Video: Aldo Zilli reveals what it’s really like to work in hospitality

The hospitality sector in Birmingham is working hard to bounce back following Covid measures, with many business owners appealing for fresh talent to get on board.

We speak to Aldo Zilli, currently working with Lucarelli Restaurant in Birmingham, about why he believes hospitality can still make for a great career.

Aldo Zilli, Resident Chef Consultant at Lucarelli Restaurant, says:

“Birmingham has always been quite a culinary city for me, there’s been a lot of chefs coming here, opening restaurants, and there still are. In the lockdown, the hospitality industry really suffered.

“And - including me - including people that I work for now, or work with now - my partners. Everybody suffered in the lockdown because the hospitality industry is an industry where you need people, where you need to see people, you need to work with people. Kitchens are, you know, socialising places.

“Our strategy that we’re putting in place is to bring in as many youngsters as we can, and train. Training not just in the kitchen, or in the bar, or front of house, but training them mentally for the you know, prepare them for the future that the industry holds.

“And if you get into this industry - you can’t get into this industry light-hearted - you have to be very committed. And that’s what we’re trying to do is commit people to come back into this industry or grow into this industry, and make it their business, make it their career.”

“If you get into this industry, there’s a lot of hard work, but there’s a lot of rewards. The rewards are far more than the hard work. So I always suggest to young people don’t be worried about working hard to start with because that’s what we all did.

“Chef’s can’t all look at me and Jamie Oliver and people that are in the limelight, you have to do the hard work first it doesn’t just come. You can’t just come into the industry and write a cookery book.

“So there’s a lot of hard work first, but it’s very rewarding. So I will always recommend that people get into this hospitality industry.”

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