Carla Hall: Cooking Up a Wonderful Midlife | Hot Flashes & Cool Topics Podcast

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/kxwzsg/Carla_Hall_Edited92iuf.mp3

EPISODE SUMMARY:

In today’s episode, we spoke with Carla Hall, a chef, best-selling author, and television personality known for being both judge and contestant on cooking shows such as Top Chef, Top Chef: All Stars, and The Chew. We had a plethora of questions we wanted to ask Carla, but decided to start with one of the most interesting ones: what is it like judging a cooking show? Carla told us how, despite how fun it may seem, judging can be exhausting. When having to judge food, you’re required to eat every single contestant’s creation, and after a while, Carla told us that she’d be full and worn out. She explained that she always tries to use constructive criticism when judging, and that when stepping into the role of judge for the first time, she was shocked at how much she had to watch, teach, and listen to while filming. We then took a step back to Carla’s past and asked about her experience going from accounting to cooking. She explained that she loved theater, but instead of pursuing it, decided to try accounting. She hated it and then pursued modeling, even ending up in some fashion shows.

Modeling led Carla to Paris, where she first fell in love with the idea of cooking, and she bought cookbooks and began practicing becoming as skilled as she is today. When asked if she had any advice for women wanting to change careers, Carla told us that her grandmother told her that it’s her “job to happy, not rich”. Carla didn’t go to culinary school until her thirties and wasn’t on television until her forties. She also emphasized the importance of having supportive people around you and to pursue your goals and passions. Carla is the author of several cookbooks, and when we asked about them, she spoke about how her first book came out in 2011, back when The Chew first aired. That book for her was about her journey, and her latest cookbook portrays her personal experience travelling through the south and seeing the south with new eyes. We then spoke to Carla about her experience with both perimenopause and menopause. In regard to symptoms, Carla told us that, while she didn’t have hot flashes, she dealt with sleep problems, foggy brain, issues with muscle tone, dry skin and changes in skin texture, and a newfound anxiety. We then spoke a bit about society’s warped perceptions of menopause. Carla told us she was lucky enough to find a doctor that specialized in menopause to help her, but that for many women, they are either given false medical information or are simply too embarrassed to come forward. We all agreed on the importance of having conversations about menopause, so more women feel less alone and more heard.

Carla then spoke to us about her time working on The Chew and told us that it was an incredible experience. She said that the hosts were like family, and that the entire set treated one another with respect. She also said that, in regard to judging, being a contestant, herself has made her a more compassionate judge, for she knows what the contestants are feeling and wants to give helpful feedback. When asked if she’d ever been star struck, Carla shared a funny story about the time she met Jamie Oliver and completely fangirled over him. We then spoke to Carla about her mantra: “Say yes. Adventure follows, then growth.” She told us that following that mantra has helped her gain so many new experiences, and while some may terrify her, she pushes through and finds herself learning and growing through the experience. Carla has a podcast, SAY YES!, and when asked what it is about, she told us how the podcast centers around talking to people about how life isn’t a straight line and how, through adversity, we become stronger. We also wanted to know about Carla’s experiences on set, and she revealed to us that shoots can take anywhere from 24-28 hours to finish. When judging her cooking show, she had to show the contestants the recipe, set up any games, sit and wait for them to begin and finish cooking, then sit and judge every single dish. Carla was on GMA for a while, and she told us that working on the news has a different energy than working on cooking shows. It is faster paced and, while she enjoyed the GMA hosts, Carla had to work on learning to switch from news energy to lifestyle energy when going to her different jobs. Finally, we talked about Carla’s upcoming first children’s book: The Christmas Cornbread. Although she would not reveal too many details, she did tell us that the plot centers around a young Carla in the 70s. In the story, there’s also a paper machete doll named Bubba, and Carla told us that Bubba is actually a character she used to draw as a child, learned to paper machete as an adult, and now has included in her children’s book.

Carla Hall

Chef, best-selling author and television personality Carla Hall has been entertaining audiences with her enthusiasm for life and warm personality for years. She first started winning over audiences when she competed on Bravo’s Top Chef and Top Chef: All Stars and shared her philosophy to always cook with love. During her time hosting the award-winning daytime program, The Chew, she engaged with audiences on an authentic level that brought her loyal and passionate fans. Currently, she can be seen co-hosting Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America.” Through her partnership with Food Network, she will be developing and hosting programs for both broadcasting and the Food Network app. Carla believes food connects us all, and she strives to communicate this through her work, her cooking and even in her daily interactions with others.

Carla Hall has a mantra: “Say yes. Adventure follows, then growth.” On her podcast, SAY YES!, Carla connects with people who’ve found success through adversity. In each conversation, her guests talk about how they overcame their own challenges, and how they keep going…even when it seems impossible. The show showcases her signature warmth and humor as she digs deep with her guests including Kristen Bell, Glennon Doyle, Billy Porter, Martha Stewart, Wolfgang Puck, Paul Scheer, Loni Love, Marcus Samuelsson, Gail Simmons and Yeardley Smith.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Carla Hall grew up surrounded by soul food. When the time came for her to select her career path, she first opted for a business route – she graduated from Howard University’s Business School and worked as an accountant for two years before deciding to switch gears to work as a runway model. It was during that time, as she traveled (and ate) her way through Europe for a few years, that she truly realized her deep-rooted passion for food could be her career path. Today, she is a trained chef who has worked in several professional restaurant kitchens in and around the Washington, D.C. area and is an accomplished television personality and author.

On the literary front, Carla has combined her loves of food, people, and culture to write several cookbooks. Her latest cookbook, Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, is a celebration of the rich culture and history of soul food. She has two previous cookbooks – Carla’s Comfort Food: Favorite Dishes from Around the World and Cooking with Love: Comfort Food That Hugs You.

Carla is very active with a number of charities and not-for-profit organizations that reflect her passion for causes close to her heart. Such organizations include Helen Keller International, an organization that works to improve the lives of those with blindness, and to prevent the causes and consequences of blindness, poor health, and malnutrition. She is also the Culinary Ambassador for Sweet Home Cafe at the Smithsonian National Museum for African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. where she brings attention to the history of the food that has inspired the café.

Carla currently lives in D.C. with her husband, Matthew Lyons.