Beloved Top Chef Masters star Naomi Pomeroy dead at 49 after freak drowning accident

The Bravo, Top Chef , Portland community and beyond are mourning the passing of one of their own.

Over the weekend, prominent Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy passed away after an accidental drowning on the Willamette River in Corvallis, Oregon. She was 49.

The late Bravo star — who is survived by her husband Kyle Linden Webster, a fellow restaurateur, and her daughter, August, who was born in 2004 — was tubing with her husband and one other person when she was pulled into the currents.

A statement from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office released on Tuesday shared: "An investigation by BCSO determined three adults recreating on tubes and a paddle board (two tubes were secured together and the paddle board was attached to Naomi), became entangled on an exposed snag in the water."

It noted: "One of the adults, Naomi, was pulled under the water and unable to free herself due to the paddleboard leash." The local fire department was able to bring the two other people into safety, however they have yet to recover Naomi's body, and a search remains ongoing.

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The authorities further shared: "BCSO deputies searched the area using all available tools, including sonar, underwater cameras, and drones, but were unable to locate any signs of Naomi in the area due to heavy debris in the water."

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Naomi was an esteemed, self-taught chef who rose to prominence among the new wave of fine-dining in Portland in the mid-2000s.

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She first got her start in the restaurant scene in 2002 when she and her first husband, Michael Hebb , began hosting a slew of underground dinner parties in their home, a predecessor to the subsequent national pop-up restaurant craze, per the New York Times .

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They were crowned the "prince and princess of the Pacific Northwest food scene" by W Magazine , however it all came crashing down just four years later, when Michael made a hasty exit — from their restaurant empire and marriage — leaving Naomi and her daughter to start over, personally and financially.

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By 2009, she was named one of America's best new chefs by Food & Wine , and more accolades followed, including  winning the James Beard Award for best chef in the Northwest in 2014.

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She gained even more recognition for appearances in food competition shows such as Iron Chef, Top Chef , and Bobby Flay's Bobby's Triple Threat , both as a participant and recurring judge, and especially for her appearance on the third season of Top Chef Masters in 2011.

Though she closed her restaurant Beast, which she opened the year after her ex-husband's departure from their restaurant group Ripe, in 2020 in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, she still co-owned bar and restaurant Expatriate with her husband Michael, and just in May, she opened a frozen custard shop, Cornet Custard. She was also currently hosting a series of summer communal dinners called Garden Party, which had a $95 menu created from produce growing in her garden, and which were held at the site of where she planned to open another restaurant in the fall. The last of the dinners was held this past Friday, the night before her tragic passing.