A Kentucky-Fried Hanukkah With Chef Sara Bradley
Paducah chef Sara Bradley draws from her Jewish heritage to cook up a celebratory Hanukkah feast.
PHOTO: VICTOR PROTASIO; FOOD STYLIST: CHELSEA ZIMMER; PROP STYLIST: CHRISTINA BROCKMAN
"Hanukkah, for me growing up, was all about potato latkes, doughnuts, and—believe it or not—fried chicken,” says Sara Bradley, chef and proprietor of Freight House in Paducah, Kentucky. All three of her childhood Hanukkah staples made use of oil—a symbolic nod to the origins of the holiday rooted in the miracle of oil used to light the menorah for eight days. Her family made latkes at home but out-sourced the sweets to Red’s Donut Shop, a Paducah institution. Today, she makes Sufganiyat (also spelled sufganiyot), doughnuts topped with powdered sugar.
Bradley struggled with her Jewish identity growing up, especially at this time of year. She and her siblings longed for a Christmas tree—Bradley’s mother, Bev, conceded to a ficus, which they decorated in lights and homemade ornaments and dubbed the Hanukkah bush. Inspired by Saturday Night Live, the siblings joked that “Hanukkah Harry” was coming to visit instead of Santa Claus. “We were children, and we didn’t really understand at the time that, while we were different, being Jewish was something really special—less than 1% of the world’s population is Jewish,” she says.
She credits Camp Ben Frankel with helping her appreciate her identity. Located in southern Illinois, the camp attracted kids from small towns in nearby states. She spent 12 summers there, where she learned to braid challah (among many activities) and made lifelong friendships with people who shared her heritage. As an adult, Bradley moved back to the South following time spent in Chicago and New York and reconnected with her ancestry. She now teaches cooking classes at her childhood summer camp and local synagogue, helping pass down Jewish recipes.
Bradley has also come to understand how her identity was shaped by her Kentucky home. Starting in the 1840s, Paducah became home to many Jewish immigrants. During the Civil War, anti-Semitic rumors of Jewish merchants participating in illegal trading spread. In 1862, Gen.Ulysses S. Grant issued General Orders No. 11, which expelled Jewish people from the territory he commanded, including at least 30 Jewish families in Paducah. President Lincoln rescinded the order, allowing them to return, but it left a lasting mark on the city and its Jewish population.
When Bradley got older, she connected with her heritage through food, especially when it became her career. She graduated from the University of Kentucky, studying psychology, but worked in restaurants while earning her degree. Following an unsatisfying office job after graduation, she enrolled in culinary school.
VICTOR PROTASIO
Bradley might not have planned to pursue a cooking career, but in hindsight, her love of food was there from the beginning, thanks to her mother. Bev made dinner almost every night and ended the week with extravagant Sunday meals featuring chocolate pie with mile-high meringue. The child of immigrants from Prussia, Bev also introduced her daughter to Jewish foodways. Bradley’s father, Gorman, called “Butch,” who grew up in Eastern Kentucky in the Appalachian Mountains, connected her with her Southern roots.
“What I think being Jewish and Appalachian brings to my style of food is cooking for necessity, changing with the seasons, and using ingredients that don’t cost a lot of money,” Bradley says. She exemplified this while competing on Top Chef, especially when she prepared matzo ball soup, a humble dish made with unleavened bread, on one of the largest culinary stages. Her Cheesy Savory Keugel (often known as kugel) also uses simple ingredients like cottage cheese as the base of a casserole steeped in cultural history. On her restaurant’s menu, she seamlessly blends Jewish cooking with regional staples, from butter bean hummus to Kentucky carp with couscous.
Her family is a source of inspiration for Freight House’s menu and a fundamental part of the operations. When she first opened the restaurant in 2015, her mother oversaw the desserts and was in the kitchen 12 hours a day. Bradley’s father helped navigate the business side of things, while her husband, Austin Martin, would polish glasses behind the bar on short-staffed Saturday nights. Now, every Tuesday, her 4-year-old daughter, Lula Bea Martin, comes to the restaurant after eating her dinner, puts on an apron and pink headband, and clears diners’ finished plates. Bradley is excited to pass on not only that work ethic to her children (Lula Bea and her sister, Hazel) but also Jewish food customs. She says, “As a parent and someone who is reconnecting with being Jewish, I’m holding those traditions so dear to my heart.”
Sara Bradley's Hanukkah Menu
Brussels Sprouts With Pomegranate Molasses And Walnuts
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman
Cheesy Savory Kugel
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman
Freight House Fried Chicken
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman
Sufganiyat
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman
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