Locatelli was brought up in Corgeno in the comuneofVergiate on the banks of Lake Comabbio, northern Italy. His uncle ran a restaurant, the Michelin-star rated La Cinzianella, giving him an appreciation and understanding of food from an early age.[1][2] After working for a short spell in local restaurants in Italy and Switzerland, Locatelli went to England in 1986 to join the kitchens of Anton EdelmannatThe Savoy. In 1990, Locatelli moved to Paris and worked at Restaurant Laurent and La Tour d'Argent. Locatelli was in the army in his youth.[3]
On his return to London a couple of years later, Locatelli opened Olivo Restaurant, Eccleston Street, before opening Zafferano in February 1995.[4]
They won "Best Italian Restaurant" at the London Carlton Restaurant Awards for two consecutive years and their first Michelin star in 1999.[5]
In February 2002, Locatelli and his wife Plaxy opened their first independent restaurant, Locanda Locatelli, on Seymour Street. The restaurant, which serves traditional Italian dishes, was awarded a Michelin star in 2003, which has been retained every year since.
Locatelli has been featured in several TV series: Pure Italian, 2002, aired on the UK Food channel; Tony and Giorgio, filmed with entrepreneur Tony Allan, shown on BBC2; and Sicily UnpackedItaly Unpacked with art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon.[citation needed]
The Big Family Cooking Showdown was also on the BBC with Locatelli as a judge with Rosemary Shrager. The hosts were Zoe Ball and Nadiya Hussain.
He has written three culinary books. Made in Italy, was published in September 2006.[6]Made in Italy has received the Best Food Book award at the Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards 2007. A second book, Made in Sicily, was published in September 2011. Made at Home was published by 4th Estate in 2017.[citation needed]
In January 2019, he became a judge of MasterChef Italia. In May of the same year, he was a guest on the Italian talk show EPCC (E poi c'è Cattelan) hosted by Alessandro Cattelan. There he announced he would be coming back as judge also for the ninth season of MasterChef Italia. In 2022 and 2023 he co-hosted the cooking show Home Restaurant aired on Sky Uno.[7] He also revealed he sometimes feels more British than Italian, having spent so many years in London.[8]
