Warning: This article contains spoilers for the final episode of "Top Chef" season 16.

Paducah chef Sara Bradley was traveling between press events with friend and fellow "Top Chef" contestant Kelsey Barnard Clark when she took a few minutes to talk to a Courier Journal reporter ahead of the Bravo show's season 16 finale.

Bradley, down to earth and honest as ever, didn't feel particularly changed by the last 12 months, during which she competed on one of the country's most respected culinary shows, cooking her way through dozens of challenges in Kentucky to reach the final round in Macau, China — where on Thursday she was named the runner up to Barnard Clark.

But it's clear to Bradley that nothing will be the same now that "Top Chef" has aired.

Already, her restaurant Freight House has seen a rush of new customers. And she's been invited to cook at events like the Bourbon Classic and Bourbon & Beyond in Louisville.

She's got a fan page on Facebook now, where hundreds of people have wished her luck through the season. And her strong run through the course of the show has helped prove our state can produce culinary greats.

Ahead of the last episode, we caught up with Bradley to see what the entire season has meant to her — and what she thinks it will do for Kentucky.

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Here's what she had to say:

On reaching the finale

Bradley, Barnard Clark and Eric Adjepong competed for the title in the final episode, which was shot last summer. Since then, Bradley has had to keep her success a secret.

"Since we finished shooting in July, I've been like sitting on it. People are just like, 'Tell me, did you get eliminated first? What happens this week?' I say, 'You just have to watch to find out.'

"It's kind of a relief (now that the season has aired). It feels great. It's really been an honor, and it's really made me feel good about all the decisions I've made in my life leading up to this point, all the time I spent working and busing (tables)."

On competing against her friend

Bradley and Barnard Clark became close while working together at an out-of-state restaurant.

"I think having Kelsey on the show, it wasn't always an advantage. ... But once we got down to the end, it started to be an advantage. There was a person there you knew you could trust. And it's fun to see your friend succeed.

"Everyone was close and everyone was friends on the show, but Kelsey and I had a history. It was a good time."

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On showcasing Kentucky

"I think they did an amazing job of showcasing Kentucky. Being from Kentucky, there are tons of things I wished they had shown off. I was really hoping for a Mammoth Cave episode, though I'm not sure if you can have open flames in a cave. ... I wish they'd showcased Asian carp, caviar.

"As a whole, they did a great job. .... It's such a huge state, it's hard to show all the amazing parts of it."

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On the Kentucky challenge

In the second episode, the contestants visited Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto to try classic Kentucky dishes made by chef Newman Miller. The contestants were then asked to recreate one of the dishes with their own spin.

"I realized in that challenge that western Kentucky mutton barbecue, the way we do burgoo, all those things were really different than the way they're doing it in central Kentucky. It speaks to how regional the cuisine is there. It changes from one side of the state to the other. That was a challenge.

"I also probably learned on that challenge to slow down on the bourbon until you find out if (host) Padma (Lakshmi)'s coming or not."

On the realness of the show

In quickfire challenges and at the grocery store, the chefs typically had just 30 minutes to cook or select their ingredients.

"The time limits are real. When they say 30 minutes, you have 30 minutes. The crazy part would be when we're shopping. You'd see one person running off from the line, jetting back because they forgot a bottle of vinegar or something. We are all frantic and all running and the time limits are no joke.

"It was a little hard to get used to the cameras, you know, in your face. Freight House is a completely open restaurant ... we're transparent about everything we do. But there would be weird moments of I've got to touch this meat, but I can't find gloves. I think on the first challenge, at Churchill Downs, I didn't have a knife so I was bare-handed ripping the fat off a steak. I pictured myself yelling at my cooks like, 'What are you doing!' Then they showed me doing it."

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On her own portrayal

"I don't usually censor myself very much. I say exactly what's on my mind. Sometimes it's inappropriate, sometimes it's endearing. I think they captured me very well.

"I don't hold back."

On the "Top Chef" effect

Kentucky tourism officials say the show tends to attract new visitors to the states and businesses it features. Bradley said she's already noticed a wave of customers brought in by the show.

"We're seeing people coming in from Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati. We're closer to Nashville than Louisville, and St. Louis than Louisville, so we're seeing people from all over the region come and it's been really amazing."

The restaurant is fully booked regularly. So if you plan to visit, make a reservation.

"We welcome you to try to walk in, but you're probably not going to like the answer you get."

On growing her family

In December, shortly after the season launched, Bradley announced on Instagram that she was pregnant. She's due in May, shortly after the Kentucky Derby.

"When Uproxx (an entertainment site) came out and called me 'Party Mom,' they didn't know I was pregnant. They had no clue. 'Party Mom,' I think they said it was a mentality. And that's totally me. I would be that person that would get you really drunk and hold your hair back while you vomited.

"But now I'm due just a couple weeks after Derby. On the first challenge, I won Millionaire Row tickets, and now I'm totally worried I'm not going to get to use them. Who knows, maybe that baby will keep cooking for a couple of weeks.

"It's interesting because one of the major deciding factors for me to go forward and get pregnant was Kelsey being there. She runs a business and had a child. Eric was there, and his wife was pregnant. Padma always had her child on set. It was like, I can do this. There's no reason I shouldn't have a family too.

"(Being on 'Top Chef') was a great decision. There's nothing bad that has come of it so far."

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Bailey Loosemore: 502-582-4646; bloosemore@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @bloosemore. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: https://www.courier-journal.com/baileyl.