Kelsey Barnard Clark has spent most of her life around food—but more importantly, around people. From catering solo at just 15 years old to working in Michelin-starred kitchens in New York City, and eventually opening her own restaurant, KBC, in Dothan, Clark has built a career defined by both technical skill and a deep understanding of hospitality. In 2019, she became the first Southerner and fifth woman to win Top Chef, cementing her place as one of the region’s most recognizable culinary voices.

Now, with her latest cookbook The Flavor of Fire, Clark returns to something foundational: cooking outdoors over an open flame and the gatherings that naturally form around it. She reflects on fire as a force that has shaped human life in lasting ways, and why coming together around it—whether at a grill, a smoker, or a backyard bonfire—still feels instinctive.

“Fire and our ability to wield it has influenced our modern lives in ways both simple and profound,” she writes in the book’s introduction. “Roasting over an open flame is the oldest form of cooking we humans know, and maybe that’s the reason that gathering around a flame…is so deeply, even primally, satisfying.”

While grilling and smoking might seem straightforward, Clark approaches them with the same level of intention she has brought to every stage of her career. The book breaks down the fundamentals, from choosing equipment and building a fire to mastering technique, all while encouraging readers to move beyond rigid recipes and toward confidence in their own approach. Her goal isn’t perfection, but rather a deeper understanding of the process.

As life has gotten busier, Clark has felt a growing pull to slow things down, and outdoor cooking has become a natural way to do that. “My goal in writing this is that it inspires us to all tune back into our inner child—to get outside, be playful and wild,” she says. “The faster and more stressful life gets, the less it feels we have time for that.”

That mindset carries throughout the book, which goes beyond proteins to include vegetables, sides, sauces, and the building blocks—like rubs, brines, and marinades—that help bring a full menu together. The comprehensive book is designed as a complete guide for everything, from backyard dinners to tailgates and beach bonfires.

While the techniques in The Flavor of Fire are detailed, the philosophy behind them is simple: cooking over an open flame creates space to slow down, to gather, and to be present. Meals unfold at an unhurried pace, conversations take their time, and the focus shifts from the food itself to the people around it. For Clark, the fire is just the starting point; it’s what happens around it that matters most.

The Flavor of Fire is available on shelves today, bringing Clark’s approach to cooking over an open flame to readers just in time for grilling season.

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