…AS ALDO ZILLI THRILLS AUDIENCE AT MASTERCLASS
By Okosun Dennis
He loomed large as the audience cheered him as he smartly walked onto the stage for the 4th Masterclass on Day 2 in the 2024 GTCO Food and Drink Festival: Promoting Enterprise.”
Aldo Zilli is an award-winning celebrity chef who specializes in regional Italian cuisine. With the topic: “Beyond Pasta: A Holistic Approach to Italian Cuisine,” he held the audience in the masterclass spellbound as he rattled them with dazzling questions that made the crowd rack their brains to unravel the questions while he gifted them a book authored by himself.
With a dash of quality, the experienced chef took the audience through one of the most hilarious, engaging, and audience-participatory masterclasses with the theme: “A Celebration of Authentic Flavours.”
Born in Alba Adriatica, Italy, he learned cooking from his mother and attended catering college. Aldo founded and led several acclaimed London-based restaurants, including Zilli Fish, known for Italian seafood.
As an author with 10 books, including autobiographies and cookery books, he brought a lot of experience to bare. Renowned for his vibrant personality, Aldo frequently appears on TV and radio as a presenter and chef, notably as a judge on Celebrity MasterChef. In 2019, he won Celebrity Hunted on Channel 4, raising money for Stand Up to Cancer. Aldo Zilli was honoured as ‘Best Chef 2022’ in the Best Restaurant Awards.
Despite the economic downturn that has rattled so many homes, reducing their purchasing powers, GTCO has lived up to expectations, galvanizing change in terms of culinary taste, making of cookies, and the number of attendees.
Currently in its seventh edition, the festival has given enormous quality gastronomic experience, by recognizing the world’s biggest culinary chefs, endearing thousands of food lovers and entrepreneurs to diverse African dishes, and traditional delicacies that kept mouths yummimg.
At every corner of the GTCO Centre, one is practically embarrassed by a display of flavours, and authentic African, and Nigerian delicacies with intimidating aromas that keep one salivating or asking for more.
In his statement at the 2024 edition of the GTCO Food and Drink Festival, the Chief Executive Officer, Guarantee Trust Holding Company, Mr. Segun Agbaje says it all.
“Food is a universal language, spoken in a thousand dialects. Food has a way of bringing people of all cultures together, whether it’s over a traditional home-cooked pot of our favourite soup or friendly banter over delicious jollof rice, families and friends from all over the world come together to entertain, celebrate and share stories over the authenticity of the food.
He further stated, “Over the years, we have come to understand that sharing a meal isn’t just about sustenance; it’s a journey through cultures, and we are privileged to experience these flavours and authenticity first hand.
“Here at the festival, we are delighted to bring to our customers, exhibitors, and food lovers from across Africa and beyond, the 7th edition of a festival that is a celebration of not just food, but of the assortment of cultures and traditions that make African cuisines so unique.
“Our vision for curating this consumer-focused event remains unchanging, particularly in light of the pressures that individuals and businesses are facing at this time.”
Today, 28th April 2024, Day 3, topics like Southern Coastal Cuisine, Indian Cuisine Beyond Curry, Mexican Cuisine, Mestizaje, and Culture; Je ne sais quoi – The Classic French Masterclass with a Twist, The Art of Whole Hog BBQ, and Exploring the Role of a Food Writer and Critic in the Culinary World constituted excellent conversations at the closing masterclasses.
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