Rita Chimetto

Rita Chimetto co-founded the modern Le Calandre with her husband Erminio Alajmo in 1981 and led its kitchen. A pioneering self-taught chef and pastry specialist, she became one of the first Italian women chefs to earn a Michelin star before handing restaurant stewardship to sons Raffaele and Massimiliano in 1994; she continues to share her knowledge through the family's MammaRita laboratory.