| Restaurants
- E: kensington@myvillage.co.uk |
| My Village
interviews Aldo Zilli 4/05/01 |
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It's hard to ignore Aldo Zilli.
London's most famous Italian chef seems to pop up around every corner;
newspaper columns, radio shows, he appears regularly in various shapes
and forms on the Carlton TV network, and as for awards and accolades,
I won't even begin to bore you with the list….but his CV is fat with
achievements and there's no doubt about it; here is a very successful
man-about-town.
But it wasn't until Aldo presented an award at the My Village awards
ceremony, and his face began beaming at me from every bookshop window
recently with the release of his third cookbook Foolproof Italian
Cookery that myself and the celebrity news editor Nadia decided
we couldn't ignore this infamous restaurant rascal any longer.
There's been a lot written and said about Aldo and his notorious ways
with the rich and famous, but we decided to get to know him better
ourselves.
So, we took ourselves down to Soho to meet Aldo at Zilli Fish on Brewer
St. We were escorted by Aldo himself through his office and we stationed
ourselves at his desk, where I spy a well-thumbed copy of The Little
Book of Calm.
We begin to chat, (after he'd first grabbed the dictaphone to his
lips and crooned "hi my name is Aldo Zilli and I'm really good-looking")
and start by talking about what his day consists of, which - despite
popular belief - doesn't involve swanning around London attending
parties, openings and any other number of fun events every day, although
Aldo openly confesses that he loves parties, and would "attend the
opening of an envelope."
As we talk he flicks absent-mindedly through The Little Book of
Calm.
"My day consists of once or twice a month I go to the fish market
in Billingsgate to check the prices and to see what's going on (flick
flick). But on a daily basis I just come in and go to the kitchens
and start to work on the daily menus. I get very involved, I like
to create my own food and do my own thing," he says, (flick flick).
"What's with the book?" I ask suddenly. Aldo bursts out laughing with
his incredibly infectious, trademark giggle, and says he "gets calm
just by holding it."
From then on, Aldo switches between talking in deadly serious tones
about food, giggling and flexing his legendary sense of humour and
telling a few of his favourite restaurant tales.
His recent involvement in Cape Town where he was filming Three
Chefs in the Cape with Ross Burdin and Alan Coston for the Carlton
Food Network has inspired him to think about taking his brand to South
Africa, where, he says, he can't walk down the street without being
recognised.
"Actually, it's just an excuse to get out of England in January and
February when it's really boring here and it's 40 degrees there,"
he says.
The history of the Zilli Empire began in 1988 when he bought the first
of his now five-strong restaurant group in Dean St, Soho. After Signor
Zilli he followed next door in 1993 with the bar Signor Zilli Bar.
Zilli Fish (Brewer St) followed in June 1997 and last year saw the
opening of Notting Hill's Zilli and finally Zilli Fish Too opened
this year in Covent Garden and, this week the Z pizza bar downstairs
was launched. (see photos)
But he's determined not to expand too much bigger in London for fear
of earning the dreaded label of being a "chain restaurant."
Over the years, his restaurants has attracted the attention of celebrities
and people in the media and entertainment industry as the photo gallery
on the walls of his office is testimony to; George Michael in a blonde
wig, him and best friend Chris Evans in bright yellow chicken costumes,
Michelle Collins, Paul Young, Barbara Windsor, him and his gorgeous
six-foot daughter Laura Zilli, a celebrity in her own right as a young
upcoming model.
His interest in food stems - as is always nearly the case with successful
chefs - from his childhood in Italy growing up in a tiny village called
Alba Adriatica (where he'll be filming a episode of Wish You Were
Here this summer).
He moved to London at the age of 19 and hasn't looked back, except,
perhaps to get inspiration and ideas for his food.
"It's been difficult to grow into the idea of having a restaurant
that serves just fish," he says. "Because years ago, English people
didn't really eat fish, it wasn't an obvious thing for them to choose
from the menu."
But now, Aldo says the growing interest in Japanese and other Asian
food is about people turning to healthier eating options. "We've got
quite a lot to learn yet from Oriental chefs.
"In fact recently the Italian government held an emergency meeting
about the invasion of noodle bars in Italy," he says. "They're very
worried about pasta losing its touch, but I welcome everyone's cuisine
if we can learn from it."
There's been plenty of memorable moments in Aldo's career that he's
proud of; more recently Hugh Grant came into the Notting Hill restaurant
and asked him for a "hangover cure" and Aldo cooked him spaghetti
bolognaise which he said was the "best he'd ever had."
But one of his favourite tales is the time when he locked Prince Edward
in his restaurant, a story he clearly loves retelling.
"He was having dinner with his girlfriend one night, and was sitting
by the door. I got protective that night and locked the door so he
didn't get any aggravation, so we could all relax.
"He got a bit pissed and I got very pissed, so we moved downstairs
because we were making too much noise. When he went to leave and I
went upstairs to get his coat for him, put it on the chair and said
goodbye.
"All my friends were downstairs, so I went down and immediately started
talking and joking about the royal family. Suddenly, everyone goes
blank, and I say - what's the matter with you guys?" He starts giggling
at the memory. "Prince Edward's standing right behind me."
"He says - "Aldo, I'm locked in, would you mind letting me out please."
But not only that but I'd given him the wrong coat. We were on good
terms, he used to call me Aldo, and call me every week, now I don't
want to know what he calls me!"
Aldo Zilli has and will continue to be the name synomous with Italian
cooking in London. Recently, he cooked the food for the post premier
party of Captain Correlli's Mandolin. But despite his connections
with the rich and famous, Aldo seems to have his feet on the ground.
He comes across as a down-to-earth man with a cheeky sense of humour
and a clear mission - to continue to enjoy his success and his lifestyle.
Michelle Smith |
| Feature: Aldo's
disappearing act - 19/06/01
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My new best friend Aldo Zilli, invited me to accompany
him to the Theme bar and Restaurant Awards, which took place last
night at the plush Café Royal. I met up with Aldo and his friends
Anthony and Rachel and after a few glasses of wine we all headed
down to the awards.
We were ushered to the main hall before dinner for drinks and peanuts,
I was surprised to see such a young crowd, I gather it's the new
breed of restaurateurs and bar managers. My stomach was growling
so I couldn't get to my table soon enough, dinner was now being
served, quiche for starters, salmon for the main and chocolate pudding
for desert (for those who want to know!)
To my left I had the charming Aldo and to my right Red Or Dead designer
Wayne Hemingway, who I'm pleased to say has seen MyVillage.com and
has recently branched out into design, hence his presence at awards.
After our little chat I excused myself and went to the ladies were
I was mortified to see that I had green salad stuck on my tooth,
it was there the whole time I was talking and smiling away to Wayne.
(can you believe it!).
Aldo was enjoying himself ordering wine, there seemed to be a never-ending
stream coming to our table - not that anyone was complaining. Aldo
was nominated for the 'best restaurant in London' award but unfortunately
the award went elsewhere. He was scheduled to hand out an award
later that evening, however prior to that happening, whilst we were
talking about what he should say and do on stage, he told me a story
about a time when he was at another award ceremony with pal Chris
Evans.
They both decided to go awol telling everyone that they were simply
going to the toilet - it was at this time that alarm bells started
ringing.
Lighting up a cigarette, I forgot about it and was busy chatting
to Rachel and Anthony when Aldo announced he would be back soon
- just going to the loo.
Now you know what's coming next, it was just before he was due to
give out an award that I realised he had been gone a long time,
Yes Aldo had done a runner and when his name was called he was nowhere
to be seen. But it gets better than that, the waiter walked over
to me and asked me where Mr Zilli was as his bill was unpaid and
could I settle it. I said no, waited until he was out of view and
then like Aldo, did a runner! Nadia
Aldo Interview
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| The Winners... |
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Best Bartender
Andres Masso
Best Marketing
Yo! Sushi
Best Interior Design
Hakkasan
Best Drinks Selection and Presentation
Che
Most Influential Individual
Eric Yu (Breakfast Group)
Best Food Offer
Six-13
Best Cafe
Carluccio's Deli Cafe
Best Use of Technology
Yates' (Leicester Square)
Best Branded Operation
Elbow Room
Best Bar
Soshomatch
Best Restaurant
Cecconi's
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