Sara Bradley (chef)

Sara Bradley
Sara Bradley
Born	1981or1982(age 41–42); Paducah, Kentucky
	Culinary career
Cooking style	Southern, Jewish, and Appalachian cuisines
	Current restaurant(s) Freight House; ;
	Television show(s) Top Chef: Kentucky ; Top Chef: World All-Stars ; ;

Last updated November 29, 2024

Sara Bradley (born 1982) is an American chef based in Paducah, Kentucky, known for her appearances on the television series Top Chef and Chopped. Her cooking features Southern, Jewish, and Appalachian influences.

Early life and education

Bradley was born and raised in Paducah.^[1] Her mother is Jewish^[2] and her father is not.^[3] He grew up in the Appalachians.^[2] Her mother's grandparents emigrated from Poland and Prussia.^[3] Her parents met working in Lexington, Kentucky.^[3] She was raised Jewish.^[3] She has a younger sister.^[4]

Her mother and paternal grandmother taught her to cook and preserve.^[5]^[3]^[6] As a child she attended Camp Ben Frankel in Carbondale, Illinois.^[2] She attended Heath High School.^[7] She attended the University of Kentucky, graduating with a degree in psychology.^[1] She worked in kitchens during high school and college and attend culinary school at Johnson and Wales in Charlotte, North Carolina, after graduating from college.^[1]^[3]

Career

Bradley worked in New York and Chicago in Michelin-starred restaurants prior to returning to Western Kentucky, to Paducah, to open Freight House, which focuses on local seasonal ingredients.^[5]^[4] The restaurant is located in a former warehouse.^[1] The cuisine is Southern with influences from Jewish cuisine and Appalachian cuisine.^[5] It offers a large selection of Kentucky bourbons.^[5]^[2]^[8]

In 2016, she was the runner-up in Top Chef: Kentucky .^[5]^[9] Her matzo ball soup was popular with judges; Bradley recounted having originally called matzo balls "cracker dumplings" because the term matzo ball was unfamiliar to local diners, but after the episode aired, she was able to use the correct term.^[3]^[10] In 2023, she competed in Top Chef: World All-Stars , where she also placed as a runner-up.^[5]

In August 2023, Bradley won the Food Network's Chopped: All American Showdown.^[11]

In October 2024, Bradley won the Chopped: Legends tournament, winning $25,000 for herself and $25,000 for the charity she was competing for, Maiden Alley Cinema, a nonprofit theater in Paducah. She announced on the show that she would donate the $25,000 that she'd won for herself to her second-place competitor's charity, which funds research for a rare bone disease affecting his daughter.^[12]

Personal life

Bradley is married and has two daughters.^[13] While competing on Top Chef: World All-Stars, she pumped an estimated 15 gallons of breast milk to ship home from London for her 9-month old baby via a service called Milk Stork.^[13] She cited both the formula shortage the United States was then experiencing and the fact she continued to be able to produce as factoring in the decision.^[13]

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References

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