To begin the Murray State Libraries event with the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition FOOD: Transforming the American Table, Western Kentucky Chef Sara Bradley joined WKMS representative Daniel Hurt on the stage of Wrather Museum.
Bradley, a Paducah native and owner of Freight House restaurant in Paducah, has participated on various Food Network shows. She is the winner of 2023’s Chopped: All American Showdown and runner-up of Top Chef: World All-Stars.
During the interview, Bradley shared the origin of her love of cooking and how she has implemented her roots as a Jewish Appalachian into her cuisine.
“The interesting part about putting in Southern and Appalachia and Jewish (cultures) is that after traveling the world, and I am so lucky that I got to do that,” Bradley said. “I realized that it doesn’t have to be one thing, but it always has to be delicious.”
After attending culinary school in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bradley lived in Birmingham before moving to New York, where she began staging, the equivalent of an unpaid internship in the restaurant world. After working at Michelin star restaurants in New York and eventually Chicago, it was during a visit with her sister that Bradley vocalized a desire to open a restaurant.
“She was like, ‘Why don’t you?’ ‘You should just tell mom and dad and see what happens’,” Bradley said. “So I told them and they were like, ‘Alright, we’ll help you do it.’”
With the assistance of her family, Bradley found a warehouse in Paducah that she transformed into her dream restaurant. Bradley’s father assisted with the business aspect of things while her mother helped make desserts.
It was while her mother was getting her hair styled that a woman requested Bradley’s phone number to get in touch with her about her cooking at the James Beard House in New York. Months later, Top Chef reached out to invite Bradley to participate on the show.
Bradley initially said no.
“I was like, no I don’t really want to leave the restaurant,” Bradley said. “I talked with my family and my mother told me it was my civic duty to go on Top Chef.”
Bradley left an impact on both of her seasons of Top Chef with her special dish, matzo ball soup, and notably shipping her breast milk from London to her then nine-month old baby.
Her time on the screen is far from over, as Bradley announced her return to Food Network via the show Chopped Legends, set to air on Sept. 10. Bradley will not be present at the premiere, however, as she will be away in California filming for another show.
“It has become a part of me to go and promote Paducah and Western Kentucky and Kentucky as a whole,” Bradley said. “You get on this stage that is so often not available to, you know, a female chef living in a small town and so I really embraced it.”
Beyond her television presence, Bradley is working on her cookbook centered around the food of Western Kentucky, which is set to be released to the public in 2026.
The two exhibits in Wrather Museum feature artwork from students from Murray High School and Murray State’s public history class. They will remain on exhibit until Dec. 6.
There will be a food tasting event held on Sept. 9 in the Murray State Quad. Tickets are available at bit.ly/foodexhibit.
