Brothers Michael and Bryan Voltaggio first worked together at the Holiday Inn in their native Frederick, Maryland. “Bryan was actually my boss at one point, and I was scolded by the food and beverage manager for talking back to him,” says Michael.
Those after-school kitchen jobs, once treated as mere conduits to cash, provided the foundation to both Bryan and Michael’s ambitious culinary careers, which were magnified on season six of Top Chef in 2009.
After competing against each other on the show—Michael won, Bryan was runner-up— “we decided to join forces rather than divide and conquer,” says Bryan. That collaborative spirit eventually translated to opening Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland, followed by fish sandwich joint Vottagio STRFSH in Santa Monica, California a year later. (Bryan still presides over his own restaurants, Volt and Family Meal in Frederick.) “We thrive on the creative process,” says Michael, “and we are blessed with the opportunity to take that from dish to dish, restaurant to restaurant.”
Now the brothers have added Estuary to the mix. Located inside the Rottet Studio-designed Conrad Washington DC, Estuary playfully reinterprets Chesapeake seafood classics in a dining room wrapped in marble and wood and anchored by an open kitchen. “It provides an opportunity for our home region to have access to both of us and for us to collectively share our experiences,” says Michael. “Every dish we create has a story, whether it’s an ingredient or the origin. We always hope to connect our guests to the beginning of an idea.”
Despite their different styles, Michael says their familial bond makes it easy to be open and honest with each other. “We approach everything as partners,” says Bryan. “That said, it’s easy to default to a little sibling rivalry from time to time.”
