‘Top Chef’ Winner Kelsey Clark Arrested on DUI Charge After Allegedly Smelling Like Alcohol

Kelsey Barnard Clark, who came in first place during season 16 of the Bravo reality cooking competition show Top Chef, was reportedly arrested on Wednesday, January 21.

The professional chef, 35 — who competed during the season set in Kentucky — was booked on a DUI charge after allegedly driving into a mailbox in Alabama, TMZ reported.

“We received a call regarding a vehicle striking the mailbox in the 1300 block of Selkirk Drive,” Dothan Police public information officer Lieutenant Scott Owens told CBS affiliate WTVY in a statement. “Our officers who responded to the scene determined that the Ms. Clark was under the influence.”

The Southern Grit cookbook author apparently smelled of alcohol when authorities arrived at the scene, cops told TMZ.

She was reportedly given field sobriety tests, and the outlet said her performance “wasn’t great.” Clark was taken to Dothan City Jail in Alabama and booked.

During the 2018-19 Top Chef season, Clark was named winner over runner-up Sara Bradley, and she was also voted Fan Favorite.

The former contestant now serves as a judge on Netflix’s Next Gen Chef and owns a restaurant in downtown Dothan, Alabama, called KBC.