Award-winning Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy drowns in Willamette River

James Beard Award-winning chef Naomi Pomeroy, whose restaurant Beast was among the dining establishments that contributed to Portland’s rise as a culinary hub in the 2000s, drowned in the Willamette River near Corvallis on Saturday night.

Family members confirmed to Portland Monthly that Pomeroy died in a river accident over the weekend while rafting with her husband.

According to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and firefighters were dispatched Saturday after receiving reports that a couple had become trapped in a river jam and a woman had been pulled underwater.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office said strong currents were a factor in the drowning and hampered recovery efforts. She was not wearing a life jacket at the time.

Rescue crews tried unsuccessfully to reach Pomeroy using sonar and underwater cameras. The Navy is still working to recover Pomeroy’s body. The investigation is ongoing.

Pomeroy was one of the city’s most renowned chefs for over a decade. Beast, in the Concordia neighborhood of Northeast Portland, opened in 2007 and earned her a coveted James Beard Award in 2014. Across the street from Beast, she and her husband opened a cocktail bar called Expatriate over a decade ago.

Beast was closed during the pandemic, but according to The Oregonian, Pomeroy was in the process of opening a new restaurant on Southeast Division Street in Portland later this year. Beast offered top-notch food in an intimate, communal table setting in the middle of a residential neighborhood.