‘Top Chef’ Winner Arrested for DUI

Top Chef winner Kelsey Clark was arrested Wednesday in Alabama on suspicion of driving under the influence.

The 36-year-old restaurateur, who won Season 16 of the Bravo competition series, was picked up by police after allegedly driving her car into a mailbox in a residential neighborhood, according to local news outlet WBRC.

Clark’s two children were reportedly in the car with her at the time of the crash, but no one was injured in the collision.

Officers with the Dothan Police Department responded to the scene after the crash, where they conducted field sobriety tests on Clark and alleged that she was under the influence of alcohol.

Her children were allowed to go home with a family member while Clark was booked on a DUI charge at Dothan City Jail.

Clark, who also appeared as a judge on Netflix’s Next Gen Chef last year, reportedly finalized her divorce from ex-husband Deavours Woodham Clark on Dec. 29, according to Page Six.

The cookbook author filed for divorce in May 2025, according to court documents obtained by the outlet, a decade after tying the knot with her ex in April 2015. The two have agreed to shared custody of their two children.

Clark was a fan favorite on the 2019 season of Top Chef, going on to win the season with a culinary focus on her Southern roots. “When I decided to do Top Chef , I was really concerned that it was going to be the biggest mistake of my life,” she wrote on Instagram in 2019. “I’m glad that I couldn’t have been more wrong. The best bonus was getting to share the journey with this group of inspiring chefs I now call friends.”