Chef Kelsey Barnard Clark Talks Partnership with Hillshire Farm Lit’l Smokies

The “Top Chef” Season 16 winner is partnering with Hillshire Farms to promote their Lit’l Smokies cocktail links and inspire people to get creative with their holiday cooking.

Chef Kelsey Barnard Clark is no stranger to Southern cooking. Born and raised in Alabama, Clark remembers going to tailgates and seeing Crock Pots full of Hillshire Farms Lit’l Smokies with barbeque sauce. It seems only fitting for her to partner with the brand to celebrate their 40th anniversary. 

During her time on Top Chef, Clark faced various cooking challenges that allowed her to find creative ways to cook and show off her versatility as a chef. I asked her how her experience competing in cooking competitions has prepared her for this partnership. 

“I think the fun thing about Top Chef and competing in general, that’s trained me for things like this is that it forces me to constantly think outside the box and just try to think of other ways to do things and not the obvious.” 

Photo Credit: Kelsey Barnard Clark

The partnership also includes an exciting contest for fans to show off their creativity, by utilizing the Lit’l Smokies. Clark shared with me how she wants the contest to allow people to think outside the box when they are cooking. 

“This challenge is all about what we’ve been talking about”, she said. “It’s clearly what I’ve done with the product and what we’ve talked about doing with the product, but it’s to see what everybody else can do with it, ” she said. ”It’s just really just challenging home cooks to have fun with this, unleash your creativity for a chance to win [three] thousand dollars.”

Anyone interested in entering the contest can submit an original recipe featuring Lit’l Smokies for a chance to win a cash prize of $3000. The winners will also have the opportunity to have their dish showcased alongside Chef Kelsey’s recipe at a Hillshire Farms’ upcoming New York City pop-up restaurant in November. 

Photo Credit: Kelsey Barnard Clark

To enter, post a photo of your creative dish, the recipe and cooking directions on Instagram using the hashtags #LitlCocktailLounge and #HillshireFarmContest, and Hillshire Farms will select three winners to have their recipes featured on the Lit’l Smokies menu.

The contest will run from October 17-October 29. See the official contest rules for more information.