meet chef sara

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 grew up surrounded by strawberry fields and pit bbq in paducah, ky, eating elaborate meals with her family every night. sara’s jewish mother and appalachian father exposed her to a wonderful culinary upbringing. she developed her skill set under the tutelage of michelin star chefs, john fraser at dovetail, as well as david posey and paul kahan of blackbird, before opting to return to her roots to indulge in the flavors the ohio valley and western kentucky have to offer. inspired by her upbringing in her own family’s kitchen, sara’s mission is to bring fresh, local ingredients from the community, to the community, while working to define the flavor of the “new south.” at freight house, she aims to bring regional ingredients to her dishes by sourcing the majority of her products from farmers within a day’s drive, while working within the community to help educate it on how to employ “farm-to-table” practices in their own kitchens. whether she’s cooking at the james beard house, on a bbq pit, or for her traditional sunday family meal, mixing the flavors of her rich agricultural community and keeping with traditional recipes is a task she takes pride in tackling.

in 2019, sara was runner-up on the 16th season of bravo’s top chef series, top chef: kentucky.

do you want to talk to sara about speaking to your organization or at your event?