44-year-old Michael Voltaggio is an American restaurateur, author, and celebrity chef.
He is the brother of fellow celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio, with whom he owns many restaurants. However, he is chiefly known for being an alumnus of the television series Top Chef and also the winner of its sixth season.
The show’s sixth season was called Top Chef: Las Vegas, as it was filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada. Voltaggio and his upcoming fame were bolstered by the fact that the season saw the prize money increase from $100,000 to $125,000.
He won that season, beating his brother, Bryan, and fourteen other chefs from all over the United States. However, Bryan did manage to nab the Runner-Up position.
He currently lives in Los Angeles, but his main restaurants are in his home state of Maryland.
Michael Voltaggio And Bria Vinaite Wedding Photo On IG
Michael Voltaggio and Bria Vinaite got married on November 18, just six months after they got engaged this past June.
By all accounts, the wedding was a low-key affair, with only one friend and the rest of their families joining through live stream.
One of the reasons they got married just six months after getting married was due to their friends, Voltaggio said. Many of their friends reportedly stayed engaged for years but didn’t want to follow in that mold.
So, they decided to get married because that’s what they wanted. Instead of focusing on some dream wedding and getting lost in the process, they just wanted to remain focused on the end goal.
To that end, the couple went to Maui’s Four Seasons Resort to get married. One of the reasons why they chose that spot was because it was one of Voltaggio’s favorite places on the planet.
Their wedding proper took place at Wailea Point, during the sunset, in view of the turquoise ocean and lush greenery. A ukulele player performed a Hawaiian wedding song when Vinaite walked down the aisle.
Their one friend served as a witness while the rest of their family watched through a live stream. The reason why they only had one friend and not all of their family and friends was due to the fact that coordinating with their family and friends proved to be too overwhelming.
They chose this method because they did not want a traditional wedding or want to deal with wedding planners.
American Chef Michael Voltaggio Is Married To His Wife, Bria Vinaite
Michael Voltaggio recently married his wife, the actress Bria Vinaite, whom he’s been dating since mid-2021.
He was married once before, although the exact timing wasn’t specified; he was once married to a woman named Kerri Adams. He has two daughters with Kerri Adams named Olivia and Sophia. Adams and the girls currently live in Virginia.
After that relationship, Voltaggio was in a two-year relationship with entrepreneur and fashion designer Sami Mitro. Voltaggio’s and Mitro’s relationship lasted from mid-2019 to mid-2021. Not much else is known about their relationship.
After his relationship with Mitro ended, Voltaggio started dating his current girlfriend turned wife, Bria Vinaite.
Vinaite, born Barbora Bulvinaite, originally hails from Alytus, Lithuania, but moved to Brooklyn, New York City, when she was six. She is an actress and gained prominence from her debut role as a lead in the 2017 Sean Baker film, The Florida Project.
In the movie, she played a former exotic dancer and single mother living at a motel close to Disney World. The reason she was chosen for the role was incidentally because of an Instagram post that the director saw.
The post was about her documenting her life so she could stay in touch with friends in New York while living in Miami, Florida. She reportedly took three weeks of acting classes with Samantha Quan, an acting teacher, before embarking on her role for The Florida Project.
Despite the movie being her debut, her performance was lauded by critics and fans.
More About Michael Voltaggio
Michael Voltaggio and his brother Bryan Voltaggio were born to Sharon and John Voltaggio.
They had one other sibling. Sadly, the parents divorced when Michael was only seven years old. They initially lived with their mother but later started living with their father.
Perhaps due to the strenuous circumstances of their childhood, the brothers were very close from a young age. As he could not afford culinary school, Voltaggio turned to an apprenticeship to earn his way into chefdom.
He started a long apprenticeship at the prestigious culinary apprenticeship program at The Greenbriers.
He completed this apprenticeship at age 21 under the guidance of certified master chef Peter Timmins and started holding jobs at various restaurants.
However, it was winning the Top Chef that helped kickstart his career, and to date, he has owned five restaurants that has ended, and two that are still going.