Podcast Episode

How Confidence Helped Top Chef Byron Gomez Figure Out His Cuisine

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

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

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

Social media

Chef Byron Gomez

Links mentioned in this episode

Emmanuel

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