Top Michelin-starred Italian chef on pineapple pizza controversy and running the family business
At 28, Massimiliano Alajmo became the youngest chef to win three Michelin stars. He was recently in Hong Kong to collaborate with Umberto Bombana at 8½ Otto e Mezzo
Is it true that you don’t like to travel? “I do like to travel, but if I said yes to every request, then I wouldn’t be able to spend time in my own kitchen. We have almost 10 outlets now, so that alone takes up most of my time. My main focus is Le Calandre [the family’s three-Michelin-star restaurant in Padua, Italy], which is my research laboratory. When I do travel, I go for very specific reasons. In fact, I worked in Japan for two years, and I’ve also worked in Taipei and Singapore.”
What does tradition mean to you? “Most people think it is something to follow, a constant, but I think tradition is something that gives and provides. Tradition gives me new ideas. Real tradition is not something you see or feel. You gain and absorb without realising it. I can make tomato spaghetti with a modern method and not follow tradition, or I can put chocolate in a spaghetti and it could be very traditional.”
If you give me a justification [to eat pineapple pizza], a reason why you want to do this controversial thing, then I will try. If it is good, then why not?
What was it like growing up in the family restaurant business? “My mother was my first master. She ran the restaurant kitchen until the mantle was passed to me. It was always my dream to work with my family.
“I was 19 when they gave me the keys to the restaurant. My parents said, ‘Here you go. We’re going to open another restaurant.’ I replied, ‘Sorry, but I don’t feel I am ready.’ My dad responded, ‘When I was 20, I had 60 staff under me. You at 19 can’t supervise three cooks?’ I couldn’t argue any more.”
What did it mean to get three Michelin stars? “It helped cultivate different customers, who come and see what you can really do. That could only happen with the Michelin stars. It allowed us to grow and pushes us to keep going.”
