Farming for Health Podcast #28: Chef Bradley Kilgore

Chef Bradley Kilgore serves as an inspiration for many aspiring cooks. He has worked at Michelin 3 Star restaurants; opened his own in-demand, award-winning restaurants; been a James Beard Foundation finalist; and so much more. Yet, he didn’t grow up in a home that prized fine dining or even really talked about the importance of food. Instead, he started his culinary journey by washing dishes at an eatery when he was just in the sixth grade. 

Because his best friend and his brother found jobs at a young age, so did Bradley. And, when he washed dishes reasonably well, his boss assigned him additional small jobs like cutting biscuits, juicing oranges, and making pancakes. It all seemed relatively straightforward to Bradley, a series of small tasks with none of them being overly complicated. So, he kept getting restaurant jobs. 

Then, during his junior year of high school, he took a class in fine dining—and the die was cast. Bradley was going to work in the culinary industry. 

His mother’s side of the family possesses artistic abilities and, even though Bradley says he can’t even draw, food became his medium as he built architecturally stable dishes that taste great. As he often says, his worst dish tastes better than the Mona Lisa. 

Bradley finds creative influences from many directions and outlets. They include the time of year, the event or group for which he’ll be cooking, and the history of ingredients (and how to bring back what’s been lost). He enjoys being part of the story, of a bigger picture as he makes connections and borrows inspiration from other cultures.

Because his family didn’t cook based on their heritage, other than perhaps a touch of Italian American influence, he doesn’t create a dish because that’s the way that Grandma always did. Instead, he incorporates what he learns through travel, reading, and general curiosity. 

Discover more about Chef Bradley Kilgore’s culinary journey in Creativity. Brining Vegetables and Family Pasta Night.

Past Episodes of our Farming for Health Podcast

If you’ve missed any of our previous episodes, you can find them here:

• Episode One: Keto, Cruciferous Vegetables, Salt and Your Mindset
• Episode Two: Cooking, Conviviality, and Preserving the Harvest
• Episode Three: Ferments, Food Insecurity, and Wasted Food
• Episode Four: Anti-Cancer Diet, Food as Medicine, and Vegetables
• Episode Five: Plants, Happiness and Mindful Neglect.
• Episode Six: Whole 30, Sustainable Habits, and Loving Vegetables
• Episode Seven: Iodine, Egg Yolk Enzymes, and Miso
• Episode Eight: Fungi, Bitter Foods, and Food Extinction
• Episode Nine: Understanding Food, Nutritional Healing and Farming
• Episode Ten: Enjoying the Process, Connection and Soup
• Episode Eleven: Monica Geller, Community and Limiting Salads 
• Episode Twelve: Nourishment, Creativity, and Full-Spectrum Health
• Episode Thirteen: The Joy of Cooking, Fermentation, and Seasonality 
• Episode Fourteen: Cauliflower, Potlucks, and the Joy of Food
• Episode Fifteen: Time Savers, Pickled Raisins and Cooking With Creativity
• Episode Sixteen: Romanticizing Food, Seasonal Eating, and Shamed Spinach
• Episode Seventeen: Being Present, The Eat In Method and Food as Fuel
• Episode Eighteen: Regenerative Grazing, Monarchs and Voting with Your Dollar 
• Episode Nineteen: Childhood Injustice, Soil Health, and Relationship with Nature
• Episode Twenty: Yoga, Climate Changes, and Creating a Livable Future
• Episode Twenty-One: Understanding the Soul, Flow State, and Finding Your Purpose
• Episode Twenty-Two: Regenerative Food Systems, Food Sheds, and Resiliency 
• Episode Twenty-Three: Leaning In: Culinary Trends and the Power of Teaching
• Episode Twenty-Four: Mentorship, Self-Care, and Hospitality
• Episode Twenty-Five: Community, Self-Care, and Mindset Tools
• Episode Twenty-Six: Sustainability, Koji Coffee, Being Intentional 
• Episode Twenty-Seven: Finding Your Passion, Picky Eaters, and Cooking for Levi