Top Chef Season 20 Sara Bradley

Sara Bradley

HOMETOWN: Paducah, KY
CURRENT CITY OF RESIDENCE: Paducah, KY, USA
OCCUPATION/PROFESSION: Chef/Owner, freight house
LAST SEASON: Finalist, “Top Chef Kentucky,” Season 16

Sara Bradley hails from Kentucky and is the chef and proprietor at freight house, a unique southern inspired restaurant and bourbon bar located in Paducah, KY. Chef Sara first learned how to cook from her mother and grandmother, and she infuses that history into her dishes, created to honor her father’s Appalachian upbringing and her mother’s Jewish heritage. She has cooked professionally for 20 years, first for Michelin-starred chefs in New York and Chicago before deciding to return to Western Kentucky to open her own restaurant in 2015. Chef Sara believes food is more than just eating. She tells stories through her dishes that highlight traditional Southern flavors, ingredients and techniques paired with international inspiration. She strives to build an equitable and compassionate work environment that promotes a healthy work/life balance, but still brings the intensity it takes to run a world-class kitchen. As a mom to two young daughters, Chef Sara believes parents in the culinary industry shouldn’t have to choose between a career and a family. Sara is a James Beard Foundation's Bootcamp for Policy and Change Alumni and was the runner-up on “Top Chef” Season 16 in Kentucky.