When most contestants arrive at the Top Chef kitchen, they’re well-versed in the competition ahead, having watched every available episode. For Kelsey Barnard Clark, season 16 winner and proprietor of EAT KBC, this was not the case. “Preparing for the show, I’d never really seen an episode,” says the 30-year-old Dothan, Alabama native and resident. “So, I told myself I was going to watch every season. I ended up watching just two episodes and going in totally blind,” she adds. “I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to make risotto [a common point of failure for past contestants] or that Tom [Colicchio, one of the judges] doesn’t like okra.”

Clearly her lack of prior research proved no problem, as she was lauded throughout the season for her inventive, soulful take on Southern cuisine. “I think it made the experience better, because I was just myself and didn’t overthink things,” she reflects. A topic throughout the show was also Barnard Clark’s emotional journey: To be on Top Chef, she’d had to leave her 9-month-old son Monroe, now a smiley blonde two-year-old often found in her Instagram stories.

A year after her win, Barnard Clark spoke to Furthermore about newfound fame, finding balance in gardening, and her favorite thing to cook right now.