Sara Bradley grew up in Western Kentucky. She has cooked professionally for more than 20 years, including for Michelin-starred chefs in New York and Chicago. In 2015, she opened her own restaurant, Freight House, back home in Paducah, Kentucky, and in 2025, she was a James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Southeast.Sara is a two-time runner-up on Top Chef, a Chopped Grand Champion, and the first-ever Chopped Legend. In 2025, she was the first rookie competitor to ever make it to the finals of Tournament of Champions.In September 2026, Sara released her debut cookbook The Kitchen I Came Home To: Big Flavors and Tall Tales from My Corner of Kentucky, which she co-authored with Emily Timberlake. When she’s not at the restaurant, you'll find her digging for lucky rocks with her husband, Austin, or chasing dreams with her daughters, Lula and Hazel.
Emeril Lagasse stops by to make a holiday Rack of Lamb with Apple Mint Puree, then take holiday parties up a notch with Katie Lee's Christmas Tree Cheese Ball and Marcela Valladolid's Snowman Cheese Ball. Plus, two ways to serve ham for the holidays, the quickest tricks to create a classic Yule Log Cake, and new tips on how to decorate a store-bought gingerbread house. Geoffrey Zakarian warms everyone up with Peppermint Hot Chocolate while carolers amp up the holiday spirit!
Mentioned in this episode:
Holiday Cheese Balls
Gingerbread House
Yule Log Hacks