Since 2023, the Favorite Chef competition has been igniting the culinary world, uniting top chefs, passionate home cooks, and creative food artists in an epic showdown of skill and flavor.

Competitors are divided into groups and advance through public voting rounds. Each round progressively reduces the number of competitors. One culinary creator will take home $25,000, appear in Taste of Home magazine, and cook with celebrity chef Carla Hall. 

Coushatta’s Ashaunta Bradley reached the Top 5 in the competition. 

Bradley shared the following with the journal.

First and foremost, I would like to thank God for guiding me through this journey. I’m beyond grateful to each and every one of you who supported me in this year’s Favorite Chef competition. Your encouragement, votes, posts, shares—and the countless hours so many of you spent voting every day—did not go unnoticed. I saw it, I felt it, and it truly meant the world to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Starting out among more than 60 incredible chefs and food influencers, I’m deeply humbled and honored to have made it to the Top 5, finishing in 3rd place. Coming from a small town like Coushatta, Louisiana, and chasing a lifelong dream, this has been an experience I’ll never forget. I dedicate this moment to my late mother, Teresa Bradley, and my Aunt Azzie Bradley—two women whose love and strength shaped who I am. I wouldn’t be anything without them. I love and honor you both. To my family , friends and community, I love you and I’m so proud to represent you on this journey. Congratulations to Jeramey Gillilan and Randy White, as well as the esteemed chefs from the James Beard Foundation—Chef Carla Hall, Chef Aarón Sánchez, and Chef Andrew Zimmern. And a special shoutout to Karen “Chef Kay” Jenkins, the previous Favorite Chef and 2025 host—you are truly inspiring. To all of my followers, friends, and family—thank you. To the Red River Journal, Coushatta Citizen, Red River Parish Chamber of Commerce, Red River Parish Tourism Board, my home town, and the surrounding communities—you lifted me up every single day. This journey has been nothing short of amazing, and it wouldn’t have been possible without your belief in me. Just to be able to stand in the room with such greatness is a win in itself. And this—this is only the beginning. With love and gratitude, Ashanta Bradley Your Favorite Chef Top 5 – 2025.