Sarah Bradley

when the chefs were charged with crafting a plate of delights which could be eaten “hands off.” There was a holiday meal fit for a queen . . . naturally. They were in England. And, of course, there was the requisite restaurant wars.

“I actually enjoy the restaurant wars,” Sara admits. Of course, being a part of the winning team was a plus. “The pressure is kind of taken off each individual and you get a chance to work as a team and that’s a nice change of pace from the pressure cooker we’re all in when we’re on our own.” This version of restaurant wars was judged by threeMichelin-star chef Clare Smuth at her renowned restaurant, Core, in London. “Meeting all these amazing chefs is just another incredible perk of being invited to this shindig,” Sara comments. “Unfortunately, we really didn’t have that much time with any of them. They are, of course, busy and the show is on a tight timeframe in terms of production. The only one we actually got to hang with a bit was Gaggan Anand. He insisted on having a beer with us after that episode. He was so great, and it was such a crazy, amazing opportunity to meet him.” And, of course, it was Gaggan that said Sara’s pecan pork with cocoa buttermilk was good enough to make a fast-food chain out of it!

Sara thinks she employed a slightly more defined “filter” for Season 20. “I was pretty unfiltered for Season 16,” she says with a laugh. “But I think I was SO much more aware that everyone was watching this time and that perhaps I should project a little less of my truest personality.” But . . . she couldn’t quite hold back when she was chosen last for restaurant wars quipping, “’Bring it on bitches. You picked me last!?’ I think people don’t know that I came up in Michelin-star kitchens. The only thing you can do when you’re the underdog is prove everybody wrong.” Mission accomplished.

“As a former soccer player, I really enjoyed our episode at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium,” Sara remembers. This was also the episode where Sara revealed she actually has a degree in statistics and psychology. Yeah, smart AND she can cook. She and her teammates showed their degrees in cheese by winning their task of utilizing Wensleydale cheese in their cauliflower Welsh rarebit.

But it would be Paris where the final showdowns would be played out. As the unfiltered Sara would characterize her presence there in episode 14, “I am f’ing pumped to be back at this point again. I really want it. I’m going to do what I do best, staying true to myself and my food and cook my heart out. This time I’m fighting it out for all the moms and the women.” In the finale the three chefs earned the opportunity to cook whatever they wanted for a four-course progressive meal. They were aided by the last three chefs eliminated and Sara chose Amar as her helpmate once more. The partners designed and created a first course of couvillion with shellfish and trinity, a second course of liver and onions with cookie butter and figs, a third course of burgoo and cornbread, and a fourth course of English pea cake with buttermilk sorbet. We apologize if you haven’t completed the season, but for those of you who did, it was the damned liver! The hard part for the fans to swallow was that it was quite apparent at the final judges’ table that sans the liver, Sara would have indeed taken the cake. By the way, they ALL LOVED the cake.

“It didn’t turn out the way I wanted,” Sara comments. “But it turned out that I learned a lot about myself and my professional life, and the way I want to run my restaurant. I think I’m more focused on the right priorities. I did this not just for me, but for my business, for my family, and as it turned out surprisingly, for many, many women like me. It was a journey of a lifetime. And my life is better for it.”