Massimiliano Alajmo
The three Michelin-star chef is heating up Marrakech with an elegant Italian restaurant
It’s not just any talent that could make Morocco’s Royal Mansour, one of the most opulent resorts on the planet, even more decadent. But that’s exactly what culinary wunderkind Massimiliano Alajmo did when its newest restaurant, Sesamo, debuted in December. There, Alajmo, who at age 28 became the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars, sources from the hotel’s elaborate grounds, including a newly introduced vegetable garden. “Our cuisine is inevitably based on all of our past experiences,” says Alajmo, a fifth-generation restaurateur who trained under Michel Guérard before joining his parents and brother at the family’s Le Calandre, which is on the list of the 50 World’s Best Restaurants.
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His inspiration: “The ingredients themselves. I love to experiment with seemingly strange pairings or use certain preparations in unconventional ways.”
On receiving three Michelin stars: “The day after we received the news, I immediately wanted to change every detail in the kitchen. It made us want to continue growing.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2020 Spring Issue under the headline Creative Minds. Subscribe to the magazine.