Sara Bradley
Sara Bradley (she/her) learned to cook from her mother and grandmother, and credits them — and their Appalachian upbringing and Jewish heritage — with heavily influencing her food philosophy. She’s cooked professionally for 20 years including for Michelin-starred chefs in New York and Chicago before returning home to Western Kentucky to open her own restaurant, freight house, in 2015. Sara believes food is more than just eating — food has a story, many stories — that she can tell through her dishes that highlight traditional Southern flavors, ingredients, and techniques paired with international inspiration. The restaurant also boasts an extensive bourbon collection and an innovative craft cocktail menu. She works to build an equitable and compassionate work environment that promotes work/life balance — as the mom of two young daughters, Sara knows how important that is and believes parents in the industry shouldn’t have to choose between career and family. Bradley is a past participant in the James Beard Foundation’s Bootcamp for Policy and Change, cooked at the James Beard House in 2018 and was a featured chef at the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America Louisville event in 2019. She is a two-time Top Chef runner-up, having been a finalist on both Top Chef: Season 16 Kentucky (2019) and Top Chef: Season 20 World All Stars (2023). In 2023 she also competed on Food Network’s Chopped: All-American Showdown, winning the South regional tournament and advancing to the grand finale airing Aug. 8.
Longer …
A Western Kentucky native, Sara Bradley (she/her) learned to cook from her mother and grandmother and credits them and their Jewish heritage with heavily influencing her food philosophy. She’s cooked professionally for 20 years including for Michelin-starred chefs in New York and Chicago. In 2015, she opened her own restaurant, freight house, back home in Paducah, Ky. Sara believes food is more than just eating — food has a story, many stories — that she can tell at freight house. Her dishes highlight traditional Southern flavors, ingredients and techniques paired with international inspiration. The restaurant also boasts an extensive bourbon collection and an innovative craft cocktail menu. Her family taught her to waste not, want not, and she reinforces that mantra through renewable and sustainable practices at the restaurant. She works to build an equitable and compassionate work environment that promotes work/life balance — as the mom of two young daughters, Sara knows how important that is and believes parents in the industry shouldn’t have to choose between career and family. She is especially passionate about supporting breastfeeding and pumping parents in the restaurant industry because those unique challenges often force them to leave the industry they love. Outside of the restaurant, Sara helps raise cattle with her husband and is involved with multiple non-profit causes including raising money to support Western Kentucky tornado relief in 2021, the local Easterseals board and training at local high schools for students with autism spectrum disorders. Sara is a past participant in the James Beard Foundation’s Bootcamp for Policy and Change. She is a two-time Top Chef runner-up, having been a finalist on both Top Chef: Season 16 Kentucky (2019) and Top Chef: Season 20 World All Stars (2023). In 2023 she also competed on Food Network’s Chopped: All-American Showdown, winning the South regional tournament and advancing to the grand finale airing Aug. 8.
