Top Chef Contestant Arrested: Jamie Lynch Drunk In Public, Charleston Police Report Says

Former “Top Chef” contestant Jamie Lynch was reportedly arrested on a charge of public intoxication in Charleston, North Carolina, Wednesday night. The reported arrest came just one night prior to when the cooking-centric reality TV show aired its season finale, The Post and Courier reported Friday.

The 41-year-old Lynch, who cut his teeth in the restaurant world in New York but currently resides in Charlotte, was arrested at 11 p.m. EST and later made bail Thursday afternoon, according to the report.

His mugshot from the arrest is below.

The police stated that a patrol officer found Lynch "swaying back and forth in an apparent intoxicated state" outside of a local bar, which had been kicked out of after arguing with security staff. An officer reportedly told Lynch to leave the bar and he later had trouble keeping himself upright while walking.

Lynch had been eliminated from “Top Chef” in an episode that ran in January after he gave up his immunity. He spoke to The Charlotte Observer and explained his decision in a lengthy interview published in January.

And like I said on the show, if it hadn’t been for my dish, my team wouldn’t have been on the bottom, so I felt it was only fair to be judged with them. I wanted to put it in the judges’ hands,” Lynch said, “because they s--- on my dish so hard at the table, I wanted them to make the call. If they really thought it was that bad, it was up to them. The other thing, too, is I didn’t want to win the show by having immunity all the time. I wanted to earn it. I wanted to be able to walk away and be like, “Yes! Won this thing. I didn’t play all the tricks and stuff to get there.”

Lynch first began his career at New York’s Le Cirque 2000 at The Palace Hotel and eventually moved on to other acclaimed establishments like Care Bouloud and Tocqueville, according to his Bravo profile for “Top Chef.” He later moved to Charlotte in 2002 and became the executive chef and partner at 5Church Group, managing three restaurants in Charlotte, Charleston and Atlanta, Georgia.