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. After a spell in the Navy, Antonio worked as a correspondent for La Stampa of Turin and then with Olivetti. He moved to Vienna, studying languages and learning about café society and then to Germany where he became a wine merchant, which was also his occupation when he moved to London.

The experience of observing many restaurants led in 1981 to his being asked to run the Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden by his brother-in-law. He continued at Neal Street until March 2007 when, due to the redevelopment of the building, the restaurant closed.

In 1983 he made his first appearance on BBC2 and at the same time was asked to write his first book 'An Invitation to Italian Cooking'. Subsequently he has written twelve books, published worldwide. During the eighties he contributed to numerous "Food and Drink" programmes, including a twelve part series following the regions of Italy.

In 1991 Antonio and Priscilla opened the Carluccio's food shop which was the forerunner of the successful AIM-listed series of caffès.

Antonio has received the Commendatore Omri for service to Italian gastronomy and in January 2007 an honorary OBE. Antonio is working to create a new restaurant and this page will be updated with his progress.