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Carluccio takes a bite at young rivals 'driven by fame'
Mark Blunden16 Mar 2009
CELEBRITY chef Antonio Carluccio has accused younger rivals of being driven by fame instead of cooking.
Carluccio, 71, who founded the chain of 42 restaurants that take his name, said he was disappointed by the second generation of famous chefs. In a frank interview, he also said Britain had lost its sense of identity on food.
"Ken Hom, Madhur Jaffrey, myself and Raymond Blanc, we wanted to make people more interested in food. Now it's all about the fame," he said.
"I don't like Gordon Ramsay. I liked him at the beginning, before he learned that he could get attention by constantly saying that word. He learned everything from Marco Pierre White, anyway, who is, of course, a better chef."
He also dismissed Delia Smith as "the most boring person in the world" but said her cooking was lovely.
On the future for British food, he said: "Britain suffers from a crisis of self-confidence about her cuisine. A good steak and kidney pie is the most delicious thing in the world, but the British don't think that."
Carluccio was speaking after leaving the Priory hospital in Roehampton, where he was admitted after stabbing himself in the chest last September while cutting bread. What he describes as an accident came after his break-up with his third wife Priscilla.
He was forced to close his Neal Street flagship in Covent Garden, where Jamie Oliver learned to cook Italian food, after the building's landlords said they intended to redevelop the site. He sold the chain for a reputed £10million in 2005.
He said he was considering opening another restaurant and added that he had been "rediscovered".
Reader views (2)
I certainly agree with the notion that the country has a "crisis of self-confidence." English like their food, who cares if Americans don't. Quit trying to be some world's finest cuisine and just make good food you enjoy.
- Trunk, US, 16/03/2009 23:16
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I have to agree with the man, everything he says about the calibre of today's chefs is true. Food has taken a back seat, to be replaced by their goal of celebrity status, fame and money.
- Ian Davies, London, UK, 16/03/2009 11:32
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