Chef and restaurateur Bryan Voltaggio is bringing home this season’s “Tournament of Champions” title, belt and $150,000 prize, with uniquely Maryland dishes solidifying his win.

The show is a Food Network competition that pits top chefs against one another in a bracket-style, single-elimination format, with dishes judged blindly. Voltaggio has appeared on the show twice before and has competed in other competitions. This is his first solo win.

“I’ve been a runner-up so many times. I keep coming back to get that win,” he told The Banner. “I’m glad I could finally get this win.”

The Wye Oak Tavern co-owner faced 31 culinary heavy hitters, including Stephanie Izard, the first woman to win “Top Chef” on Bravo; Shirley Chung, the first winner of “House of Knives” on Food Network; and James Beard award winners Jonathon Sawyer and Karen Akunowicz. This was Voltaggio’s third appearance on the show after being knocked out in the first round on Seasons Two and Three. That experience added pressure for the first round against chef Carlos Anthony where Voltaggio said he was his most anxious.

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“I was extremely nervous. I didn’t want to repeat my previous performance,” he said.

But he advanced all the way to the final round and, eventually, the winning belt. Voltaggio, who’s competed on other cooking shows and was the first winner of “Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas” with his brother, wowed host Guy Fieri with his breakfast and dinner dishes, Food Network officials said in a news release.

His breakfast — king crab and grits with diced water chestnuts, crab fat caramel and whipped maple syrup with sorghum — helped set the tone. His dinner, a masago arare tempura crab leg with water chestnut cream sauce, sealed the win.

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“It was a nail-biter until the end with the incredibly close final score coming down to a one-point difference in the taste category, Bryan Voltaggio left it all on the table, and it helped him earn the most coveted title in culinary competition,” Betsy Ayala, the president of Food Network, said in a statement.

Voltaggio suspects his experience with blue crabs as a Marylander might’ve helped him in this instance. He secured the win with a one-point difference in the taste category.

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“If I’m going to win a competition, that’s what I want to win in,” he said. “That’s what’s most important to me.”

Voltaggio said he will use his prize money to donate to No Kid Hungry, a nonprofit that battles child hunger and poverty, and go on a family vacation.

He rose to culinary prominence on the sixth season of Bravo’s “Top Chef” in 2009, when he came in second to his brother, Michael Voltaggio. Bryan Voltaggio owned Thacher & Rye for about four years but shuttered it in June 2024, months before opening Wye Oak Tavern with his brother. The brothers also own Voltaggio Brothers Steak House at MGM National Harbor in Prince George’s County.

Voltaggio said he is excited to welcome people stopping by their restaurants following the show’s premiere but wouldn’t spill on if guests would get a taste of the meal that secured his win.

“We might pull some influences from the winning dish,” he said.