Who was Naomi Pomeroy and what happened to her? Beloved Portland Chef dies aged 49

Well-known chef Naomi Pomeroy, 49, unexpectedly died on Saturday, July 13, 2024. The restaurateur's family told Portland Monthly that she was accompanied by her husband, Kyle Linden Webster, to the Willamette River in Corvallis, where she drowned. The duo were inner tubing when the incident happened.

The authorities responded to calls about a couple being pulled below the water on Saturday night, and they immediately started searching for Naomi Pomeroy.

Notably, her body has not been discovered until now, and the Benton County Sheriff's Office believes that the drowning possibly happened because of strong currents in the river water. While an investigation is ongoing to find the causes behind the incident, Naomi did not have a life vest when she drowned.

Social media platforms were flooded with tributes when the news of Naomi Pomeroy's death went viral. De Gustibus Cooking School at Macy's took to Facebook to express their grief, describing her as a "beautiful soul" who taught four classes there.

"A self taught chef whose book Taste & Technique proudly sits on my shelf as a constant reminder of her genius. My condolences to her husband Kyle and daughter. Not sure what is going on in our food world but please make it stop," the post read.

Politician Earl Blumenuer also wrote on Facebook that Pomeroy left an impact "beyond Portland." Earl even recalled when he worked with Naomi to help several restaurants that were dealing with problems amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Naomi Pomeroy gained recognition after launching a restaurant named Beast, which was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Pomeroy additionally appeared in various shows throughout her career.

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Naomi Pomeroy's mother was the reason why she developed an interest in cooking

The Corvallis, Oregon native enrolled at Lewis & Clark College, where she completed her graduation. However, she slowly became attracted to cooking during her childhood, and the reason was her mother. She once recalled in an interview with Food & Wine:

"She had cookbooks all around the house. In the '70s, most cookbooks were French, so there were a lot of souffles being made, oxtail stews, and roast duck. Comfort-oriented but slightly more refined. We had a big garden, so she also cooked with a lot of produce."

As mentioned, she was known as the owner of the restaurant Beach, which was launched back in 2013. Naomi Pomeroy told Food & Wine that her best dish was the foie grad bonbon, which was an important part of her restaurant, and that she prefers to cook using fish sauce, which should be a mild Vietnamese, Thai, or Red Boat.

Beast was closed in 2020, and they even filed a lawsuit against the insurance company Berkley North Pacific Group for not covering the losses they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pomeroy claimed at the time that she had been paying for the restaurant's insurance policy for a long time, but the company stated that they had denied paying insurance since there was no physical damage.

Naomi Pomeroy then launched another venture called Ripe Cooperative, which sold food boxes. However, this one was also shut down in 2022, and Pomeroy explained the same on her website, saying that they cannot operate the place based on the conditions where prices of the ingredients increased alongside labor costs and rent.

She was featured in various TV shows such as Iron Chef and Bobby's Triple Threat. She was also a recipient of various accolades, including the James Beard Foundation Award in 2014. Pomeroy was the author of a cookbook titled Taste & Technique: Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking.