Kelsey Barnard Clark is an American chef. In 2019 she won season 16 of Top Chef.
Clark was raised in Dothan, Alabama. [1] She attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and worked at Cafe Boulud and Dovetail. [2]
In 2012 she started a catering business in Dothan, and then a restaurant, KBC. [2] [3] In 2019 she won season 16 of Top Chef , as of 2024 the only southerner to win the show. [2] [3] [1] In 2020 the Alabama Tourism Department named one of KBC's sandwiches to their list of 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama. [3] In 2024 she was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award for Best Chef:South. [4] [1] [5]
She has published two cookbooks, Southern Grit (2021) and Southern Get Togethers (2024). [2] [5]