A food fanatic told how he went from selling Italian produce at a market during lockdown to throwing open the doors of his first high street deli.

Craig Selby decided to chase his vision of trading authentic Italian cuisine in Deal after a bleed to the brain made him feel “life was too short” for hesitation.

Now, the 42-year-old has transformed a shop at the north end of Deal High Street into Deal Deli, where he has combined his passion for food with vintage Italian vehicles.

Mr Selby started up in the town’s Saturday market after his work in events dried up during the pandemic.

The stall became a hit and now he has turned the deli into his full-time job.

“During lockdown, I noticed in Deal it was difficult to get good produce because nowhere was open,” explained Mr Selby, who has lived in Deal for 14 years.

“So I had this idea, I collect vintage Italian vehicles and I go to Italy quite frequently to find them, bring them back, and restore them.

“I convert them into bars and take them to music festivals.

“I approached Deal Town Market and I sourced all this Italian produce I saw on my travels and brought it to the market where I was awarded a permanent pitch and it hasn’t stopped since.”

When Covid restrictions were lifted, Mr Selby’s events business kicked back in, but after a health scare, he has decided to dedicate more time to his passion.

He said: “Three months ago, I had a bleed on my brain at work and I decided life is too short so having the deli is my way of focusing my passion and winding things in a bit.

“I spent three weeks in hospital and it changed my perspective.

“This is my new full-time business and I will live upstairs.

“All the produce is stuff you won't find in a British supermarket, it is all hand-selected, premium products so I strive to bring to Deal a piece of Italy most people have never experienced.

“I’ve decorated the shop so it is like a garage from Italy with all the old memorabilia and pictures and a 1960s Lambretta in the window, with loads of Italian food inside.

“I can guarantee there is nothing else like this in Deal or even Kent because no other delis have tied in the vintage Italian vehicles.

“It's all about Italian culture with food, visuals, and art.”

Mr Selby says he specifically chose the unit at the north end of the high street with the hope it will attract more people back to the town.

He said: “With Deal losing many of its shops to residential space such as Curwen’s cycles, I felt passionately that a shop front should re-open on the north end of town.

“The high street is getting shorter and shorter but I still feel it is the best place for Deal Deli to service it’s customers.”

Oliver Richardson, the mayor of Deal, attended a launch event to officially open Deal Deli on Thursday, while the public were welcomed for the first time on Friday.