People say a picture is worth a thousand words; for Michael Voltaggio, his tattoos tell the story. The award-winning chef’s first ink was the Morton Salt girl—a reminder to him and his cooks to always “salt the food.”
Born in Frederick, Maryland, Voltaggio got his start bussing tables at a Holiday Inn where his brother Bryan was sous chef. He trained at the Greenbrier Culinary Apprenticeship Program in West Virginia, then cooked for The Ritz-Carlton and in acclaimed kitchens including Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg and The Dining Room at the Langham Huntington in Pasadena. Yet through those years, one thing remained constant: he had to hide part of who he was.
Like many young cooks, Voltaggio once had to hide his tattoos in four-star kitchens where older chefs saw them as unprofessional. “When I worked [at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company] I wasn’t allowed to have facial hair, I wasn’t allowed to have any visible tattoos. And I always found it interesting because I was good enough to be there, but I couldn’t just 100% be myself because of the things that I had done to my body, so I had to cover them up,” he recalls.
Today, Voltaggio can show his tattoos freely and be himself. “Just because I have these sort of markings on my body didn’t mean that I didn’t belong in that environment,” he says. That realization gave him the drive to keep working in fine dining while bridging the gap between tradition and individuality. “Yes, we had dress codes and standards in our restaurants for employees, but we also encouraged them to be themselves and be individuals.”
That individuality helped Voltaggio stand out. He went on to work with José Andrés, Peter Timmins, and Charlie Palmer before winning Top Chef in 2009 and earning James Beard recognition the same year. He later received a Michelin star while at Dry Creek Kitchen. In 2011, he opened his own high-end restaurant, Ink, followed by a casual spinoff, Ink. Well, in 2017. The latter closed soon after when he and his partners couldn’t see eye to eye.
Since then, Voltaggio has returned to his roots, opening three restaurants with his brother Bryan: Voltaggio Brothers Steak House, Vulcania, and their newest project, Wye Oak Tavern, located in a converted convent in their hometown. What unites these restaurants is Voltaggio’s commitment to individuality while producing inventive, memorable food.
