Italian chef Aldo Zilli has invested in a cookery school in his native Abruzzo that will give Brits an insight into the region and its cuisine.
The Aldo Zilli School of Cookery near Pescara will be launched on 1 April next year when Zilli will take the first two trips, followed by one trip a month.
The school can take 16 students at a time who will pay from £1,750 for eight days and stay in one of two four-star hotels that are part of the venture - the 30-bedroom Montinope and 60-bedroom Villa Maria. Guests will be entertained by Zilli's partner in the venture, opera singer Nicola Pellicciotta.
Back in London, Zilli said business was reviving at his five restaurants after the shock news that they had accrued debts estimated at over £500,000 (Caterer, 7 August, page 7).
He attributed the rescue to hard work, along with a voluntary agreement by creditors to freeze his debts and give him "plenty of time" to repay them. Zilli said trade had been hit by the decrease in tourists following 11 September 2001, the Iraq war and Sars.
His biggest headache now is the London congestion charge. "The congestion charge is killing us," he said. "Outside the charge zone, takings are up. Inside, we are all down 20%."