Le Calandre

Le Calandre is a restaurant in the village of Sarmeola di Rubano 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) west of Padua, Italy.^[1][2]

Le Calandre
Restaurant information
Established	1981 (1981)
Owner(s)	Rafaele Alajmo & Massimiliano Alajmo
Previous owner(s)	Erminio Alajmo and Rita Chimetto
Head chef	Massimiliano Alajmo
Food type	Contemporary Italian
Rating
Street address	Via Liguria, 1
City	Sarmeola di Rubano
County	Province of Padua
State	Veneto
Postal/ZIP Code	35030
Country	Italy
Coordinates	45.421703°N 11.809572°E / 45.421703; 11.809572
Website	alajmo.it

History

Opened in 1981 by Erminio Alajmo and his wife Rita Chimetto,^[3] the restaurant gained its first Michelin star in 1992 with Chimetto as chef de cuisine.^[4] Their son, Massimiliano Alajmo, took over the restaurant in 1994,^[5] and only two years later in December 1996, the restaurant gained its second star and the then 22-year-old Alajmo became the youngest chef with two Michelin stars.^[6]

When the restaurant gained its third Michelin star in November 2002, an award only given to "exceptional cuisine with distinctive dishes, precisely executed using superlative ingredients, and worth a special journey",^[7] Alajmo at the age of 28 became the youngest three-star Michelin chef of all time.^[8][9] Le Calandre has retained their three Michelin stars ever since.^[10]

Recognition

The restaurant has consistently been voted among The World's 50 Best Restaurants every year since 2006,^[11][12] and is ranked as number 29 on Restaurant's 2017 list.^[13][14] Forbes included Le Calandre on their list of "The 16 Coolest Places To Eat In 2016".^[15][16]

Le Calandre has been described as "one of Italy's most cutting-edge restaurants",^[17] that "is consistently judged by major restaurant critics as one of the two or three best restaurants in the country.",^[18] and Head Chef Alajmo has earned the nickname "The Mozart of the stoves" (Il Mozart dei fornelli).^[8][19][20] Food critic Andy Hayler in his review of a 2012 visit to Le Calandre, concluded by saying: "This was a genuinely memorable meal, one of the best I have eaten. This is truly a restaurant at the pinnacle of culinary achievement.",^[21] and concluded his review the following year by saying: "Le Calandre is without doubt one of the top restaurants of the world."^[22]

In 2010, Le Calandre underwent a major refurbishment, and abandoned the use of white tablecloths for raw wooden tables.^[23][24][25]

See also

• List of Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy