Those of you watching Bravo's Season 6 of Top Chef were no doubt holding your breath like I was when the final three were revealed. Now that we know one of these chefs will be crowned the latest 'Top Chef' and we know who we love and who we love to hate, I'll take a look at the astrology of each. Who will win? Who should win? You decide; I just work here! Although I have no time of birth for any of the contestants, a look at their dates of birth still reveals a great deal astrologically. I'm devoting an entire entry to each of them since a paragraph never does any chart justice! Next up, Bryan.
In Bryan's video biography on the Top Chef website, he speaks about some of his earliest memories of his grandfather tugging at his apron and helping him at the stove, real family dinners and "not picking from a refrigerator," and the family's garden which were worked into the family meals. He started as a busboy in a restaurant in his teens and essentially worked his way up at a steady pace, getting training and experience. He now owns his own restaurant, Volt, in which he is committed to using "ingredients that are local, stable, and organic."
In Bryan's chart, we're limited without a birth time to fill in some of the information a chart can give, just as in Kevin's and Michael's, which will follow shortly. But right away I'm drawn to his Mars and Saturn in the sign of Cancer as well as his south node in Taurus. Cancer and Taurus are the two primary signs that are often linked with a love of food – Taurus because it classically loves to feed it's senses, and Cancer because it loves to nurture (or shall we say nourish, in this case?). Bryan's upbringing, with that sense of stability and nurturing which took on the form of food and family meals, gave him a foundation, but his desire (Mars) to nourish (Cancer) as well as build and continue traditions (Saturn) around that Cancer principle is a continuing motivator in his adult life. I wouldn't be surprised if the full birth chart revealed planets in his 4th house, which would amplify the sense of tradition from his childhood.
His Sun in Aries is squaring Saturn in Cancer pretty tightly however, as well as Mars widely squaring Uranus, which may be a perfect reflection of the way he defines his food, which is "modern American," combining classical techniques with modern ones, which seems like a great way, at least professionally and creatively, to take the tradition one's grown up with (Cancer) and make it their own (Uranus, Sun). Along those same lines, Bryan has this to say (from his bio at his restaurant's website):
"Driven by the love and support of his family, wife Jennifer and son Thacher, Chef Voltaggio seeks to bring historic Frederick a piece of his culinary upbringing to a place that built his foundation."
His restaurant is in his home town and he wants to contribute back to that town, carrying on the traditions forward from his rich past.
But what about his Aries Sun and Scorpio Moon, two very important components of any chart? Leadership and a willingness to take risks are key elements of his personality that he will benefit from developing. The south node reveals an underlying foundation to one's personality, the energy, attitude, and expectations we entered this life with and what we need to take the best from and move forward with, as well as what habits and 'comfort zones' we need to grow beyond to have a satisfying life. The vulnerabilities of a Taurus south node lie in trying to keep things from changing, the love of something timeless becoming simply stagnant and dead, like an anchor around one's neck. His Aries Sun gives him a hunger to identify with someone who is forward thinking, who doesn't rest on his successes and is not afraid to stretch to one's edges. While his brother, Michael, seems to be the competitive one, Bryan's definitely got the streak as well.
His Scorpio Moon reveals a need to nurture himself by learning how to trust and develop his intensity, calling forward the phoenix's strength to recognize cycles – to let go of what's ready to fade and step into what's ready to be born, whether it's in himself or in his life situations. Again, this emphasizes the bridge he must build between the warmth of past traditions and the foundation they provide for him, while stretching beyond it into his own territory.
Good luck, Bryan!