A celebrity chef and restaurateur from Maryland has become the first man to win Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions.”
The show’s seventh season saw 32 of the world’s best chefs battle it out bracket-style, and Bryan Voltaggio bested the rest.
In the final challenge that aired April 19, he competed against another nationally-known chef, Kevin Lee.
“I’ve been runner-up so many times, so honestly I just thought that was going to be the outcome,” Voltaggio told WTOP with a laugh.
Voltaggio beat Lee by just one point to win the Tournament of Champions title, a wrestling-style belt and a $150,000 prize.
“It felt amazing. I’ve been chasing a win,” Voltaggio said. “The finale aired on my 50th birthday, by the way.”
Voltaggio and his brother Michael grew up in Frederick, Maryland, launched several restaurants and later gained nationwide fame.
For years, they’ve been competing together and separately on various TV cooking shows.
“For me to get — finally — my first individual win has been nothing but incredible,” Voltaggio said.
One of the dishes he created that sealed the deal was a breakfast dish made of grits, water chestnuts and crab.
It wasn’t Maryland blue crab, but live, Alaskan king crab that he had to grab out of a tank.
Voltaggio said he’s been extremely busy balancing time as a chef and business owner with spending time with family and friends, but during what might appear to viewers as stressful competitions, he finds freedom.
“To be able to go into the kitchen and tune all of that out for a minute and just cook, it’s actually relaxing,” he said. “It’s actually fun. It’s something I really enjoy.”
Voltaggio plans to give some of the prize money from his Tournament of Champions win to No Kid Hungry, a campaign aimed at ending childhood hunger that he’s long supported.
He’s also planning a long overdue vacation.
“It’s time to take my wife and the kids somewhere fun,” Voltaggio said.
But will we see more of him on TV?
“Maybe I haven’t hung up the apron yet. Maybe you’ll see me compete again,” Voltaggio teased.
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