Ever since Byron Gomez started cooking, he’s wanted to travel the world on a plate. While he’s proud of his Costa Rican heritage (especially being the first contestant on Top Chef with that distinction), his culinary background spans from southeast Asia to Latin America. He brings a hefty pedigree to that vast array of cuisine, having honed his French techniques while working in internationally renowned restaurants. This worldliness allowed him to get through whatever the competition threw at him, even earning an Elimination Challenge win and an impressive Restaurant Wars showing along the way. Ironically, Byron’s end came in a challenge based around a global ingredient: Tofu. He and the other chefs were tasked with preparing multiple tofu dishes as they participated in the first-ever “Tournament of Tofu.” Byron had three chances to impress the judges and avoid elimination, and unfortunately, they turned into three strikes for him. In the first round, he got nearly shut out against Jamie Tran on extra firm tofu. Then, she lost Round 2 to his friend Maria Mazon. And in a final dessert head-to-head against Dawn Burrell, the former Olympian was able to make the jump into the next episode. Byron was left behind and sent to fight it out in the final rounds of Last Chance Kitchen. Read on to hear Byron’s thoughts on his time in the game, and check out the Last Chance Kitchen finale to see if he was able to make it back into the competition. What compelled you to apply for Top Chef, especially in the middle of the pandemic when things are so hard on the restaurant industry? It was always on the back burner. Peers and friends always saw the talent and outgoing personality and always mentioned that I should be on a competition show, especially Top Chef. I never thought of going fully into it because I always wanted to better myself to be ready for a television debut finally. I didn’t want to fail miserably on the first shot…until last year. In April, when the entire world was at a standstill, restaurant 7908 in Aspen was closed. I had time to do things outside the restaurant. So I took on the opportunity and embarked on my journey to Top Chef. As you’ve mentioned, you’re the first Costa Rican to compete on Top Chef. How much did that idea of representation weigh on you as you went through the competition? I constantly had a sense of pride and awareness. Previously I was the only Costa Rican to be a sous chef at a 3-star Michelin restaurant. When Eleven Madison Park became No. 1 in the world, it became even that much elevated. So being on Top Chef was the cherry on top. I’m not sure if it gets any better than this. My whole idea was to remain grounded and know I was making groundbreaking achievements and history here in the U.S and Costa Rica. It’s something I will forever be proud of. You come from a background of fine dining and making someone else’s food. What was the process like to find your identity in this high-stakes competition? It was something that has been in the works for years, from personal menu ideas to cooking recipes of my own from time to time. This was a breakthrough for me to find out who I am and what I can do, and what better stage than a national breakthrough on Top Chef? It couldn’t have been timed any better. Although I am still editing myself and trying to find out who I am every day. The progress has begun. One of your biggest relationships we saw on the show was with Maria. Talk to me about the bond you made, despite your very different cooking styles. Yes, Maria and I have very different cooking styles. But the foundation and roots of our cultures were well noticed from day one. She reminds me of my mother, and the way she cooks also brings back memories of comfort food. We would always advise each other. Honesty and respect were the core of our relationship. After the recipe challenge, you admitted you keep doing too much in the challenges. How difficult is it to show that restraint? Editing yourself and what you do is something that, in my opinion, takes a lifetime to practice. I don’t think anyone ever achieves the end goal of perfection. But with every lesson, there is something new to take away. I have been vulnerable enough to admit at this stage that now it has become a part of my life in its entirety. I’m always looking to retrain and edit myself to be the best version of myself I can be. You mentioned this past episode how you have the pedigree to dominate any part of the competition. At the end of the day, how much did all that experience end up helping you on Top Chef? It may sound like I’m contradicting what I said before. But being on Top Chef is something else. Yes, obviously, you have to be a talented chef to be on the show. But every day changes. You can be the best, and then one day, there is a hiccup that will land you on the bottom. And that off day of cooking can send you home. Every day things change along with challenges, mindset and outcome of each cook. Anyone can be eliminated at any point, no matter how many highs or lows you’ve had. Let’s talk about the tofu tournament. As the rounds went along and you got closer and closer to elimination, did your mood and approach to the challenge change at all? At this point, I already committed myself to the recipes and dishes. Everything is prepared from the night prior. All that’s left is to heat up and finish the dishes in time. So my fate was already determined by the decisions prior. The only thing that would’ve changed the outcome was if the other chef had a dish worse than mine. I know this sounds like an off-the-cuff kind of answer, but nothing really can be done once the product purchase is made and the dish is more than halfway prepared. There was a big emotional reaction from everyone when you got eliminated, and we got to see some of the bonds you made when you and Maria helped Dawn with her dish. Talk to me more about how connected your cast got over the season. We were all going through a situation as chefs that we never experienced before. A pandemic changed the way we operate our business, and we were all trying to figure out what every day would be like back home in our lives and business. Although it was a competition—with probably the most stacked cast ever—we all knew that pain the past months had brought us. There was no need to make it harder. At the end of the day, we are a community that wants to make the world a better place by either supporting local farmers or changing people’s perspectives one dish at a time. I hope the viewer can see this. I was very honored to be a part of such a historic season of Top Chef that will forever be remembered as the cast that did things differently and adapted to such a rapid change of the world as we know it. Finally, are there any links or recommendations on how to help the restaurant during this time, either for chefs or patrons? You can check out World Central Kitchen, the Independent Restaurant Coalition, and the Latino Restaurant Association. Next, check out our interview with Chris Viaud, who was eliminated in episode 9.
