PHOTO: © CRYSTAL AND ALAJMO GROUP

Two brothers have left their culinary mark on Crystal Cruises. Massimiliano (Max) Alajmo and Raffaele (Raf ) Alajmo are the third generation of the Alajmo family to be chefs and restaurateurs, and alongside their sister, Laura, they have built one of Italy’s most celebrated culinary dynasties.

In 2025 the brothers took to the high seas with Crystal Cruises, partnering with the luxury cruise line to manage and redesign the menus for Osteria d’Ovidio, the Italian restaurant on Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.

Both brothers worked alongside their parents at Le Calandre in Sarmeola di Rubano, near Padua, Italy. The restaurant earned its first Michelin Star in 1992; its second in 1997; and the third in 2002, with Max, just 28 at the time, the youngest chef in history to receive that distinction.

Accolades and years of culinary achievement followed, as well as the brothers’ founding of Il Gusto per la Ricerca, a nonprofit organization that funds scientific research into childhood diseases through annual gala lunches bringing together Italy’s finest chefs.

Today, Max remains at the helm of the kitchen at Le Calandre while overseeing the culinary direction of the family’s 15 restaurants. Raf drives the group’s business vision and growth. Both carry forward the family legacy.

WHICH FOOD IS YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE? AND ON THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM, WHAT IS ONE INGREDIENT OR FOOD YOU HATE TO USE?
Massimiliano Alajmo: Speed. I’m often so consumed by hunger I struggle to slow down and catch the beauty of every single moment. I don’t love anything that strays from the truth — fake ingredients, synthetic products, culinary dishonesty.

Raffaele Alajmo: Gluttony itself. I’m insatiably hungry and curious, unstoppable. I detest powdered stocks, bouillon cubes, industrial mixes, flavor enhancers and excessive use of technique that overwhelms the ingredient and the flavor.

WHAT DISHES WOULD YOU SERVE AT A PRIVATE DINNER PARTY?
M.A.: It depends on the occasion, the season and what’s needed. Definitely shared plates, though — that’s the essence of friendship.

R.A.: Not which dishes, but how many. I love dinners where you can taste a lot of things, so with friends I like to fill the table with multiple dishes that spark curiosity and the desire to try things you wouldn’t normally eat. Either way, there will always be excellent bread and at least one exceptional extra virgin olive oil — better two, so you can taste the difference.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEAL YOU EVER PREPARED ON YOUR OWN?
M.A.: Pizza, at school when I was 5. An indelible memory. If I close my eyes, I can still see the blue smock covered in flour and my fingers stained with tomato.

R.A.: Pasta with butter and Parmigiano: I put in way too much butter and way too much Parmigiano, so I could mop up the plate with bread at the end … so good!

IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL STYLE IN ONE DISH, WHICH DISH WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
M.A.: Saffron and licorice risotto because it makes clear that ingredients speak for us. In this case, the two ingredients are plays on the tension between lightness and darkness: Saffron comes from the flower’s outermost part, closest to the sun and naturally luminous, while licorice roots itself in the darkest depths of the earth. When the two meet, that darkness opens up and gives off an unexpected light.

R.A.: Piedmontese beef tartare on a bread crust with white truffle: raw meat, oil, salt, truffle and an egg- and-truffle sauce. You eat it with your hands, lick your fingers and mop up every last bit.

WHAT CULINARY TREND WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE DISAPPEAR?
M.A.: Long explanations of dishes at the table. Cooking needs to leave room for dreaming and imagination, to make space for an inner dialogue.

R.A.: There isn’t one in particular, but I’d love to see real trattorias come back into fashion!

OSTERIA D’OVIDIO
Crystal Cruises
crystalcruises.com