PADUCAH - Bravo’s hit cooking show, “Top Chef,” is scouring the Bluegrass in its latest season. It’s especially exciting for the only contestant this year from Kentucky, Paducah’s own Sara Bradley.
Bradley says she grew up helping her mom cook at home. Then, after getting a psych degree, she started working in kitchens, honing her skills in Chicago and New York, before opening the Freight House in Paducah in 2015. She says every piece of food she can source locally is done so. She's quite proud of her operation.
"We came in, my mother and father and I climbed in through a door in the wall over here, just like a little hole," Bradley said of her first encounter with the old brick building which, in its previous life, was used to distribute vegetables unloaded from nearby trains. "I, immediately, was like, 'This is where I want my restaurant to be.'”
She walked us under the beautifully reclaimed A-frame roof, some 30 feet above the floor. Bradley says she and her parents remodeled much of kitchen and dining areas themselves, again using local supplies and furnishings wherever possible. Her staff busily worked in the open-concept kitchen. They arrive at 9:00 am daily, though dinner is the first meal served at 5:00. Bradley wants all that hard work to be visible as well.
"If you come in you can see the prep, you can see all the cooks cooking, you can see right into our walk-in," she said passionately. "If you’re hiding something then you’re embarrassed of it, and we’re not embarrassed of anything we do or use here."
Her passion got her noticed by the right people, as she finds herself competing in the upcoming season of Top Chef. Bradley says she was hesitant to join the show at first but was sold as soon as she was told it would take place in her home state.
"I'm the Kentucky girl," Bradley said with a smirk in one of the show's promo videos. "I'd like to win it for my state."
Her mother, Beverly or "Bebe" as she's called, has reversed roles with her daughter. She finds herself in the Freight House's kitchen daily, making pie crusts and chopping vegetables. Though she taught her daughter to cook, she says she has learned business acumen from helping with Sara's restaurant. And she says her daughter's new-found fame benefits more than just herself.
"How exciting, how exciting for Sara," she smiled while feeding fresh carrots into a processor. "This is just great for Sara, it’s great for our restaurant, it’s great for Paducah.
Though she may be biased, Bebe believes in Sara's skills as they're displayed under much brighter lights than in southwestern Kentucky.
"Her ability to, number one; think on her feet. Number two; to be so creative to put things together other people wouldn’t think about putting together and making them look really beautiful on the plate."
Win or lose, the Bradley’s say Sara can go pan-to-pan with anyone.
Top Chef season 16 premieres on Bravo 12/6 at 9:00 pm / 8:00 pm CT