Sara Bradley (chef)

Sara Bradley (born 1981/1982) is an American chef based in Paducah, Kentucky, known for her appearances on the television series Top Chef. Her cooking features Southern, Jewish, and Appalachian influences.

Early life and education
Bradley was born and raised in Paducah. Her mother is Jewish and her father is not. He grew up in the Appalachians. Her mother's grandparents emigrated from Poland and Prussia. Her parents met working in Lexington, Kentucky. She was raised Jewish. She has a younger sister.

Her mother and paternal grandmother taught her to cook and preserve. As a child she attended Camp Ben Frankel in Carbondale, Illinois. She attended Heath High School. She attended the University of Kentucky, graduating with a degree in psychology. 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.

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. The restaurant is located in a former warehouse. The cuisine is Southern with influences from Jewish cuisine and Appalachian cuisine. It offers a large selection of Kentucky bourbons.

In 2016, she was the runner-up in Top Chef: Kentucky. 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. In 2023, she competed in Top Chef: World All-Stars, where she also placed as a runner-up.

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

Personal life
Bradley is married and has two daughters. 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. 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.