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Celebrity Chefs
Aldo Zilli Biography
Aldo Zilli is chef patron of the Zilli Fish Group and is one of Soho's most flamboyant restaurateurs. His knowledge of the restaurant industry and flamboyant personality makes him ideal as keynote speaker about customer service and service excellence or to run a cooking demonstration or team building event.
Becoming a Chef
After catering college in Italy he was sent abroad for the winter season to hotels all over Europe. He finally came to England at the age of 19 and decided to concentrate on his passion for Italian food, and started working in Italian restaurants, introducing new cooking methods and eclectic menus, transforming them from little-known venues to celebrity haunts. However, he soon outgrew the kitchen, becoming executive manager and training other chefs in his own impressive style.
Eventually, certain of his own success, Aldo decided to go it alone and acquired his first restaurant in Il Siciliano in Dean Street. Word quickly spread about the quality of food and the atmosphere created by Aldo and soon the restaurant was packed.
The Rise of Zilli Fish & Winning Awards
Aldo bought the premises at 41 Dean Street and opened Signor Zilli and then next door with London's first authentic Italian bar, Signor Zilli Bar. Zilli Fish followed in Brewer Street. Great Italian food and Aldo's legendary sense of humour makes these establishments a magnet for people from the media and entertainment world.
He was awarded Best Italian Restaurant Award in The London Restaurant Awards and collected the award for Best Media Restaurant for Zilli Fish. He has also won Favourite Showbiz Restaurant for Signor Zilli in the Capital Radio Awards and the London Times commented 'Aldo Zilli's kitchen remains on top form, with a menu that favours upmarket ingredients put to simple use'.
His has presented Dinner Dates for LWT and has appeared on programmes such as The Morning Show (BBC), Rise TV (Channel 4) GMTV (ITV 1). He recorded several series for Carlton Food Network including One Man and His Hob, as well as Perfect Pasta with Aldo Zilli; Aldo's Italian Job and Aldo and Friends. Aldo co-presented a series for CFN called Two Chefs In Cape with Brian Turner and he has guested on a number of programmes including BBC2's Food & Drink, The Weakest Link, The Vanessa Show, The Generation Game, Channel 4's Light Lunch, Dinner Dates for LWT, GMTV, The London Programme and The Food Factory for ITV. He is a frequent contributor to National and Local radio on food and culinary issues and launched Restaurant Week for London's Totally London campaign.
Author, Columnist and TV Personality
Aldo has been resident chef for The Sun newspaper and has written books including Sainsbury's Quick and Easy Italian Food; Aldo's Italian Food For Friends and Zilli Fish, Foolproof Italian, The Zilli Cook Book, Simple Italian Cookery and Fish and Shellfish: The Essential Cookbook
He has worked as a chef consultant for Safeway and has designed a Zilli dinner service for Poole Pottery. Aldo's latest venture, The Zilli Cookery School launched in association with Magic of Italy, offers the chance to enjoy a unique cookery school and activity programme in the beautiful surroundings of Abruzzo in Italy.
Aldo is a dynamic personality on television and led the successful team to victory on Celebrity Fit Club on ITV1, gaining a new slender figure in the process. His success he partly attributes to the healthy eating plan he devised for himself, a diet specifically designed for men.
Aldo's television appearances were on Celebrity X Factor (ITV1) caused quite a stir when he and the other 3 singing chefs wowed the audiences with their songs in Italian, French and English - they proved enormously popular making it through to the last stages of the competition.
For further information or to book Aldo Zilli, call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Aldo Zilli News
A selection of relevant news related to Aldo Zilli, Awards Hosts & Presenter and Keynote Speakers, Celebrity Chefs stories. For more information on Aldo Zilli or details as to how to book Aldo Zilli for your corporate event, please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Gregg Wallace and Fiona Phillips Take Centre Stage at The Ideal Home Show
11th March 2011
Celebrity chef Gregg Wallace and TV presenters Fiona Phillips and Diarmuid Gavin are part of the notable list of celebrities appearing at The Ideal Home Show – Britain’s best loved home event.
Top Chefs to Cook for Wounded War Heroes
18th September 2009
Paul Gayler, Chef de Cuisine at The Lanesborough has created the event Chefs for Heroes to raise money for the charity Help for Heroes. Paul will lead a team of top chefs as they cook a five course meal to raise funds for troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Celebrity chefs including Heston Blumenthal, Ainsley Harriott, Antonio Carluccio, Aldo Zilli and Anthony Worrall Thompson have given their support to the project and will be serving the diners on the evening.
Taste of London Returns to Regent’s Park
13th June 2013
Taste of London will be returning for another year in Regent’s Park, where over 200 artisan producers and premium brandy will provide an abundance of tasty food and drinks from the UK and the rest of the world.
BBC Good Food Show takes Place in Birmingham this Summer
20th May 2013
This year’s BBC Good Food show takes place in Birmingham this summer and is an event to be enjoyed by food lovers and families.
Dinner Named 7th Best Restaurant in the World
2nd May 2013
Dinner, the restaurant owned by Celebrity chef and after dinner speaker, Heston Blumenthal, has been named the seventh best restaurant in the world in an annual survey.
Willie Harcourt Cooze Releases New Chocolate Range
16th April 2013
Entrepreneur and star of Channel 4 show ‘Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory’, Willie Harcourt Cooze, has recently released a new range of chocolate desserts and gifts, which are now available all over the UK.
Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones Plans To Extend Business
20th February 2013
Farmer and after dinner speaker, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, plans to sell his well known, high end meat to Jamaican supermarkets and extend his clothing range.
Duncan Bannatyne on Comic Relief Celebrity Great British Bake-Off Line-Up
11th January 2013
The popular show will be returning for a four-part Comic Relief celebrity special on BBC Two.
Heston Blumenthal’s Giant Christmas Pudding
14th December 2012
Celebrity chef TV presenter Heston Blumenthal has taken his obsession with supersizing food to a whole new level.
Ainsley Harriott at Isle of Man Food Festival
10th October 2012
TV chef Ainsley Harriott is on the Isle of Man for two culinary events, including a Caribbean evening which will raise funds for Hospice Isle of Man.
Aldo Zilli Reviews
Aldo Zilli has spoken and appeared at a number of recent corporate events. Please find some client speaker testimonials and reviews for Aldo Zilli for a number of these events and conferences. If you would like some additional information as to how to book Aldo Zilli for your corporate event, then please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Thank you so much for a truly wonderful day at the Masterclass on Saturday. I enjoyed every minute of it from Billingsgate to lunch! It was fantastic to meet you, Aldo, Tony, your restaurant manager (I didn't get his name) and all the rest of the staff. It was great fun watching, learning and putting into practice new skills and techniques. The food that Aldo prepared was more special than anything I have ever tasted before and his passion and enthusiasm were truly inspirational. It was great to meet all my fellow classmates and hopefully I have made some new friends to keep in touch with. Thank you for looking after us so well! I would highly recommend this class and would be happy for you to mention any of my feelings to other people who may be considering coming to the class. I will treasure the memory of this day for many years to come.
For further information or to book Aldo Zilli, call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
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