Is Michael Voltaggio Related To Bobby Flay? Family Links Explained

Top Chef alum and season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio is a celebrity chef, restauranteur, and author.

Voltaggio currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where he runs his restaurant in STRFSH in Santa Monica with his brother Byan Voltaggio. He also runs Thatcher & Rye in Frederick, Maryland.

He first gained prominence in the sixth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The sixth season was dubbed Top Chef: Las Vegas as it was first filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, though it concluded in Napa, California.

Top Chef’s sixth season premiered on August 19, 2009, and ended on December 2009. The season gained a lot of prominence due to the prize money awarded increasing from $100,000 to $125,000.

He competed in the season alongside his brother Bryan Voltaggio and fourteen other chefs from all over the United States.

He won the season with his brother Byran and Kevin Gillespie coming out as runner-ups. The season was very successful as it received a Primetime Emmy Award.

He ran with the momentum of his Top Chef win, left his Chef de Cuisine job at The Dining Room in Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, and opened his restaurant in West Hollywood, California.

He has been a successful restauranteur ever since.

Here Are Some Facts And Trivia About Michael Voltaggio

Is Michael Voltaggio Related To Bobby Flay? Are They Cousins?

Michael Voltaggio is not related to Bobby Flay, but the two are very good friends.

Bobby Flay is a celebrated celebrity chef, restauranteur, and reality television personality known for his various cooking-related television shows.

Flay’s history with the Food Network stretches back to 1995, winning four Daytime Emmy Awards through his efforts. The celebrated chef also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Due to his longevity, Flay knows almost everyone in the Celebrity Chef world, and Voltaggio is one of them.

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Voltaggio and Flay first became acquainted when the two competed against each other on the show Iron Chef America in Battle Iberico. Flay defeated Voltaggio with a final score of 83-77.

Since then, the two have collaborated on Bobby Flay’s show, Beat Bobby Flay, a cooking competition show that pits chefs against Flay.

Beat Bobby Flay has been airing since August 24, 2013, with 31 seasons and 392 episodes.

He has appeared on the show over 20 times, with a guest, a celebrity guest, and even with his brother Bryan.

Michael Voltaggio Family And Bio – More About The Celebrity Chef

Michael Voltaggio was born to Sharon and John Voltaggio on September 29, 1978, in Frederick, Maryland.

He is one of three children and has been very close with his brothers, Michael and Bryan, since early childhood. Their parents divorced when Michael was seven years old.

Following the divorce, the boys first lived with their mother and later started living with their father.

Voltaggio never had the support or money to attend culinary school, but that did not stop him. He instead did a long apprenticeship in The Greenbrier, a luxury resort in West Virginia.

He partook in The Greenbrier’s prestigious culinary apprenticeship program and completed it at 21 under Certified Master Chef Peter Timmins. Following his apprenticeship, he continued working with Peter Timmins at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Naples, Florida, and the Dry Creek Kitchen under Charlie Palmer in Healdsburg.

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He continued his stellar career as Chef de Cuisine in Jose Andres’s The Bazaar. During his tenure, the restaurant was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award in 2008 for Best New Restaurant.

Michael’s older brother Bryan is also a decorated chef in Frederick, Maryland. Bryan specializes in Mid-Atlantic cuisine compared to his younger brother’s Modern American style.

Outside of the two restaurants he runs with his brother, he also operates Voltaggio Brothers Steak House in Oxon Hill, which opened in 2016, and Showroom in Frederick in 2020.

Who Is Michael Voltaggio Married To?

Michael Voltaggio is currently unmarried but in a relationship with actress Bria Vinaite who he’s been dating since mid-2021.

Vinaite is best known for her portrayal of the character Halley in the acclaimed 2017 movie The Florida Project, a role for which she was nominated for six best-supporting actress awards. Voltaggio is fourteen years her senior.

Before dating Vinaite, Voltaggio was in a relationship with entrepreneur and fashion designer Sami Mitro from mid-2019 to mid-2021.

He was married at one point. Though the timeline hasn’t been specified, Voltaggio was once married to Kerri Adams, with whom he has two daughters, Olivia and Sophia.

Voltaggio’s ex-wife and daughters currently reside in Virginia.