Prix-Fixe Perfection
Chef Pomeroy, 39, struggles with that work-life balance, as well, but this year’s James Beard Award winner of Best Chef Northwest, owner of Portland’s acclaimed Beast restaurant, and mother of a 14-year-old, appears to be doing it all—and then some. To hear Chef Pomeroy tell it, she’s just a small-town girl (born and raised in nearby Corvallis, Oregon), who moved to the big city, opened a tiny restaurant, and began serving food that people really like.Totally self-taught, the extent of her training was cooking three meals a day—all from scratch—with her mother. Now, in addition to leading Beast, Chef Pomeroy is running the food menu at Expatriate, her husband’s dynamic cocktail bar located across the street from Beast, and is actively engaged in philanthropic ventures as well as raising awareness for social and environmental concerns. She’s also writing her first cookbook—but what she really wants is to find more family time so she can give her daughter some cooking lessons.