Antonio was born in Vietri sul Mare in the province of Salerno. His father was the railway station master and he moved with his family to Castel Nuovo Belbo and then to Borgofranco D'Ivrea, both in Piedmont. Antonio was always the food hunter and learnt his passion for mushrooms from friends of his father in the hills around his home.

In 1975 he moved to London and 8 years later made his first appearance on BBC2. At the same time was asked to write his first book 'An Invitation to Italian Cooking'. Subsequently he has written thirteen books, published worldwide.

Antonio has received the Commendatore Omri for service to Italian gastronomy and in January 2007 he received an honorary OBE.

After ten years developing the Carluccio's Caffe business Antonio is no longer a consultant, instead taking the time to concentrate on new projects and ventures.

To find out more about Antonio and his current projects, please visit www.antonio-carluccio.co.uk