Alabama’s Kelsey Barnard Clark is no stranger to reality TV, as the Season 16 winner of “Top Chef.” Now she’s on the other side of the skillet, so to speak, as a judge on “Next Gen Chef,” a new cooking series on Netflix.
Clark, the chef/owner of KBC in Dothan, gets plenty of screen time on “Next Gen Chef,” teaming with judge Carlton McCoy, a master sommelier, and evaluating dishes made by 21 hopefuls from around the country. The series is set at the Culinary Institute of America, a prestigious cooking school with a main campus in Hyde Park, New York.
“Next Gen Chef” made the Netflix top 10 in the United States during its first week of streaming, with seven episodes released on Sept. 17. The season finale is set to air on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Model Olivia Culpo serves as the series host.
Judges Clark and McCoy both are graduates of the Culinary Institute of America, known in the restaurant industry as “CIA.” References to the CIA are peppered throughout the series, and after watching seven episodes, viewers just might stop thinking about Central Intelligence Agency when they hear the acronym.
The cooking school looms large on “Next Gen Chef,” setting a standard of excellence for the challenges and providing mentors for the contestants from its teaching staff. The show marks the first time the culinary institute has allowed a TV crew to film there, according to a McCoy interview with Wine Spectator.
“When the first episode of ‘Next Gen Chef’ opens on CIA’s historic, Hogwarts-esque campus, 21 bright-eyed chefs are lulled into a false sense of security by the peaceful and picturesque setting,” a Netflix news release says. “Little do these twentysomething chefs know they’re about to embark on the most intensive culinary challenge of their lives. A three-team, seven-course menu serves as the entrance exam, and half of the hopefuls are sent home before they even have a chance to move into the CIA dorms.
“The remaining 12 chefs are tasked with producing unique family-style menus, dishes featuring parts of food that are often thrown away, fast-casual concepts that can be scaled up to campus market food stalls and bakeries, and the fine-dining tasting menus of tomorrow,” Netflix says.
The winner of “Next Gen Chef” earns bragging rights and a $500,000 prize. All of the competitors are younger than age 30, chosen for their skills, creativity and potential.
From what we can tell, none of the contestants have Alabama ties, but Clark mentions her home state and its cuisine on the show occasionally, pointing to the virtues of greens, grits and other Southern staples. The competitors on “Next Gen Chef” are tasked with elevating such ingredients in their dishes, while also relying on classic French cooking techniques.
Along with her 2019 win on “Top Chef, ” Clark was a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: South. She’s the author two books: 2021’s “Southern Grit: 100+ Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Cook” and 2024’s “Southern Get Togethers: A Guide to Hosting Unforgettable Gatherings.”
Clark has appeared on reality shows such as “Tournament of Champions,” “Chopped,” “Bobby’s Triple Threat” and “Guy’s Grocery Games.” She also has a new YouTube channel, Southern Made-KBC.
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