Top Chef has been on the air long enough that we’ve lost some of its ranks, but no news in the family has been as heartbreaking as the recent announcement that Portland Chef Naomi Pomeroy lost her life. Now, longtime judge Tom Colicchio and others are paying tribute to the chef, who died at 49.
The former cheftestant on Top Chef Masters was tubing with her husband Kyle Linden Webster, known for bartending and opening his own businesses, on the Williamette River on Sunday. Their tubes were tied together, and when the family hit a rough patch in the water, Pomeroy allegedly fell out, getting tangled in the paddle board leash that had been attached to their tubing expedition (with three attached floats).
She’s believed to have drowned, though her body has yet to be recovered, per reports at PDX Monthly and other local Oregon outlets. KGW8 reports she is the fourth person to have drowned in a similar fashion in rivers in the area this summer.
Her family is asking for privacy after the news broke, but many titans in the industry have offered their condolences at this time. Tom Colicchio, who has been a part of Top Chef since its very beginning and has spearheaded many iconic reality TV moments, broke the news to some fans of the cooking competition show online and paid tribute to Ms. Pomeroy after the tragic accident, writing:
Just horrible news, we lost another great chef. My heart goes out to Naomi’s family.
The Top Chef and Bravo family also reached out, sending condolences on X and writing of the Portland Chef who touched so many in the independent food scene:
The Bravo and Top Chef family send our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Chef Naomi Pomeroy. Naomi was a powerhouse chef who made an indelible mark on the culinary industry.
Tournament of Champions frequent guest judge and Osteria Mozza owner Nancy Silverton also paid tribute in an Instagram post that really touched on Naomi Pomeroy's contributions as a female pioneer in an industry that has historically been dominated by men.
Another Tournament of Champions alum, competitor Amanda Freitag, also wrote on X:
This is incredibly tragic & shocking news to hear of Naomi Pomeroy untimely death. My deepest condolences go out to her family, loved ones, colleagues & community. I was just looking back on a text exchange we had and she was so smart, funny, open, willing to give advice.
Bizarre Foods’ Andrew Zimmern also wrote about his “friend” in the industry, commenting that Naomi was a "great chef" before sharing his hopes for her memory.
Naomi Pomeroy was a great chef, an icon and a friend for many years. May her memory be a blessing to all who loved her.
Pomeroy was a notable chef in the Portland area and had been working on a new project at the time of her death that would have been a French restaurant PDX monthly called "ambitious." She’d competed on Top Chef Masters when it hit the TV schedule in 2011 and made several guest appearances in the regular iteration of Top Chef, most recently during a 2021 episode. She’d won a James Beard Award in 2014. She’d opened restaurants Beast and Ripe Cooperative, and put a mark on the fine dining scene in the Pacific Northwest. She will be missed by many.
