The Seven Sins of Aldo Zilli |
Celebrity Chef & Restaurateur |
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Aldo Zilli is an award-winning chef and restaurateur who specialises in Italian, vegetarian and seafood cuisine. One of nine children, he was born in the small seaside town of Alba Adriatica in the central Italian region of Abruzzo and first learnt Italian home cooking from his mother in Italy followed by catering college.
He was the founder and chef-patron of some of London’s most exciting and innovative restaurants, Signor Zilli, Zilli Green, Zilli Café and Zilli Bar. His Italian seafood restaurant, Zilli Fish, was a Soho institution and had been open for over 15 years until March 2012 when Aldo decided to hang up the chef's whites to join one of his best friends in the business Mr Carlo Distefano becoming executive consultant chef to the award-winning San Carlo Group, providing advice and expertise, alongside devising new seasonal menus for their numerous restaurants.
The San Carlo Group owns restaurants in London, Birmingham and Manchester as well as an international portfolio including venues in Kuwait, Beirut and Bangkok.
Aldo is also one of the regular presenters on Soho Radio, with his own show, Buongiorno with Aldo Zilli. |
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Great food and Aldo’s exuberant personality means Aldo appears regularly on television and radio both as presenter and chef. These include BBC2's Country Show Cook Off series where he travelled around the English countryside with fellow chef Silvena Rowe battling it out for first place in local cookery competitions! Before that, he appeared on the UK Good Food channel where he and fellow chef Enzo Oliveri embarked on a culinary journey across Sicily, cooking up delights in Mount Etna, Trapani and the island's capital, Palermo. The show was so successful that a second series has just been filmed and will air later this year.
Aldo has written 10 books including two autobiographies, Being Zilli and My Italian Country Childhood, as well as various cook books, with his signature Italian recipes. His most recent book, Fresh & Green, with over 100 new exciting vegetarian recipes made the Telegraph’s Top Ten in 2012.
Since selling his restaurant chains, Aldo has been busier than ever. Aside from the numerous books he has written and countless TV appearances he has made, he has also launched his own brand new PR and marketing company, Zilli Media. Aldo now offers his services and over 30 years’ experience in the business as part of a package for new and existing restaurants, bars, cafés and chefs who may need his help. |
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| Wrath - What makes you angry about the hospitality industry?
Bad service, dirty toilets, rude phone manners and being rushed out of the restaurant or moved to the bar at the end of a meal.
Greed - If all your food fantasies came true what would be on your Plate?
Lobster with truffle risotto – only with in season, white Alba Truffle from Italy, the lobster must be Scottish.
Sloth - What do you do to unwind?
I really enjoy time away by myself at a spa. I book in every so often to relax, away from work and the kitchens, I also do yoga.
Pride - What are you most proud of?
My little boy, Rocco playing for Brighton Academy Football - I’ve always been a frustrated footballer. Winning Best Italian Restaurant in the 1996 London Restaurant Awards.
Lust - Is there anything that you are still lusting to achieve?
The opportunity to showcase my home region of Abruzzo to the British public. I would love the chance to take people back to my roots and introduce them to the food, people and sights like the Vineyards of Montepulciano.
Envy - who are you most envious of?
Chefs that travel and experience different cultures and still get to call it work!
Gluttony - have you ever over indulged?
On a business trip in Florence and I was out for dinner without my business partners. I ordered Florentine Steak (normally for two people) and a magnum of Tignanello wine. I fell asleep at the table and missed my flight home. Possibly my most indulgent and most embarrassing moment!
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| We put the spotlight on the industry's most recognisable faces in our new interview segment "Seven Sins". If you want to know what inspires the industry's movers and shakers or what your favourite food loving celebrity likes to indulge in then you'll find it in their Seven Sins. |
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