Aldo Zilli & Arctic Cabins

We've been working with Celebrity Chef, Aldo Zilli, since 2014 when we installed him a 17m² BBQ cabin, which now has pride of place in the garden at his home in Surrey. Ever since then, we've had a great relationship with Aldo, and have worked on several projects with him, both at his home & at our Nottingham show site. Aldo kindly let us visit him recently, to show us around his BBQ cabin. While we we there, he shared two of his favourite fish recipes and gives us a glimpse into the man behind the chef’s whites. The cabin has rugs on the floor, cushions on the benches and an upcycled wooden barrel that Aldo uses as a preparation area. Today it is set out with fresh herbs, lemons and a buffet of spices and seasonings. It’s a lovely cosy setting; the fire is just starting to get going.

Create a Unique Space For Cooking

Aldo tells us that he first saw the cabins at the Grand Design Live Show at the NEC, Birmingham in 2014. He said, “I loved the look of the cabin and was very interested to see the cooking facilities inside. I was impressed with the quality of the barbecue and grill. But what really got me excited was that this was somewhere I could cook and create flavours and dishes that I couldn’t get from my kitchen or any restaurant. I knew I could create great dishes for family and friends all from this unique building. I was hooked!”

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Aldo, dressed in jeans and t-shirt tells us he has some fresh sea bream and mackerel that he will be cooking today. He starts to make a paste for the sea bream using chilli oil, fresh thyme, lemon juice sea salt and garlic. He coats the fish in the paste, scores the skin and pushes some slithers of garlic into the fish. The mackerel he stuffs with butter, herbs, chilli and lemon which he then ties tightly with string so the fish doesn’t open up when cooking.

Aldo says, “I love fish, the flavours are fantastic, and it’s great for cooking on the barbecue. We’ve had some great parties in here and it’s super that I can cook and be part of the party without being stuck in the kitchen, it’s very sociable to cook in the cabin. It’s a multi-functional space, you can chat, cook, party, read a book, eat or just sit and be mesmerised by the flickering of the flames.”

Aldo Zilli cooking fish inside his Arctic BBQ cabin

Aldo Zilli's BBQ Recipes

Aldo places the fish on the grill and puts it over the now glowing coals in the barbecue. “Ten minutes on both sides and the fish will be delicious” he states. Ten minutes later he expertly flips the grill to cook the other side of the fish. There are no roaring flames, smoke or hint of burning, like you so often get from the traditional barbecues!

Aldo whips up a dressing of oil, chillies and fresh tomatoes that he pops in a pan to cook down on the small grill on the barbecue, he also warms fresh a loaf of ciabatta bread to serve with the fish. The smells and the atmosphere in the cabin is wonderful. We can see lunch taking shape, as we sip our drinks and chat away. Aldo says “the cabin is a great place to escape to, it’s quiet and peaceful, you feel like you could be anywhere, but you are only steps from home, it’s a real haven.”

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Aldo Zilli in front of his BBQ cabin hut

Large Arctic Cabin in large spacious garden in Surrey

Aldo Zilli cooking fish on an Arctic Cabins BBQ grill

Aldo Zilli coming out of his Arctic BBQ Cabin smiling

Aldo Zilli Arctic Cabins

is an Italian celebrity chef specialising in Italian cuisine, based since 1976 in the United Kingdom. One of nine children, he was born in the small seaside town of Alba Adriatica in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, and moved to England at the age of 20.

He was the founder and chef-patron of London restaurants Signor Zilli, Zilli Green, Zilli Café, and Zilli Bar. His Italian seafood restaurant, Zilli Fish, closed in 2012.

CASA ZILLI were proud winners of ‘Best Restaurant in Surrey’ for two years running in the 2022 and 2023 Muddy Stilettos Awards, as well as the National Award Winner for Best Restaurant 2023. Our food and service has been loved from day one, so CASA ZILLI has grown into much more than just a home kitchen.

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Cooking Outdoors Aldo Zilli

Aldo has written 10 books including two autobiographies, as well as various cookery books. Fresh & Green: over 100 new exciting vegetarian recipes was featured in the Telegraph's Top Ten Cookery Books 2012. He has also written for many publications and currently writes a weekly column for the Daily Express Saturday magazine and presents a bi-weekly show on Soho Radio.

Zilli regularly appears on television and radio both as presenter and chef. His credits include being a judge on Celebrity Masterchef in 2014 and 2015, The Alan Titchmarsh Show, This Morning, The One Show, and his own primetime ITV documentary Home Is Where The Heart Is.

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20+ Years In Business

Made In The UK

10 Year Guarantee

Every component we use in our Cabin Master garden rooms is guaranteed for quality and durability. Each building comes with a 10-year workmanship and labour guarantee, plus the guarantees of each individual component or building material included. Below are some typical examples:

10 year guarantee on building materials.
1 year metalwork guarantee (including hinges, handles and ironmongery).
10 year guarantee on UPVc doors.
10 year guarantee on window frames.
4 year guarantee on glass window units.

We only use FSC produced Western Red Cedar or slow grown PEFC/FSC Scandinavian Redwood exterior cladding over BBA certified breathable membrane to ensure all our buildings meet our strict quality control standards. The walls are constructed from structural (C16) timber and are fully insulated with Kingspan^TM thermal insulation boards (or similar).

The interior walls are lined with FSC Neatmatch^TM Moisture Resistant MDF interior wall board ready for decoration and our roof system is finished with Firestone EPDM single piece rubber membrane roof covering complete with purpose made verges and gutter trims finished in black. Black uPVC guttering and downpipes are provided as required.

Our design team are on hand to turn your vision into a reality. Your ideas and sketches are transformed into a CAD drawing which is then perfected until you are 100% happy. The design is then sent to our factory where the cabin is created.

When you order your new garden room, we will arrange a convenient delivery and installation schedule, with an affordable quote tailored to your needs. The cost of delivery and fitting depends on the size of your building, where you live, transportation distance and how many people you need to set up your garden room.

The final price is determined by the size of your garden room and the features you choose. We provide a comprehensive, transparent quote for each garden room, issued on an individual basis. Your quote will include design consultation, base, construction materials and labour.

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Aldo Zilli

Aldo Zilli & Arctic Cabins

Create a Unique Space For Cooking

Outdoor Buildings For Cooking BBQ Cabins

Aldo Zilli's BBQ Recipes

Aldo Zilli Arctic Cabins