High Chef winner Kelsey Barnard Clark has discovered herself in sizzling water after being arrested for driving drunk, Us Weekly can affirm.
Clark, 35, was arrested for a DUI on Wednesday, January 21, in Dothan, Alabama, per paperwork obtained by Us on Thursday, January 22. As soon as booked Clark’s mugshot was taken and posted on the Dothan Police Division web site.
A Dothan Metropolis Jail spokesperson later confirmed to Us that Clark was launched from custody early on Thursday morning.
Clark was initially taken into custody on Wednesday night after police responded to a name that she allegedly drove her automobile right into a mailbox, in response to TMZ, which was first to report the information.
The Subsequent Gen Chef decide reportedly smelled of alcohol and confirmed indicators of driver impairment, in response to the police report cited by TMZ. The outlet additionally reported that Clark allegedly participated in sobriety exams on the scene and was reportedly unable to face on one foot or stroll in a straight line.
“We obtained a name concerning a car placing the mailbox within the 1300 block of Selkirk Drive,” police spokesperson Officer Lieutenant Scott Owens mentioned after the arrest in response to native CBS affiliate WTVY. “Our officers who responded to the scene decided that Ms. Clark was below the affect.”
The information outlet reported on Thursday that Clark’s two youngsters had been in her automobile when the crash occurred. (Clark shares son Monroe and daughter June together with her husband, Deavours, whom she wed in 2015.)
Kelsey Barnard Clark. Dothan Police Division
Neither the chef nor her youngsters had been reportedly injured. The native station added that the youngsters had been “allowed to go house with a household” following the incident.
Us Weekly has reached out to Clark’s rep for remark.
Clark, who’s an Alabama native, rose to fame after successful season 16 of High Chef in 2019.
“Once I determined to do High Chef, I used to be actually involved that it was going to be the most important mistake of my life. I’m glad that I couldn’t have been extra flawed,” Clark wrote by way of Instagram in March 2019. “The most effective bonus was attending to share the journey with this group of inspiring cooks I now name buddies.”
Clark was later a contestant on Match of Champions and was a decide on NFL Tailgate Takedown in 2023. She was additionally one of many judges on Netflix’s Subsequent Gen Chef in 2025.
The movie star chef opened her KBC restaurant in her hometown of Dothan, Alabama in 2008. She added cookbook writer to her resume in 2021 with Southern Grit: 100+ Down-House Recipes for the Fashionable Cook dinner.
Her second cookbook, Southern Get-Togethers: A Information to Internet hosting Unforgettable Gatherings―Plus Entertaining Inspiration, Suggestions, and 100+ Recipes, got here out in 2024 and her third e-book, The Taste of Fireplace: Recipes for Grilling & Smoking with Southern Aptitude, is about to hit bookshelves in Might.
Previous to her arrest, Clark opened up about her plans for 2026, writing by way of Instagram on January 8, “J A N U A R Y is all about going dry, being wholesome, resolutions, new yr new me blah. So with that being mentioned, right here’s a listing of issues that I do each day/ weekly/ on the reg to maintain me wholesome ish. In no order & additionally a few of them should not wholesome bc precise well being is LIVING YO one valuable LIFE Y’all.”
She proceeded to record issues like “share the true stuff,” and “socialize on the reg” as issues she plans to do to complement her life this yr.


