‘Top Chef’ star Kelsey Clark, landed in legal trouble in Alabama after being arrested for DUI, according to TMZ.
Police in Dothan said officers responded Wednesday night to a call on a residential street after Clark crashed her vehicle into a mailbox. When officers arrived, they reported that Clark smelled strongly of alcohol and showed several signs of impairment, leading to her arrest. Clark is best known for winning Top Chef in 2019.
According to local outlet WBRC, Clark’s two children were in the car at the time of the crash. No injuries were reported, and the children were later released to a family member. Clark was taken into custody and transported to the Dothan City Jail, where she was booked on a DUI charge.
Police said Clark, 35, was subjected to standard field sobriety tests, including walking a straight line and standing on one foot. Officers noted that she struggled to complete the exercises, leading them to believe she was impaired. Clark was then taken into custody and booked on a DUI charge at the Dothan City Jail in Alabama.
Clark first rose to national fame in 2019 after winning Top Chef. She has since gone on to serve as a judge on Netflix’s Next Gen Chef, opened her downtown Dothan restaurant KBC, and authored three cookbooks: Southern Grit, Southern Get-Togethers, and The Flavor of Fire.
Kelsey Barnard Clark is a born-and-raised Gulf Southerner from Dothan, Alabama, with a standout career in the culinary world. She made history as the fifth woman and first Southerner to win Bravo’s Top Chef in Season 16, also earning the Fan Favorite title. In 2024, she was nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef: South.
She’s a familiar face on Food Network, regularly appearing on shows like Tournament of Champions, Chopped, Bobby’s Triple Threat, and Guy’s Grocery Games.
Clark began cooking professionally as a teenager, catering her first solo wedding at 15. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, she trained in Michelin-starred New York City kitchens before returning home in 2012 to launch Kelsey Barnard Catering. Today, she runs both her catering company and her restaurant, KBC, in downtown Dothan. Her Southern-French cooking blends family recipes with classic French technique.
She released her debut cookbook, Southern Grit, in 2021 and has since signed a two-book deal focused on entertaining.
Outside the kitchen, Clark is an avid gardener and design lover. She’s a wife and mom to two young children, Monroe and Evelyn June, and spends her downtime hosting friends, tending her garden and chickens, boating, and cooking at home with her family.
