Kelsey Barnard Clark
American chef
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kelsey Barnard Clark (born April 28, 1989[1]) is an American chef. In 2019, she won season 16 of Top Chef.
Early life and education
Clark was raised in Dothan, Alabama.[2] She attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and worked at Cafe Boulud and Dovetail.[3]
Career
In 2012, she started a catering business in Dothan, and then a restaurant, KBC.[3][4] In 2019, she won season 16 of Top Chef, as of 2024 the only southerner to win the show.[3][4][2] In 2020, the Alabama Tourism Department named one of KBC's sandwiches to their list of 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama.[4] In 2024, she was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award for Best Chef:South.[5][2][6] She was one of the judges in the 2025 TV series "Next Gen Chef".[7]
Legal Issues
In January 2026, Clark was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after allegedly driving her vehicle into and demolishing a brick mailbox; she reportedly struggled and refused to complete field sobriety tests while at the scene. [8] Her two children, ages 8 and 5, were present at the crash and were driven home by a family member upon Clark's booking at Dothan City Jail.[9][10]
