Who is Michael Voltaggio?

Michael Voltaggio is a well-known chef, who rose to popularity after winning the sixth season of “Top Chef: Las Vegas”, the cooking competition show on Bravo. He was born under the Zodiac sign Libra on 29 September 1978, in Frederick, Maryland, USA, so as of early 2022 Michael is 43 years old and holds American nationality. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and kids.

Early life and Family

He was born to Sharon Mangine and John Voltaggio, a Maryland state trooper, but his parents divorced when he was very young, following which he lived with his mother and his older brother Bryan Voltaggio. His mother later remarried, and welcomed Staci Rosenberger with her second husband, while Michael and Bryan went to live with their father.

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Michael developed an interest in cooking in his early teens, and aspired to become a chef. He had always had a close bond with his brother, Bryan, who also became a well-known chef, and who significantly influenced him. In an interview, Michael said: ‘When Bryan was 16, I was riding in his car with him. When Bryan became 21, I was using his ID to go to the same bars as him. What I realized as I got older was that I just really followed in his footsteps.’

Regarding his education, due to his poor financial situation he didn’t attend culinary school, but signed for a three-year-long Greenbrier Culinary Apprenticeship Program, which he completed at the age of 21 under Certified Master Chef Peter Timmins.

Career

After completing the apprenticeship, he worked under Peter Timmins at Ritz Carlton Hotel in Naples, Florida, and then Charlie Palmer at Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg. Michael then found employment at the prestigious restaurant “The Bazaar” by Hose Andres, which received a nomination in 2008 for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant.

In 2009, he joined the culinary competition “Top Chef: Las Vegas,” competing against his brother Bryan in the finale, and claiming the title. Top Chef Head Judge Tom Colicchio commented on Michael’s culinary expertise, saying: ‘Out of all the cooks that have come through the show, Michael is the most talented—both from a sensibility and technical standpoint. He has the chops to pull off what he’s trying to do.’

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He then switched to “The Dining Room” Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, where he worked as the Chef de Cuisine. His tenure at this luxury restaurant garnered several culinary awards, including the AAA Five Diamond Awards and the highly coveted Michelin Star.

He left “The Dining Room” in 2010, and later announced that he was launching a new project – ink., his restaurant in West Hollywood, California; following several delays, it finally opened on 21 September 2011. In an interview, he disclosed that his idea was to launch a restaurant that emitted the vibes of a “modern Los Angeles cuisine”. It had 60 seats in the dining room and a private room for additional guests. Following his established path of success, in 2012 his restaurant was given the title of America’s best new restaurant by GQ Magazine.

While he was busy launching the ink., he had another project in the works, a plan to start a smaller restaurant, a sandwich shop entitled ink. sack. Reportedly he designed it and helped build the shop, surprising the culinary community, as many expected a spacious fancy restaurant rather than a small dining place that resembled fast food. It officially opened in August 2011, but attracted little to no attention. In 2017, he collaborated with his brother and launched STRFSH, a fast-casual fish sandwich shop located in Santa Monica, but in June 2018, he pulled the plug on both restaurants, ink. and ink. sack due to an impasse among his partners, as he disclosed to a media outlet.

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Michael next collaborated with brewmaster Nick Bortolin, and launched the beer brand “Recreational Use.” In August 2021, he and Bryan launched the fast-food shop “Burger Smash,” and they also run the Voltaggio Brothers Steak House.

TV appearances

Michael has featured in several shows following his success in “Top Chef.” In 2013, he made an appearance in the “Top Chef: Canada” as a guest judge, and had a cameo role as Chef Julio Proust in the series “Suburgatory.” Michael also appeared as himself in two episodes of the sitcom “Young &Hungry”, and in culinary shows “Tournament of Champions” and “Beats+ Bites.”

In 2020, he had a minor part in the supernatural/detective series “Lucifer”, then in 2021, he and his brother got their own competition show entitled “ Battle of the Brothers,” which ran for one season, following Bryan and Michael as they mentor their teams who compete in cooking, with the winner getting to do a “guest-chef takeover” at one of Voltaggio’s restaurants. It remains unclear whether it will be canceled or renewed for another season.

In 2022, he again shared the screen alongside his brother in an episode of the culinary show “Beat Bobby Flay” on Foodnetwork.

Personal Life

He was previously married to Keri Adams, the Canadian news anchor, with whom he welcomed two daughters, Olivia and Sophia, who now live in Lewisburg, West Virginia, with their mother.

From 2019 to 2021, he dated the fashion designer and entrepreneur Sami Miro; the reason for their break-up remains unknown. Since mid-2021, he has been in a relationship with the actress Bria Vinaite, perhaps best known for her role as Halley in the coming-of-age drama film “Florida Project.” They are often featured on their social media accounts.

What is his net worth?

As of 2022, his estimated net worth is around $1 million, which he’s earned through his career as an entrepreneur and chef.

Physical stats and Hobbies

Michael’s height and weight are currently unavailable, but he has a very muscular and fit physique.  His hair is blonde/ light brown, further adorned with blue eyes.

Additionally, he is a huge fan of ink, and has tattoos all over his body.

Michael is also a dog lover, and has a small dog he often posts on his Instagram.

Michael likes to go sightseeing, hiking, and traveling in his free time. In 2021, he had an accident that resulted in a fractured shoulder, and had to undergo surgery.

Is he active on social media?

His Instagram boasts over 250,000 followers, while his Twitter account has nearly 300,000 followers.  Michael usually posts photos of his dishes, new projects, with an occasional selfie.

Who is Colleen Wolfe?

Colleen Wolfe is a host, TV anchor and presenter, best recognized as on-air talent for the National Football League (NFL) Network, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was born under the Zodiac sign Capricorn on 2 January 1985, in Philadelphia, so as of 2022, she’s 37 years old, and holds American nationality.

Early life and Family

Colleen was raised alongside two younger siblings, but not much information is known about them and their professional lives. Reportedly, her father is a pilot, who now works as a flying instructor, while her mother was a housewife. Colleen’s parents divorced during her high school days, and she lived with her mother and occasionally visited her father. He instilled the love of airplanes in Colleen, but she never considered it as a future career choice.

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After matriculating from Hatboro-Horsham Senior High School, she attended Drexel University, and in 2007 graduated with a degree in Corporate Communications; she’s said to have been an extraordinary student.

Career

Following her graduation, she kicked off her career in journalism by working as a morning anchor at the Philadelphia-based sports talk radio 94.1 WIP, interviewing and reporting on numerous sports-related topics, such as Terrell Owens’ contract dispute. She then transferred to WTXF-TV, a Fox-operated TV station, where she spent a couple of years working as a presenter.

Colleen then switched to CN8, where she briefly served as a host before transferring to Comcast SportsNet Organization as an on-air anchor and producer. However, she didn’t spend much time working there either, as in 2012 she started her career on FOX 29 as their sports anchor.

She also served as a producer and editor for the “Phil’s Postgame” Show for PHL17 station, and also hosted “Golf Show” on the CSN channel.

Building her profile, in 2014 she joined the NFL Network, and is currently hosting several of their shows, including “Game Day”, “Good Morning Football Weekend”, and “Power Rankings”. Colleen often appears as a guest on the “Around the NFL Podcast”, which her fans can see on the official NFL website.

Additionally, she hosts “Dear Diary With Colleen Wolfe”, covering numerous topics, and the pregame show for “Thursday Night Football”, and during which she’s interviewed various football celebrities, including A.J. Green and Andy Dalton.

In 2017, she became a hot topic after Marshawn Lynch, the former American Football running back known as “Beast Mode”, got flirty with Colleen during her reportage. Colleen and her co-host and NFL analyst Michael Robinson, who is also Lynch’s ex-teammate, were covering the Oakland Riders when Marshawn decided to join them. Talking about his new soul food restaurant, without checking if she was married, he asked to take her out Colleen to his new place, then upon seeing the ring on her finger, jokingly said: ‘So we will not be dating. We are not going to the soul food restaurant, but you can come anytime.’ Colleen added that she would come with her husband, and Lynch replied: ‘I will charge you a little extra though, and I will charge him a bit more too.’

In 2019, “The Big Leads” American new blog ranked Colleen 33rd on their 40 Under 40 Sports Media Talent List. Since 2020, she’s been co-hosting  the “Split Ends” Podcast with Erica Tamposi, the weekly show which discusses the most important and unimportant stories from the football world.

Personal Life

While her earlier dating history remains unknown, she began dating the sportswriter and presenter John Gonzalez in 2006. After four years, they announced their engagement in 2010, and tied the knot on 4 September 2011. The couple often appears on the NFL Network’s Top 10 program.

So far, they do not have any offspring and seem very focused on pursuing their careers.

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Colleen often posts photos featuring John on her Instagram account, with heartwarming captions. In September, they celebrated their 10th marriage anniversary.

Regarding her husband’s career, he is currently working as a sports host for the Inquirer Sports Persona radio talk show.

Would you like to know her net worth?

As of 2022, Colleen’s estimated net worth is around $500,000, which she’s earned through her career as a TV host, anchor and presenter.

Physical stats

Colleen is 5ft 9ins tall (175cm), weighs around 143lbs (65kgs) with vital statistics of 34-24-35. She has a very fit and pear-shaped physique. Her natural hair is brown, but she dyes it blonde.

Her eyes are dark brown. According to numerous media outlets, she’s considered one of the most attractive women in the broadcasting industry.

Hobbies and Trivia

She and her husband are avid dog lovers, and they own several rescued dogs – on her website, it says:’ Colleen happily married to her husband John, and together they are one pet away from becoming animal hoarders.’

As a sports reporter, she loves watching football, and she is a huge fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.

According to her website, when she was a child, she cut off all her hair, and is ‘waiting for those pictures to surface’.

In 2018, a video featuring Colleen went viral, in which she spontaneously began rapping to Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” during an NFL break. The video caught fire quite quickly after the blog “Barstool Sports” shared it, attracting over 600,000 views.

Her nickname is “Connie Fox”, which was given to her in high school after one of her classmates couldn’t recall her name and went with “Connie Fox”, seemingly similar to her real name.

Colleen has often appeared in other sports podcasts and YouTube series, such as “Eagles Unfiltered”.

Is she active on social media?

She is very active on social media – her Instagram account has nearly 100,000 followers, while her Twitter boasts nearly 130,000 fans. Colleen posts very often, sharing her thoughts, memes, and photos of her current and upcoming projects.

Colleen also has her own website, on which she shares the stories and events she’s covered; additionally, her fans can reach out to her and ask her questions. Her introduction reads: ‘Colleen doesn’t love writing in the third person. It’s awkward. She prefers conversing with cameras in windowless studios. It’s (slightly) less weird.’