At the beginning of the week, John Gorham was among the most successful chefs in Portland, owner of a dozen restaurants, co-author of two cookbooks and a world traveler known to fly prominent chefs from Spain to his gleaming Pearl District “gastronomic society,” Plaza Del Toro.
That came to an end on Wednesday, when Gorham emailed The Oregonian/OregonLive to say he had checked into the hospital and would “not be returning to the company” after aggressive Facebook messages directed at a trans woman of color in late May resurfaced online.