Tweet

What would it take for your mother to be truly proud of you? The “Top Chef” top dog says he’s finally got her approval!

“She’s really excited that it has brought us closer together,” Michael Voltaggio said in a phone conversation with reporters.

Michael also revealed that he has always had a bit of bad boy in him. “I didn’t get good grades growing up — I played football, but I was kind of a bad kid — I was always in trouble,” said Voltaggio. “I never thought, ‘oh she’ll be proud of me today,’ it was more like, ‘I hope mom doesn’t find out what I did today.’”

In addition to making mom proud, he has grown closer to his brother, Bryan, who was also in the competition with him. “It has brought us closer—we’re on the phone with each other every single day. We are constantly on the phone talking about food, friends, and family. We spent 24 hours a day together for a month so that really changed things.”

As close as the siblings are, they fought on the show over their culinary tattoos—both brothers have been tatted up by the same artist, and seem to be jealous of each others’ ink.

When asked if he would get a tattoo to commemorate being named Top Chef, Voltaggio replied, “I won’t have the TC6 knife tattooed on my body, I’m not really that guy.”

“But maybe a poker chip. You know what? I really might get a tattoo of the poker chip.”