Celebrity Chef Aldo Zilli seals deal with CenterParcs

May 17 2009 by Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury

Mama mia!

HE moves from huddle to huddle, shaking hands, sharing memories, renewing acquaintances at the C-list celebrity soiree. Here a former EastEnders actress, there a TV talent show judge.

From time to time his attention drifts, ensnared by the sultry vocal of jazz singer Cate Cody, singing softly in the corner. Then he marches into the kitchen, his chef’s whites and gleaming white trainers cutting through the chattering crowd.

It is time for business, and while Aldo Zilli may have mischief in his eyes, a quiver of wry quips at the ready, he is deadly serious about the business of food.

Since making London his home in 1976, Zilli has earned a reputation for strict quality control. It is said that his look can sear a hapless sous-chef more quickly than a pan-fried escalope.

It is, he says, the product of his upbringing as the youngest of nine children on a farm in the Abruzzo region of Italy, where he learned the importance of fresh ingredients.

“When I was 12 my mom decided that I was going to help her in the kitchen,” recalls the fiery 53 year-old who has joined the celebrity chef elite.

“My early memories are of her working with dad on the farm, milking the cows at 6am so we would have fresh milk before going to school. After this she would go and pick vegetables and kill a chicken for lunch, or make an amazing sauce for the pasta, which she also made herself.

“She never went food shopping because all the produce was grown at home and she made the best of whatever she had, making cheese from cow’s or goat’s milk, using olive oil from our olive tree, and wine from our vineyard.