GRAZIE, ANTONIO

Chef Antonio Carluccio - Photo: antonio-carluccio.co.uk

When people call you the "godfather of Italian gastronomy," it implies you can do a little more than just boil some pasta and make a pizza. Antonio Carluccio was certainly deserving of that title and had a special way about serving up his native country on a plate. While some people simply cook to eat, others cook to live, and that's the kind of man Antonio will be remembered as following the news of his death on Nov. 8.

Admittedly, I didn't follow his career too closely. My first encounter with "the godfather" was when my wife and I discovered the BBC programme Two Greedy Italians. This is a fantastic series for anyone who wants to learn more about Italy through its culture and (some might say "more wonderfully") through its food. Starring Carluccio and his long-time associate, Gennaro Contaldo, the show follows the two men as they roam across the country of their youth, filling their bellies while examining the psychology and passions of modern Italians. Here is one of my favourite episodes, entitled "Lazio and Machismo":

Two Greedy Italians (BBC) - Binge-watch the series while you binge eat!

These two men had a long history together, actually, and while they might have shared some great moments as friends and professionals, they weren't always migliori amici. Back in the 80s, Carluccio became owner of Neal Street Restaurant in London, that's where Contaldo worked as his assistant for some 15 years. From my own experience in the business, I know you can learn a lot about a person during the heat of a dinner rush, so I can imagine they knew each other quite well. Eventually, Contaldo would leave to start his own eatery. The parting led to some hard feelings that Carluccio finally opened up about during a 2015 interview he gave while visiting Australia.

“I thought he [Gennaro] had done a bad thing going away from Neal Street," Carluccio said. "So for many years we didn’t talk to each other, because he had done it badly, really badly.”

He also told the interviewer that he would have helped his friend start his own restaurant, believing Contaldo wasn't "entrepreneurial enough":

I said to him ‘I know I can cook, and do everything around it.' Then I delegate to everyone else for the business because they know more than me. Money and things.

Whatever differences existed between the two, they seemed to get over them enough to make their BBC series together. For the sake of both individuals, I sincerely hope they did overcome those tensions. However, in that same interview, Carluccio did accuse his co-host of pilfering his lines during filming:

Everything we do is without script. I was hating Gennaro.

Before the scene, I would say ‘Gennaro, I am going to say this and this and this.' Come the scene, he goes, bang, and steals my line.

I don't think you can make good TV without some big personalities, so that kind of a story doesn't surprise me. Clearly, the two found a way to co-exist and - hopefully - as friends. Along with their Italian heritage and passion for food, these two greedy Italians had something else in common.

Jamie Oliver embarked on his professional career under Carluccio at the Neal Street Restaurant before becoming Genarro's protégé. Oliver never forgot his old boss, though, working with him later in life and including him on his popular Youtube channel. Here's a great recipe by Carluccio, courtesy of Food Tube, for the best Spaghetti Carbonara you'll ever eat outside of Italy, with a "minimum of fuss and maximum of flavour":

Spaghetti Carbonara (with Eggs and Bacon) Serves Serves 2 (good portions) 220g Spaghetti or Spaghettoni (the largest spaghetti) 25g  Guanciale (the cheek of the pork) or pancetta (Italian bacon) cut into small cubes. 2 tbsp olive oil 2 eggs 50g Parmesan cheese (or aged pecorino) freshly grated. Freshly ground black pepper. ... Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and fry the guanciale or pancetta until crisp. Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl with the grated cheese and pepper. When the pasta is ready, drain and add to the pan with the guanciale. Then mix well to coat everything. Take off the heat. Allow to cool slightly. Then add the egg and cheese mixture. Stir to coat the pasta and serve immediately. (NOTE: This list of ingredients and instructions is taken from Antonio Carluccio's official website. It also appears in the book entitled Antonio Carluccio’s Southern Italian Feast, which can be purchased at Amazon by clicking here. I've included the recipe - a personal favourite - as a tribute to the late chef.)

Jamie Oliver said his goodbyes to Carluccio with a heartfelt statement he released online via Instagram:

He was my first London Boss at the Neal Street restaurant 25 years ago which was an institution and Mecca of wild mushrooms where I had the pleasure of working for him. He was such a charismatic charming don of all things Italian!! Always hanging out the front door of the restaurant with a big fat Cigar a glass of something splendid and his amazing fuzzy white hair. ... I also had the pleasure of making and producing his TV show the “Two Greedy Italians" with his life long best friend and partner in crime @gennarocontaldo who were hilarious together!! He was an amazing food ambassador that will be sorely missed.

Like Oliver, Carluccio was a heavy-weight food-star in his own right, even if he wasn't fond of the idea of celebrity chefs. During the interview from Australia I referenced earlier, he was highly critical about idolizing them on television:

I have seen this grow up over three decades. I am afraid that increasing the status of chefs to something more special hasn’t been very good because they do two or three recipes well, perhaps a bit strange, and leave the rest to others. For me, being a chef is a very heavy job.

It's fair to say Carluccio tasted more than just a dash of success. In addition to his multiple restaurants and television work, he also wrote some 20 books on Italian cooking and was bestowed with knighthood, receiving the Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic) in 1998.

There were dark times alongside those great achievements, too, but that wasn't something he openly discussed. In this article on The Telegraph website, written by Sir Terence Conran, we're offered a glimpse into some of Carluccio's inner struggles, from the perspective of a friend:

[Q]uieter moments were rare and the only real glimpse most of us ever saw of the demons that troubled him on such a deep but private level. He was able to hide them very well – too well, sadly. None of us will ever really know what Antonio faced up to in those darker times and I am no expert in such matters, but I do know it was very painful for those close to him to deal with. It didn’t make any of us love him any less though, and I will confess to missing the depth of our friendship in the years after Priscilla separated from him.

It was only later that Antonio himself was able to speak openly about battling depression. “I didn’t want the burden of people asking me what I, a successful man, had to be depressed about,” he confessed. “I concealed my real feelings, and I survived by telling jokes. I wanted people to know that I was jolly.”

There are many reasons why one might struggle with depression. Antonio went through three divorces, for example, which can scar a soul in ways known only by the individual and God. There was also the death of a brother that weighed on his heart and the time he tried to end his life by stabbing himself with a pair of scissors. One can only imagine the depth of sadness and pain in his life during those moments.

I'm not claiming to fully understand his personal turmoil, nor am I saying he was a wreck as a person, because we're all wounded in our own ways. These peeks into his personal life merely serve as reminders of our own fragile humanity. Maybe this story will inspire us to greater empathy for those around who are struggling with their own difficulties and demons.

Reports say Carluccio died from complications after a fall at home. He was 80. Antonio, riposi in pace.