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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/BBC)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Mon 22 Jun 202000:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 16 Nov 201700:32GMT
  • Thu 16 Nov 201703:32GMT
  • Thu 16 Nov 201711:32GMT
  • Thu 16 Nov 201721:32GMT
  • Thu 16 Nov 201723:32GMT
  • Sun 19 Nov 201708:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 202010:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 202015:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 202019:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 202021:32GMT
  • Thu 18 Jun 202022:32GMT
  • Sun 21 Jun 202007:32GMT
  • Mon 22 Jun 202000:32GMT

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