Naomi Pomeroy, an acclaimed chef and former contestant on “Top Chef Masters,” has died at the age of 49 following a tubing accident on the Willamette River near Corvallis, Oregon. The incident occurred on the evening of July 13, 2024, and friends confirmed her death on Monday, although he body was only recovered on Wednesday when canoers spotted her body in the river.
Pomeroy, her husband Kyle Linden Webster, and a friend were floating down the river when their tubes and a paddleboard, which they had tied together, became entangled with a submerged tree. Pomeroy, who was not wearing a life jacket, was pulled underwater by a paddleboard leash and did not resurface. Efforts to recover her body were hampered by strong currents and debris in the water, despite the use of sonar, underwater cameras, and drones by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and the Corvallis Fire Department.
The renowned chef was best known for her restaurant Beast, which significantly put Portland, Oregon on the culinary map. Beast was one of the early stars of the city’s food scene, earning Pomeroy accolades, including a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest in 2014. Her innovative cooking and commitment to using seasonal ingredients garnered her a dedicated following.
In the wake of her death, tributes poured in from the culinary world and beyond. Congressman Earl Blumenauer, who collaborated with Pomeroy to support independent restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic, described her as “a fabulous chef and entrepreneur and an amazing human being whose impact extended far beyond Portland. She helped establish our leadership and reputation for food excellence.”
Fellow chefs, including Tom Colicchio, Dominique Crenn, Andrew Zimmern, and Amanda Freitag, posted tributes to Pomeroy: “She was a force to be reckoned with. I was always inspired by her extreme creativity & commitment to her craft,” wrote Freitag. “She was always ahead of the curve and stood strong for everything she believed about the proper way to feed people good food & support her culinary community.”
Born in Corvallis in 1974, Pomeroy developed her culinary skills despite having no formal training. She started her career by watching other chefs on television and created her first recipe at the age of four. In 2007, she opened Beast in Portland, a restaurant known for its communal dining experience and prix-fixe menus. Pomeroy also co-founded Gotham Tavern and Gotham Coffee Shop with Michael Hebb.
Just two weeks before her untimely death, Pomeroy had announced the launch of a new dining series called Garden Party. The series featured a vegetarian-friendly menu focused on seasonal ingredients from Pomeroy’s garden. In her final Instagram post, she expressed excitement about cooking for guests again, writing, “See you all again soon! I can’t wait to cook with you again.”
Pomeroy’s influence extended beyond her restaurants. She appeared on “Top Chef Masters” in 2011 and won widespread recognition for her culinary prowess. In 2014, Food & Wine named her one of the Best New Chefs, and she was also listed among Marie Claire’s 18 Most Powerful Women in Business.
Her contributions to Portland’s food scene were immense. Beast, which closed in 2020 during the pandemic, was transformed into Ripe Cooperative, a marketplace that sold meal boxes for home preparation until it closed in 2022. She recently opened a permanent location for her custard shop, Cornet Custard, and was working on a new restaurant in the former Woodsman Tavern space.
The community she served and inspired is deeply affected by her loss. Pomeroy’s legacy will live on through the countless chefs and food enthusiasts she influenced and the innovative culinary paths she forged.
