When former Chicago chef Sara Bradley heard "Top Chef" would be filming its new season in her native Kentucky, she wanted a piece of the action.
Bradley, a tireless champion of Kentucky cuisine, got what she wanted.
The 36-year-old chef is the sole contestant from the Bluegrass State, one of 15 competitors duking it out on Season 16 of television's Emmy Award-winning cooking competition, debuting Dec. 6 on Bravo.
"I wanted to represent the energy and the culture that's happening in the food scene in Kentucky right now," said Bradley, who opened Freight House, her acclaimed farm-to-table restaurant, in Paducah, Ky., three years ago.
Before launching Freight House, Bradley honed her skills working for the likes of John Fraser at Dovetail in New York and Chicago's prolific chef-restaurateur Paul Kahan at Avec, Blackbird, Nico Osteria and Publican Quality Meats. Like other so-called boomerangs, Bradley took what she learned toiling in the kitchens of big-city, Michelin-starred restaurants and poured that knowledge and experience into her own business back home, in the far western reaches of Kentucky.
The result was Freight House, a dinner-only eatery housed in an old vegetable depot. The pine rafters, brick walls and exposed ductwork make a lofty setting for the 140-seat restaurant, where the corner bar is stocked with more than 300 bourbons, whiskeys and ryes. The creative menu focuses on fresh, seasonal ingredients all sourced within a day's drive of Paducah (pah-DOO-kah), an artsy, riverfront town of 25,000, just below the southern tip of Illinois.
"I really wanted to be on ("Top Chef") to showcase my end of the state," Bradley said, throwing a tiny bit of shade in the direction of Louisville and Lexington. "Western Kentucky sometimes doesn't get the love that central Kentucky does."
One of the most popular dishes at Freight House is Kentucky silver carp, a.k.a. Asian carp, an invasive species that Bradley is proud to serve, both from an environmental and a gastronomic standpoint. She gussies up the mild white fish with stewed sweet tomatoes, lima beans, cornbread croutons and fresh herbs ($21).
Five bucks will get you a bowl of addictively crunchy pork rinds begging to take a bath in the accompanying lemon-thyme aioli. Other starters include sinfully good deviled eggs ($5) and spicy beer cheese ($9), a Kentucky staple.
"My style of cooking is Southern but also has a lot of Midwest influence," Bradley said. "That's one of the amazing parts about Paducah. I could be in Illinois in five minutes. I can be in Missouri in 25. I'm close to Tennessee. I can draw from all over the place. Our farmers market isn't just a Kentucky farmers market. We have four, sometimes five states represented."
Freight House is all about sophisticated spins on comfort food, from country fried steak with "whooped" cauliflower, sawmill gravy, golden raisins and capers ($10) to braised pork shoulder with black-eyed peas, sweet greens, fennel aioli and cornbread ($28).
Bradley's mom, Bebe, doubles as the pastry chef, "whooping" up maple sorghum walnut pie and vanilla-frosted Freight House birthday cake to celebrate three busy years in business.
Freight House is bound to get even busier, thanks to the "Top Chef" effect.
If you're planning a trip down to Paducah _ pretty much a straight shot from Chicago, 375 miles mostly down Interstate 57 _ make a reservation in advance, either online at freighthousefood.com or by calling 270-908-0006.
The restaurant, 330 S. Third St., opens at 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
Bradley said she isn't sure where she'll be when the new season premieres on Dec. 6.
"I haven't decided if I'm going to watch it with my staff," Bradley said, "or go home and watch it on the couch with a big glass of bourbon."
