“The Maltese were the tough boys!” Italian chef shares personal brushes with Soho Mafia
Since moving to the United Kingdom in 1976, Italian chef Aldo Zilli has been the chef patron of a string of highly successful restaurants which introduced food to excitement and innovation. His most famous establishments were found in Soho, London, and the celebrity chef recounts his experiences with the Soho mafia – formed by a group of Maltese and Italians – during his time in operation.
In an excerpt from a much-longer interview discussing his experience and various businesses in the industry with Matt Haycox, Chef Aldo explains how the Soho mafia used to wreak havoc in the area: “There were a lot of Maltese playing the tough boys, the hardest boys in Soho,” he revealed, adding that “some of them would come to the restaurant and get into a fight after dinner just because they didn’t want to pay the bill!”
At the time just a 25-year-old with a new restaurant, Chef Aldo admits to having been petrified about the situation, and having to pay them off, all the while attempting to make his business profitable (which he did). Asked to classify his fear by numbering it from 1 to 10, he replied with: “About 12, but I didn’t show it … that’s what made me survive.”
Looking back, Chef Aldo admits that for them it had been more fun than scary: “I mean, you live in Soho so you have to expect…you know there was peep shows, there was sex shops, there was everywhere, until they cleaned them up…” he said.
Check out Chef Aldo’s full interview below: