Naomi Pomeroy, the celebrated Portland chef and owner of Beast, Expatriate, and Cornet Custard, has passed away at the age of 49.
On July 15, Pomeroy’s family announced, as reported by Portland Monthly, that the chef is presumed to have drowned while tubing on the Willamette River on July 13. She is survived by her husband, Kyle Webster, and their 23-year-old daughter, August.
On July 14, Benton County Patrol Lieutenant Toby Bottorff told local ABC affiliate KEZI that a woman disappeared underwater while inner-tubing on the Willamette River and did not resurface. Her body has yet to be recovered. Authorities noted that she was not wearing a life jacket. According to the outlet, her husband and another tuber survived.
Born in Corvallis, Oregon, Pomeroy began her culinary journey at 24, starting with Ripe Catering in 1999. She later founded Family Supper, an underground supper club, before opening Gotham Coffee Shop in 2002, followed by Clarklewis in 2004 and Gotham Tavern in 2005.
After those ventures either closed or were sold, Pomeroy launched her acclaimed and intimate restaurant, Beast, in 2007. In 2020, the space evolved into Ripe Cooperative, a marketplace and restaurant offering preordered meal boxes.
This June, Pomeroy launched Cornet Custard, originally a frozen custard pop-up in her flower shop, Colibri. She also celebrated the fourth year of Garden Party, her seasonal restaurant that opens exclusively in the summer.
Amidst her various business ventures, Pomeroy published a cookbook titled Taste & Technique in 2016. She also made appearances on cooking competition shows, including Top Chef Masters in 2011.
She gained acclaim from Bon Appètit, Food & Wine, and Oprah as a notable chef. In 2014, she received a James Beard Award for Best Chef Pacific Northwest.
Prominent Chefs Pay Tribute to Naomi Pomeroy
The culinary world took to social media to note the passing of Pomeroy.
“Just horrible news, we lost another great chef. My heart goes out to Naomi’s family,” Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Cherry Bomb podcast host Kerry Diamond also paid tribute to Pomeroy. She posted a candid snapshot of herself alongside the late chef.
“Chef Naomi Pomeroy passed away over the weekend and I’m in shock and heartbroken along with so many other folks in the food world,” she began.
She hadn’t seen Naomi since before the pandemic, but they reunited in Portland two weeks ago. She detailed a lovely time which included a stop at a Portland rose garden.
“Im grateful I got to stop and smell the roses with Naomi. I’m so sorry for everyone’s loss. Rest in peace,” she concluded.