Italian restaurants in Britain should only hire Italian chef because ‘only they can cook pizza and pasta properly’, TV chef Aldo Zilli claims
- Only Italian cooks truly ‘understand’ their country’s cuisine, top TV chef says
- Zilli insists he only hires chefs native to Italy for his San Carlo restaurant chain
- Cooks need to spend time in Italy to learn how to properly cook pasta dishes
Italian restaurants should hire only Italian cooks as they alone ‘understand’ the cuisine, a top TV chef claimed yesterday.
Aldo Zilli, the restaurateur and Good Morning Britain regular, told the programme he hired only Italian chefs in his restaurant chain San Carlo.
He believes it is vital to live in Italy to learn the methods of preparing pasta and pizza passed down through generations. He said: ‘When it comes to real Italian food… You grow up with those flavours and I don’t feel that anyone else outside Italy is going to understand that food.’
Aldo Zilli is adamant only Italian chefs know how to properly prepare pizza and pasta dishes, and he only employs Italian cooks in his restaurant chain
He added: ‘Carbonara never has cream. Spaghetti bolognese doesn’t exist. Those things can’t change.’
However, Mr Zilli conceded he would be happy to employ an English chef who had trained in Italy. He also said that, having been in England for 42 years, ‘it would be fine’ for him to cook fish and chips.
He is the latest TV cook to become embroiled in a culinary culture war. Last week, Gordon Ramsay faced allegations of cultural appropriation over his new ‘Asian eating house’ Lucky Cat – which didn’t appear to employ any Asian chefs.