Foodies' delight at Antonio Carluccio's Shrewsbury move

He launched the career of Jamie Oliver, built a business which sold for £90 million and became a household name. Antonio Carluccio, the doyen of Italian cuisine, has received an OBE, written more than 20 books and his business operates across 70 countries.

The 76-years-young celebrity chef will open a new branch of Carluccio's in The Square in Shrewsbury next month, and has no doubt it will be a success.

"The town is nice," he says, in an Italian brogue which is so lyrical and authentic he might as well be chatting over a cappuccino in his native Salerno.

"The management only ever find the right towns and the right premises. Obviously, we look for towns with a strong food culture, and Shrewsbury has that.

"The food on the menu is very authentic. They are original recipes and many of them are mine, or from other people from Italy. The cooks and so on, they are trained to do a good job. They are not just told to smile. They have to be passionate about what they do."

Antonio has every chance of achieving his objective in making Shrewsbury a must-visit destination. The town's food festival, which was launched last year, kick-started a revolution in local restaurants and among independent producers. There have been a series of new openings during the past 12 months and a number of other businesspeople are planning to follow suit.

The blessing of Carluccio, the Godfather of Italian food, puts Shrewsbury on the map. The man whose name will appear above the shop may also be paying a visit – though he won't let staff know when.

"I go into the shops regularly," he laughs. "Of course I go. I love it.

"We have a human way of doing business. It's nothing to do with just the money. It's also the way people behave. It should be jolly. If I go into a shop and I find something I don't like, I can be very critical. I get onto the management straight away and say: 'Hey, you ought to watch this'. If people are coming into one of our restaurants and spending money, they deserve a good experience."

Antonio moved to the UK in 1975. He was a wine merchant and had previously worked in Vienna and Germany, learning five languages along the way.

His passion for food helped him to land a prestigious job as the manager of Terence Conran's Neal Street Restaurant, in Covent Garden. Eight years later, he became its owner and Jamie Oliver started his career under Antonio's tutelage.

"I knew about Jamie. I tried to teach him something and I am glad he has done very well. The fact is, all of my boys learned a little about the way I do things. I am pleased for him. He has done good things."

At the start of the 1990s, Antonio and his then wife opened an Italian foodshop, expanding to a wholesale business soon after. The rest is history. By 2010, his company had received and accepted a £90 million offer from a Dubai-based enterprise.

"The shops all started because we were doing lots of miles up to Italy and bringing back all sorts of wonderful produce. When I look back at how it was achieved the answer is simple: good service, good management, good premises, good food and low prices. Those are the ingredients which have made it a success.

"I have done a lot of books and a lot of TV. The thing I like about that is being able to share my knowledge. I am able to share my love for food with other people.

"The TV doesn't go to my head but it makes me happy. It's a good thing. I know TV is for the service of other people, not for the service of myself. I am not the most important thing in the TV programmes."

Antonio seldom takes a day off. Actually, he doesn't take any time out.

"I never take any time off work. I like to work with food. I am working with food all the time. I don't see the food as something which is extra to life, it's part of life.

"I like the Italian way. When I was a boy, I learned food is very much a part of the society. It is a catalyst between different people. People come together to share the joys of the sorrows of their day, while eating food. They talk about their life. I think this is the thing which is missing in a lot of today's society."

He's proud of his achievements: the OBE and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the AA. But most important of all is he's given of his best.

"As I said, when you try to do everything you do in the best way; that is the most important thing.

"Anything which I touched in my life I have always done it at my best. It didn't matter what it was. That gives me the greatest satisfaction."