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.
“There’s a level of respect that comes from sharing that kitchen, that clock, that randomizer, and the opportunity to cook alongside the best,” Voltaggio said in an Instagram post. “I will carry that with me.”
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.
But 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.
“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 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. The brothers now own Wye Oak Tavern in Frederick, where they grew up, and Voltaggio Brothers Steak House at MGM National Harbor in Prince George’s County.
Bryan Voltaggio owned Thacher & Rye for about four years but shuttered it in June 2024, months before opening Wye Oak Tavern.







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