop, the premises opened to serve light, Italian-based breakfasts to diners. The chain expanded, initially across southeast England, and subsequently across the UK. In 2005, Carluccio's listed on the Alternative Investment Market
as a PLC
. In 2010 the company received a takeover offer from the Landmark Group, a Dubai-based enterprise, valuing Carluccio's at £90m. The transaction was approved by the shareholders and completed in October 2010.
Today, Carluccio's operates from over 45 UK locations. In addition the company has granted franchise
s over two territories: the first over Ireland
with presently one location open in Dublin; the second over 6 countries in the Middle East
including three locations presently open in Dubai
.
After ten years of development, Antonio rejoined the company as a consultant.
In 2007 it was reported that the company paid waiting staff less than the UK minimum wage, and expected staff to make up the remaining remuneration through customers' tips. The UK law changed soon after this was revealed to ensure companies must meet the minimum required remuneration initially and that tips should not be counted towards an employee's paid salary level.
dell' Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by the Italian government, the equivalent to a British knighthood, in 1998 for his contribution to the Italian food industry, and in 2007 he was awarded an OBE.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
OMRI (born 1937) is an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
, restaurateur
Restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...
and food expert, based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Biography
Antonio Carluccio was born in Vietri sul MareVietri sul Mare
Vietri sul Mare is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is a popular tourist destination because it is a convenient place to start the Amalfi Coast drive.-Geography:...
, Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. His father was a stationmaster, and he moved with his father's job when he was young and grew up in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
. Living near the northwest, an area with great vegetation, as a child Antonio would hunt through the forest for different mushroom and fungi with his father.
Career
Carluccio moved to ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
at age 21 to study languages. He lived in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
from 1962 to 1975, working as a wine merchant
Négociant
A négociant is the French term for a wine merchant who assembles the produce of smaller growers and winemakers and sells the result under its own name....
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. He came to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1975 to work as a wine merchant, importing Italian wine
Italian wine
Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...
s.
Carluccio became the manager of Terence Conran
Terence Conran
Sir Terence Orby Conran, FCSD, is an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer.-Early life and education:Terence Conran was born in Kingston upon Thames, the son of Christina Mabel and South African-born Gerard Rupert Conran, a businessman who owned a rubber importation company in East...
's Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
in 1981, and became its owner in 1989. British celebrity chef
Celebrity chef
A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...
Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
began his professional career at the Neal Street Restaurant under Carluccio, which closed in 2006.
Carluccio has written thirteen books on Italian cuisine and appeared on television in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Food and Drink Programme, and in his own series Antonio Carluccio's Italian Feasts in 1996. In 2011 his travels around Italy were filmed for the BBC series Two Greedy Italians
Two Greedy Italians
Two Greedy Italians is a BBC television series that first aired on BBC Two on 4 May 2011. The series sees the chefs Gennaro Contaldo and Antonio Carluccio travelling around Italy to see how society and food has evolved over the years. It was produced by Nicola Gooch. An accompanying cookery book...
.
Self-stabbing
On 7 September 2008, it was reported that Carluccio had stabbed himself in the chest. Doctors feared the blade may have punctured his lung. He was taken to Chelsea and Westminster HospitalChelsea and Westminster Hospital
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a public hospital located on Fulham Road, in the Chelsea area of London, England. It is managed by the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and opened in May 1993.-History:...
and later discharged.
Carluccio later admitted himself to The Priory clinic, with it reported that Carluccio was suffering from depression. but latest reports are that he is suffering from exhaustion and that incident was an accident
In an interview from March 2009, Carluccio revealed that although he was feeling "desperate" and "very depressed" at the time of the stabbing incident, that it was an accident that occurred while cutting a loaf of bread. He also noted that the time spent at the Priory clinic was a "positive experience" that allowed him to realize how his problems paled in comparison to others he saw while there.
Carluccio's
In 1991, Antonio and his now ex-wife opened an Italian food shop, named Carluccio's. They expanded this in 1994 to a wholesaleWholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
business.
In 1999, the first "Carluccio's Caffè" was opened in Market Place, London. A joint authentic Italian restaurant with integrated food shop, the premises opened to serve light, Italian-based breakfasts to diners. The chain expanded, initially across southeast England, and subsequently across the UK. In 2005, Carluccio's listed on the Alternative Investment Market
Alternative Investment Market
AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....
as a PLC
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
. In 2010 the company received a takeover offer from the Landmark Group, a Dubai-based enterprise, valuing Carluccio's at £90m. The transaction was approved by the shareholders and completed in October 2010.
Today, Carluccio's operates from over 45 UK locations. In addition the company has granted franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
s over two territories: the first over Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
with presently one location open in Dublin; the second over 6 countries in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
including three locations presently open in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
.
After ten years of development, Antonio rejoined the company as a consultant.
In 2007 it was reported that the company paid waiting staff less than the UK minimum wage, and expected staff to make up the remaining remuneration through customers' tips. The UK law changed soon after this was revealed to ensure companies must meet the minimum required remuneration initially and that tips should not be counted towards an employee's paid salary level.
Awards
Carluccio was given the national honour of CommendatoreCommendatore
Literally Commander, the official title of Commendatore is awarded by decree of the President of Italy to individuals who are given this honour in the Italian Order of Merit known as the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica and other orders of knighthood...
dell' Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by the Italian government, the equivalent to a British knighthood, in 1998 for his contribution to the Italian food industry, and in 2007 he was awarded an OBE.
Books
- An Invitation to Italian Cooking (1986)
- A Passion for Mushrooms (1988)
- Passion for Pasta (1993)
- Italian Feast (1996)
- Carluccio's Complete Italian Food (1997)
- Southern Italian Feast (1998)
- Italia (2005) ISBN 1-84400-166-0
- Antonio Carluccio's Simple Cooking (2009)
External links
- Antonio Carluccio's official website
- Carluccio's Caffes' website
- Antonio Carluccio on the My Kitchen Table website
- Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery
- Interview, The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, 15 May 2005