How Confidence Helped Top Chef Byron Gomez Figure Out His Cuisine

May 24, 2022 00:51:16

In today’s episode, I talk to Byron Gomez, one of the stars you might remember from Top Chef Season 18. Born in Costa Rica, he came to America as a child. Here, he formed a love for hospitality from the comfort of his own home, leading to a successful culinary career that caught the eye of the most famous cooking competition on TV. 

You’ll hear about Gomez’s difficult childhood in Costa Rica, the differences in leadership style between some of the well-known chef’s he’s worked with. He also shares his sources of culinary inspiration, his adventures in Aspen, and the details of his upcoming project in Boulder, Colorado.

What you'll learn with chef Byron Gomez

  • Why Chef Byron Gomez chose to participate in Top Chef (3:02)
  • The hardest thing he’s ever done (4:43)
  • How the pressure of cooking on TV differs from cooking in a Michelin-starred restaurant (7:05)
  • One surprising aspect of Top Chef that people don’t know (8:33)
  • The biggest lesson Top Chef Byron Gomez learned from the show (10:12)
  • His favorite challenge from the show (11:40)
  • Why Chef Byron Gomez struggles with his cultural identity (12:17)
  • His childhood memories from Puerto Rico (14:54)
  • His culinary family roots  (17:10)
  • Why Chef Byron Gomez finds the smell of food so comforting (17:42)
  • How his family came to the US (19:17)
  • His first cooking job (21:10)
  • Moving to New York to get his foot in the door (21:55)
  • A short trip through the evolution of modern Michelin cuisine (23:29)
  • The styles of the leaders he’s worked under (26:45)
  • Chef Byron Gomez advice for aspiring young chefs (30:18)
  • How to educate yourself rather than going to culinary school (32:47)
  • His experience working in Aspen (34:21)
  • How he describes his culinary style (37:07)
  • His sources of inspiration (40:03)
  • What’s next in Colorado (43:15)
  • Top 5 spots to eat in Aspen (46:05)
  • His guilty pleasure food (48:42)
  • Top cookbooks (49:04)
  •  
  • Series of rapid-fire questions.
  • Link to the podcast episode on Apple Podcast

Links to other episodes in Top Chef Guests

Conversation with chef Sheldon Simon

Conversation with chef Tiffany Derry

Interview with chef Elizabeth Falkner

Interview with chef Silvia Barban

Conversation with chef Brother Luck

Conversation with chef David Burke

Interview with chef Edward Lee

Links to most downloaded episodes (click on any picture to listen to the episode)

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Jeremy Umansky in Cleveland
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Nick DiGiovanni
Nick DiGiovanni
Chef Sheldon Simeon
Chef Sheldon Simeon

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In a Michelin restaurant, you have a team of people who will back you up and try to get you there. Because at the end of the day, it’s the reputation of the restaurant, so you have that teamwork. On Top Chef, you are on your own.


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What Top Chef does is that it builds a brand for you. It tells your story.


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Confidence is a tool that I've come to realize later on in life, but it's helped me figure out my cuisine, my voice, who I am, and to be brave enough to be like, ‘Well, this is who Byron is. Take it or leave it.


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I was a kid who came to the US as an immigrant, but I wasn't American enough. I am from America, because I'm from Latin America, but I'm not Costa Rican enough because I wasn't raised in Costa Rica. So I always struggle with identity.

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I never went to culinary school, I went to the school of hard knocks.

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