Antonio Carluccio Interview
Our tribute to the Italian chef Antonio Carluccio, The Godfather of Italian cooking, who tragically died yesterday
Antonio Carluccio
One of the loveliest, kindest, most bubbly and warm-hearted chefs, Antonio Carluccio, died yesterday, aged 80. A culinary legend, and a generous and passionate man who always lived life to the full.
Carluccio was most famous for his love of funghi and his BBC TV programme 'Two Greedy Italians' with Gennaro Contaldo. Carluccion arrived in London, and met Terence Conran and his sister Priscilla – who he later married – he got into the food business, starting a deli/caffé in Covent Garden back in 1991.
So it was poignant that we met less than a month ago to talk about his latest project, to share a few jokes, and hear his famously filthy chuckle. Carluccio enthused about plans for Carluccio’s to trial their first ever plant-led vegetarian and vegan pop-up Cucina Verde at their Covent Garden branch. Head's up - the last dinner is Monday 13 November. (Click here to book).
Grinning, Carluccio expanded on the reasoning behind this initiative, which coincides with World Vegan Month: ‘I believe the key is looking after your body and mind. Eating to make you happy. In Italy we’ve always eaten properly and this means eating lots of vegetables. To me, it is not simply a trend.’
He explained that he loves vegetables, as they fit in with his simple ‘mof mof’ approach to cooking. 'Cooking vegetables takes the minimum of fuss and provides the maximum of flavour. It is less about how they look. In Italy we have a phrase brutti ma buoni ‘ugly but beautiful’. For me, vegetables are always beautiful in their simplicity and a pleasure to eat.’
Over a vegan dinner of orrechiette with cauliflower puree, sautéed kale, chilli and roasted turmeric cauliflower, Carluccio reminisced about his favourite ever vegetable dish, which features in his latest book, Vegetables, and explained that he had recently adopted a more flexitarian way of eating. Carluccio said, ‘Zuppa di Cavolo Valdostana is a really simple cabbage soup from Aosta Valley just made with savoy cabbage, fontina and parmesan cheese, yet it is so heartwarming and delicious for the winter.’
Carluccio was always thinking about his next meal, and cooked every day for himself. ‘Everyone can improve the quality of their life through cooking,’ he insisted. He talked passionately about how we need to educate children differently about vegetables: ‘In Italy they chatter about what is in their lunchbox when they arrive at school in the morning and discuss what they have enjoyed. We need this to happen more in the UK.’
Carluccio hoped that the restaurant group would roll out the Cucina Verde menu nationally. It would be a wonderful tribute to the man considered the godfather of Italian gastronomy in the UK.
As Mastermind judge/editor William Sitwell wrote in a moving tribute on Instagram yesterday evening: ‘Every mushroom growing quietly beneath a pile of leaves in one of the secret woods that only he knew about might shed a little tear knowing he will never pick one of them again.’
Carluccio was most famous for his love of funghi and his BBC TV programme 'Two Greedy Italians' with Gennaro Contaldo. Carluccion arrived in London, and met Terence Conran and his sister Priscilla – who he later married – he got into the food business, starting a deli/caffé in Covent Garden back in 1991.
So it was poignant that we met less than a month ago to talk about his latest project, to share a few jokes, and hear his famously filthy chuckle. Carluccio enthused about plans for Carluccio’s to trial their first ever plant-led vegetarian and vegan pop-up Cucina Verde at their Covent Garden branch. Head's up - the last dinner is Monday 13 November. (Click here to book).
Grinning, Carluccio expanded on the reasoning behind this initiative, which coincides with World Vegan Month: ‘I believe the key is looking after your body and mind. Eating to make you happy. In Italy we’ve always eaten properly and this means eating lots of vegetables. To me, it is not simply a trend.’
He explained that he loves vegetables, as they fit in with his simple ‘mof mof’ approach to cooking. 'Cooking vegetables takes the minimum of fuss and provides the maximum of flavour. It is less about how they look. In Italy we have a phrase brutti ma buoni ‘ugly but beautiful’. For me, vegetables are always beautiful in their simplicity and a pleasure to eat.’
Over a vegan dinner of orrechiette with cauliflower puree, sautéed kale, chilli and roasted turmeric cauliflower, Carluccio reminisced about his favourite ever vegetable dish, which features in his latest book, Vegetables, and explained that he had recently adopted a more flexitarian way of eating. Carluccio said, ‘Zuppa di Cavolo Valdostana is a really simple cabbage soup from Aosta Valley just made with savoy cabbage, fontina and parmesan cheese, yet it is so heartwarming and delicious for the winter.’
Carluccio was always thinking about his next meal, and cooked every day for himself. ‘Everyone can improve the quality of their life through cooking,’ he insisted. He talked passionately about how we need to educate children differently about vegetables: ‘In Italy they chatter about what is in their lunchbox when they arrive at school in the morning and discuss what they have enjoyed. We need this to happen more in the UK.’
Carluccio hoped that the restaurant group would roll out the Cucina Verde menu nationally. It would be a wonderful tribute to the man considered the godfather of Italian gastronomy in the UK.
As Mastermind judge/editor William Sitwell wrote in a moving tribute on Instagram yesterday evening: ‘Every mushroom growing quietly beneath a pile of leaves in one of the secret woods that only he knew about might shed a little tear knowing he will never pick one of them again.’
TRY CULTURE WHISPER
Receive free tickets & insider tips to unlock the best of London — direct to your inbox