Celebrity chef Kelsey Barnard Clark, the winner of Season 16 of “Top Chef,” was arrested Wednesday night after crashing her vehicle into a mailbox in her hometown of Dothan, Alabama, officials said.

Clark, who’s also a cookbook author and the owner of KBC, an upscale Southern food restaurant in downtown Dothan, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, according to her mugshot posted on the Dothan Police Department website.

“We received a call regarding a vehicle striking the mailbox in the 1300 block of Selkirk Drive,” Officer Lieutenant Scott Owens, a police spokesperson, said, according to local CBS affiliate WTVY. “Our officers who responded to the scene determined that Ms. Clark was under the influence.”

When officers arrived, Clark reportedly smelled of alcohol, TMZ reported Thursday, citing a police source. She was arrested after failing multiple sobriety tests — including walking in a straight line and standing on one foot — the source said. She then spent the night at the Dothan City Jail.

Clark, a “born and raised southerner from Dothan,” moved to New York to study at the Culinary Institute of America in New Hyde Park. After working at beloved Manhattan eateries, such as Chef Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud and the now-defunct Michelin-starred Dovetail, Clark returned to Alabama to open her business.

She became a household name in March 2019 after winning the 16th season of Bravo’s hit cooking competition show “Top Chef.” In 2024, Clark was named a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Award in the Best Chef: South category.

Earlier this year, she served as one of the judges on Netflix series “Next Gen Chef.”

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