Italian celebrity chef Antonio Carluccio has died at the age of 80.
In a statement confirming the star had passed away on Tuesday (08Nov17) his agent said, “It is with great sadness that we announce that Commendatore Antonio Carluccio OBE sadly passed away this morning.”
Carluccio came to the U.K. in 1975 and built a reputation as a top chef, and appearing on TV programs such as the BBC’s Food and Drink Program.
He was also known as the founder of the Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s, and for mentoring fellow superstar chef Jamie Oliver.
Carluccio received the Commendatore, the Italian equivalent of a British knighthood, from the country’s government in 1998.
In 2007, he was named as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the catering industry.
