The grand old man of Italian cooking held court in Canberra to a crowd of food lovers on Friday night – and spoke of how he warned Jamie Oliver against signing endorsement deals with supermarkets.
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Celebrity cook Antonio Carluccio also had high praise for Canberra's truffles.
Carluccio mentored and trained a young Oliver at his London restaurant.
He is the headline act at the Canberra and Capital Region Truffle Festival this weekend, and made his first public appearance in the capital on Friday.
He talked about truffles, Australian wines, the commercialisation of food and reality TV.
Carluccio said he refused to promote big supermarket chain Sainsbury's after seeing how it operated, and warned his protege against signing endorsement deals.
"Poor little Jamie, he's not poor any more," he said. "I said to him, 'Jamie, be careful if you endorse these sort of produce, [because] then you can't tell anymore the difference'. He continued to do it because he was earning million pounds a year."
But Carluccio was philosophical about Oliver's lucrative endorsement deal with Sainsbury's, which lasted 11 years, saying "each to their own taste".
Wearing a warm yellow Tibetan scarf and leaning on a carved warming stick, Carluccio cut a bright figure at Kamberra Winery, where he hosted a sold-out fireside dinner.
He said Canberra had more robust truffles than in Europe – "they are better" – but cautioned that the much-prized fungi was often overused in Europe.
He also waxed lyrical about Australian wines ("less woody than before") and what he'd cooked for dinner the night before (truffle risotto).
Carluccio has spent all week in Braidwood on a private visit to truffle grower Peter Marshall, cooking, exchanging stories and hunting for truffles. He next appears at the farmers markets at Exhibition Park on Saturday morning from 8.30am.
The truffle festival runs until the end of August. See trufflefestival.com.au
Where to see Antonio Carluccio in Canberra:
SATURDAY
8.30am-10.30am: EPIC Farmers Markets
Carluccio will tour the market, do a cooking demonstration and sign copies of his latest book Pasta. Free. Exhibition Park, Flemington Road.
6.30pm: Grazing
Truffle dinner at Grazing in Gundaroo featuring dishes selected by Carluccio (sold out).
SUNDAY
10.45am-11.45am: Fyshwick Markets.
Carluccio will tour the Fyshwick markets and sign copies of his book Pasta. Free. Dalby Street, Fyshwick.
12pm-3pm: Fyshwick Markets
Carluccio joins chef Andrew Haskins from 3Seeds for a cooking class featuring four truffle dishes. Tickets are sold out but you can can watch the cooking class from the viewing platform at 3Seeds.
