Carla Hall talks about her personal “yes” philosophy, her journey to Food Network, and how she manages to stay positive. This week on Food Network Obsessed, chef and TV personality Carla Hall joins host Jaymee Sire to start off their chat with a dance party. Carla talks about going from accountant—to model—to chef and how growing up in the South shaped her love of food. Carla shares how she manages to cultivate her positive, optimistic outlook on life and get through difficult times. She talks about her experiences filming with Food Network and her most memorable moment before a rapid-fire round with Jaymee where she reveals her favorite Nashville hot chicken spot.
Carla Hall talks about her personal “yes” philosophy, her journey to Food Network, and how she manages to stay positive. This week on Food Network Obsessed, chef and TV personality Carla Hall joins host Jaymee Sire to start off their chat with a dance party. Carla talks about going from accountant—to model—to chef and how growing up in the South shaped her love of food. Carla shares how she manages to cultivate her positive, optimistic outlook on life and get through difficult times. She talks about her experiences filming with Food Network and her most memorable moment before a rapid-fire round with Jaymee where she reveals her favorite Nashville hot chicken spot.
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Find episode transcript here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/carla-hall-on-best-baker-in-america-her-yes-philosophy
[MUSIC PLAYING] JAYMEE SIRE: Hello and welcome to Food Network Obsessed, the podcast where we talk all things Food Network with your favorite Food Network stars I'm your host, Jaymee Sire, and today I'm bringing this podcast to you from the Pacific Northwest. I'm visiting my family for the first time in over a year. I'm so excited.
We are headed for some outdoor adventures this weekend, so please send me any campfire recipes you might have. We always made these campfire pizzas as kids with these metal pie cookers that you put in the campfire, so I wonder if my sister still has those? We might have to dig those up if so.
But after spending the week in rainy Seattle, I am looking forward to this jolt of sunshine on the pod today, who is sure to bring a smile to your face. Of course I am talking about the Carla Hall. I can't wait for you guys to hear her unique journey to becoming a chef and, of course, appearing on Food Network, and why she lives by saying yes. She is a chef, a podcast host herself, and you've watched her on some of your favorite Food Network shows like Halloween Baking Championship, Holiday Baking Championship, Worst Cooks in America, and now she is the host of Best Baker in America. Here's Carla Hall.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Carla, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing today?
CARLA HALL: I am doing great. It is a beautiful day. I think the pollen is behind us. Well, not completely behind us, but the leaves are coming out. I love days. I'm a spring baby, so I'm loving seeing the leaves and just the warm air. I'm doing good.
JAYMEE SIRE: I know. That vitamin D can do us all wonders, especially after the last year, I think. So glad to hear your allergies are not too bad. When is your birthday, by the way?
CARLA HALL: May 12.
JAYMEE SIRE: May 12. All right. Well, happy early birthday. I am so excited to have you on, because you and I hosted a fun little virtual event in December. Lots of virtual events for all of us these days. But there were so many things that I wanted to ask you that I did not get time for during that session. So I'm glad we get some time to kind of dive in a little bit. But before we dive in, I do want to ask you, how many pairs of glasses do you own? Because I feel like every time I see you, you're wearing something different, and they're always fun.
CARLA HALL: OK, well, that's a good sign because I always want to be new and fresh, and I always want people wondering, what kind of glasses is she going to be wearing? I'm just kidding. I have 70 pairs.
JAYMEE SIRE: 70?
CARLA HALL: I have 70-- yeah, I think 7-0. And I'm traveling right now with only 26.
JAYMEE SIRE: OK. Only 26.
CARLA HALL: Yeah. I mean, that for me, not to be able-- I know that sounds really crazy. Some people love purses, some people they love shoes, jewelry. Glasses are my face art. And when I'm filming, I get tired. I don't want to seem like I have on the same pair.
JAYMEE SIRE: I mean, if you're going to travel with a large quantity of anything, I feel like glasses is an easy one to do. They don't take up a lot of room. I mean, do you have cases for all them? Do you have one large case that they all fit in. How does that work when you travel?
CARLA HALL: So I found this sleeve, this woman on Instagram, and she said that she had these sleeves for glasses. So they can hold six pairs each, so I have four. Oh, so that's 24. And then I have, oh, six glass cases. So I have 30 with me. So anyway, OK. And I roll them like a jewelry case.
And the funny thing is I was going to an event, I'm like, OK I know what glasses I'm going to wear. What shoes? I had no shoes. I literally had my trainers, I had a pair of chucks, and that was it in terms of my shoes. I had no shoes. I had tons of glasses. I had no shoes.
JAYMEE SIRE: Was it a fancy event?
CARLA HALL: It was. It was a fancy event. So as I was driving, I was driving from Grand Rapids because we're not in our house right now, so we're being nomadic. And I was going to an event in Middleburg, Virginia at Salamander Resort. And I didn't have-- I'm like, oh my gosh, I don't have any clothes.
And I had just filmed Best Baker in America, and I sent my whole wardrobe to my sister's house. So she lives in Maryland, so I had to do a stopover. I'm like, oh my god, I need that box. Because I grabbed my glasses, but I did not grab like shoes and clothes and stuff, so--
JAYMEE SIRE: I mean--
CARLA HALL: That was the recovery.
JAYMEE SIRE: I mean, I think that's OK, because like you said, it's your face art. It's what people see first. I feel like it's OK to wear-- I feel like you can wear chucks almost anything, but it's good to know that you had a little backup plan and were able to figure it out. I also wanted to start off this episode with a recess session, but then I realized that our listeners really can't see us, so it might be awkward to have a dance party on a podcast. But--
CARLA HALL: I know. We can go.
[SNAPPING FINGERS AND SIGHING]
JAYMEE SIRE: We're dancing.
CARLA HALL: We can talk it through. Elbows up and shoulders shaking. Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: I'm such an awkward-- you know what, I'm an awkward dancer, so it's actually a great thing that no one can see me.
CARLA HALL: OK, y'all, I saw that. I cannot unsee that, but that is OK. That is OK.
JAYMEE SIRE: Wait, for anyone that doesn't know or doesn't follow you on Instagram, by the way they should, what is recess if they haven't seen one of your recess dance parties?
CARLA HALL: So I started recess during COVID and I was all frustrated. It was actually when all of the protests were happening after George Floyd, and I figured we all needed a break. And so in my head I was like, you know what, what were the breaks that we had in school?
This was just the thing that organically came to me. I'm like, we had recess in school, like kids. And it started out, I got a bouncy ball, I was doing roller skating, then I started dancing. It was just 10 minutes of a break every day, and it sort of caught on and I had regulars. And it just does a mind good to honestly just not take yourself so seriously and take a break and just move a little bit, even if you're just doing it in a chair, to just move.
JAYMEE SIRE: And have you have you kept it up like pretty regularly? I mean, obviously not every day these days, but are you still popping in with one every once in a while?
CARLA HALL: I'll pop in every now and then and it'll be like a special occasion. I'll do one in a costume or just in a random one. So it's not every day like it was, but I do them regularly. But I don't have a particular day because I don't work well with schedules unless I'm working. So if I have-- it just-- honestly--
JAYMEE SIRE: Same.
CARLA HALL: --if you want me to procrastinate, just give me a schedule.
[LAUGHS]
And I cannot work within somebody else's confinement. So--
JAYMEE SIRE: You know what? I agree. And I always say that that's why I went into-- to TV-- specifically, broadcasting. Because I felt like my deadline was always that day. And then I could just forget about it and go on to something else the next day. So I'm with you on the schedules. And don't ask me which day of the week it is because I cannot tell you that.
CARLA HALL: It's today. And I don't want--
JAYMEE SIRE: It's today.
CARLA HALL: --to know anything that's tomorrow, because tomorrow's tomorrow. It is today.
JAYMEE SIRE: It is today. And you and I are having a conversation today, which is super exciting. You mentioned Best Baker. We're going to get to that in a little bit. But I want to go way back, because I know you live in DC, you're also traveling around right now.
But you grew up in Nashville, which is known for obviously, being the heart of country music. But they also have an incredible soul food scene down there. How did growing up in the South influence your love of food that we see today?
CARLA HALL: I think, well, when you think about soul food, I was just in it. Going to my grandmother's house every Sunday after church, having Sunday supper. And then during the week, I would go to my other grandmother's house when we were growing up. And she would be cooking and picking beans. It was just a part of our life.
And so when I started cooking-- and I wasn't cooking for a long time, it was only after I moved out of my mom's house when I was in college. I started cooking when I was trying to recreate my grandmother's meals and after being homesick. I mean, that's how it all started.
And I didn't have the practical knowledge to do it like she did, because I wasn't cooking with her, so I wasn't interested. It was all through my sense of taste, my taste memory. That's how I started recreating. And then after I went to culinary school, I was more able to take the technical thing out of it, and then put in the emotional and taste.
So that's how I-- that's how I continue to create dishes. And that's how I cook. I didn't know that I wanted to cook for a living. I started cooking out of gratitude for friends letting me stay on their couch, right? And people talking about, Oh, my mother used to do it like this, and my mother used to do it like that. And this was during Sunday brunches that I had when I was modeling in Paris.
And so everybody seemed to have an idea of how the food was prepared. And I was like, Oh, my gosh. I've been eating this food for 24 years, and I have no idea. And so I started going to buy cookbooks at the American bookstore. And so that's how my interest started.
Now I had to back into the food that my grandmother made. Because once I realized that, Oh, I can do this. I can read recipes. But how can I get to my grandmother's food? Because I still craved it. But she wasn't the reason that I started cooking. Does that make sense?
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I love hearing that that's not what the answer was. It's something that you might assume, but that's not always how they seem to be. And you've alluded to the fact that you have lived multiple lives.
So I want to dive in to some of these different lives of Carla Hall. You went to college and majored in accounting, of all things.
[LAUGHS]
What was behind that decision at the time?
CARLA HALL: This is when I insert the eye roll that the listeners cannot see. I love numbers. I wanted to major in theater. And I wanted to go to Boston University. I did acting or at least theater from 12 to 17, when I was in middle school and then high school. And that's what I thought I was going to do.
Boston University deferred my admissions. And so I was-- I saw that as a rejection. And I was like, well, what am I going to do? Where am I going to go to school? I wasn't going to just go to Boston for anything. And so my sister was going to Howard University. I'm like, I guess I'll go to Howard.
And then I liked my accounting teacher. So I'm like, OK. Accounting. You win. OK. My mother was so happy. My mother-- I can't even tell you how happy my mother was that I wasn't going to major in theater. She's like, Oh my God. I'm going to pay for college. And my child is going to be broke. And she's going to be living with me forever and ever. And then I'm going to have--
[LAUGHS]
I don't know if that's what she thought. But she really was very happy that I changed my career path.
JAYMEE SIRE: Do you use any of that degree? Do you do your own taxes? Do you do math for fun on the side? Any--
[LAUGHS]
CARLA HALL: Do I do my own taxes? I don't. But I always felt like, even when I was working as a chef, that I could have a really good conversation with the accountant. I could give them the information that they needed. I understood why they were asking for it.
It wasn't something that I procrastinated on, because I do like numbers, I like problems, I like figures, I like order. But I'm also not the one to execute it. Because I will procrastinate to do my own things. But if you're asking me for something, I will do it. So I still use it in that sense.
JAYMEE SIRE: OK. That makes a lot of sense. I mean, look-- I mean, accounting is not a bad skill to have in your back pocket. And you mentioned Howard University. And you went to business school there, obviously. Our current vise president, also a Howard alum.
CARLA HALL: Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: Which is so exciting. What does it mean to you to stay connected to that part of your life?
CARLA HALL: Well, first of all-- and I didn't realize this-- someone had said, "Carla, have you seen your yearbook from 1986 when you graduated?" I'm like, no. So a friend sends me a picture. Carla Hall. And of course, Kamala Harris. We are HAs. We are on the same row--
JAYMEE SIRE: No way.
CARLA HALL: --in the yearbook in 1986. And I'm like, Oh, hey girl. She's like, Oh, hey girl.
[LAUGHS]
She's two pictures over from me. And I was like, wow. That is so cool. I don't remember Kamala at Howard. But all of my friends are like, yes. You do. I'm like, no, I don't. Now I could easily say I remember her. I think it is so exciting.
Howard and going to Howard was a really special time. One, I was leaving Nashville and going to the big city. Two, it was just an amazing experience to be in what they call the Mecca, of all of these Black professional students. I mean, well, we weren't professionals yet, but it was just so exciting. Even our classes that were Afrocentric.
And it was a sense of learning why you should be proud of who you are. And that could happen in any school for anybody. But for me, it was at Howard. And it was-- it-- I never disconnected from Howard, or at least the memory of it, and what it gave me, and why I am who I am today.
JAYMEE SIRE: I love that. Well, after working as an accountant, I guess, for a couple of years, you switched gears. The natural switch to runway model.
[LAUGHTER]
That's what every accountant aims to do, I think. How did that career shift come about?
CARLA HALL: So it all started at Howard, because I did the fashion shows-- I did the spring fashion shows. It was a big thing at Howard for homecoming. And so when I went to Tampa, Florida, when I was working for one of the big eight accounting firms. It was the big eight at the time. As a way of meeting people, I started modeling. Someone came up to me and said, have you ever modeled? And I said, well, I modeled in college.
And so she invited me along to do some fashion shows. And I continued to do it, because it was also a way for me to meet other people. And then after two years of realizing that I hated my job. I mean, with just-- I just hated it. It was such an energy suck.
And I said, I don't want to be 40 and hate my job. I knew that I wasn't the type of person to just stay in something because it was the right thing to do, or if it made-- because it made everybody else happy. So I quit because I met these girls who were going to Paris. And I'm like, you know what? That's a great idea. Paid off my bills. I said, hey, mom--
JAYMEE SIRE: Paris is always a good idea.
[LAUGHS]
Right?
CARLA HALL: Paris is always a good idea.
[LAUGHS]
And so yeah, I went to Paris. And I had one telephone number. And I had a room I stayed in a pensione, with-- on the top floor, where it was the ceiling was slanted, I couldn't even stand up all the way. And yeah, I stayed over there for a while.
JAYMEE SIRE: I mean, you've mentioned some of these places here and there, Paris and London. And I imagine you experienced so many new things during that time, memories, things that have really shaped you to who you are today.
What are some of your favorite memories from that time, whether it be cities, countries, just people you met along the way?
CARLA HALL: I think, well, one of my first and-- in looking back, one of my favorite moments in Paris was-- and I took-- I took Spanish in school, but I took French for maybe three weeks. So my French was not great.
JAYMEE SIRE: So you were fluent.
[LAUGHTER]
CARLA HALL: Right, I was fluent. So I go down to a patisserie. And I ordered a croissant. And I say, [SPEAKING FRENCH]. And the person behind the counter said, [SPEAKING FRENCH].
[LAUGHS]
I was like, OK. [SPEAKING FRENCH]. And I was like, Oh, my God. I'm going to starve here. I'm not going to be able to order. And finally got my croissant. I wasn't eating ham at the time, but I knew how to say [FRENCH]. So I started eating ham.
JAYMEE SIRE: Just because you knew how to say it?
CARLA HALL: Because I knew how to say it, right? It was really-- that was one of my favorite moments because it was immersion at its best. And what it taught me was I started mimicking people's accents. It was just an amazing experience.
JAYMEE SIRE: Aside from the trauma of not being able to order your breakfast correctly-- I mean, when you think about some of the food that you were exposed to maybe for the first time during those modeling years, what comes to mind?
CARLA HALL: Oh, wow. I mean, this is so simple. I was in Bologna in Italy. And I was with a friend who was modeling. She's from Newark, New Jersey. And we ordered pizza. We were just on the street. And we ordered this pizza. And it was a square piece. And we're like, oh, we want to split it.
And of course, it was the mime came with that, because we didn't speak Italian. So we mimic the scissors like split, split, split, hand-- chopping on your other hand. And so this guy picks up this big square piece of pizza, and then he cuts it with scissors. We were like, oh. Oh, my God. Our pizza's being cut with scissors. And then he gives us the piece.
I got to tell you, Jaymee, when I ate that piece of pizza, it was as if I had never had pizza before.
JAYMEE SIRE: Wow.
CARLA HALL: I mean, the yeast of the crust, it was like crunchy and then doughy. It had the right amount of salt. And then the tomatoes, it wasn't overly tomatoey. It was just-- I mean, the tomatoes were perfectly acidic. And then that fresh basil, and then the mozzarella cheese.
It was so good. And it was just about the perfect balance between sweet and salty and yeasty. And I mean, we took a bite. And then it was like that pause. And then we looked at each other. And we were like, we should have gotten a whole piece, right?
[LAUGHTER]
So--
JAYMEE SIRE: Of course, the whole pie.
CARLA HALL: Right. Right. And so we went through this whole thing again. But it was so delicious. And I will never forget that. It was like-- I'm like, what have I been eating? And honestly, I only had pizza either frozen up to that point, or from an American restaurant.
So it was just amazing. And that really started this journey like, OK, what else am I supposed to eat?
JAYMEE SIRE: I had a similar experience traveling through Europe in college in Rome. It was this little back alley that my mom and I just like stumbled into this place. And my mom still talks about it to this day. She's like, "Remember that pizza we had in Rome?" But I know what you mean. It just--
CARLA HALL: Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: --you don't realize how much you've been missing out on until you have an experience like that.
Up next, Carla tells us how she transitioned from model to chef, plus we talk all about the new season of Best Baker in America. I mean, it sounds like traveling around during that time maybe did have an impact on you deciding to explore this culinary career. Is that happened-- is that what happened or was it something else?
CARLA HALL: It actually-- right. Now you're like, I'm making this up.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah, I know. I'm like-- I know. I'm not going to assume anything now.
[LAUGHS]
CARLA HALL: Well, in a way, it did. Because I had started to cook for friends and-- as a sense of gratitude. And just really getting into it. And then when I came back home, I stayed with my mom for a little bit. And then I was like, OK, I can't do this. I cannot live with you. I've been on my own for too long. So I decided to move in with my sister. And she lived in Washington, DC.
And I decided to have-- she was pregnant. And I said, Oh, let me cook for you for your baby shower. Because let me show you all of the things that I've learned. And I adapted a biscuit recipe from a scones recipe when I was in London. And I made the coronation chicken salad, which was a salad that I would get from one of the store, like Marks & Spencer's, like the pre-made sandwiches in London. It was chicken with curry and raisins-- with curry and grapes and almonds. And so I made that. I made a bunch of things.
And that day, a friend that I met in France was living back in DC. And she couldn't come to the shower. And so I said, "That's OK. I'm going to bring you some leftovers." And she's like, "Oh, that's awesome. Because there's nothing to eat around here. You're going to bring me lunch." I'm like, OK. So I was like, yes, I get to take my food to her for her lunch.
I get up the next morning, and my brother-in-law, who, of course, owns the house and the kitchen. And I'm not paying rent. He ate the food. And I'm like, no.
[LAUGHTER]
No. So I remade some things. I made pies and lemon blueberry bread. I got up, and I was just cooking. And I'm like, what am I going to put all this food? And I cut it into little pieces and put them in-- into sandwich bags.
And then I'm like, what am I going to use to put this food in? And I look over and I see a picnic basket. So I just grab the food, threw it in the picnic basket. I get to her office, where she's working as a receptionist in a doctor's office.
And she introduces me. "This is my friend, Carla. She has a business." I was like, oh. And I-- in my head, I was like, what? But when the doctor turned to me and says, "What's the name of your business?" Because she said-- she introduced me as having a lunch business. I said-- I looked at the lunch basket and I looked back at him, I didn't even skip a beat. I said it's called the Lunch Basket.
[LAUGHTER]
JAYMEE SIRE: I see, that's a great name.
CARLA HALL: And I started doling out these biscuits with smoked turkey. And I had some salads. And I was just giving them out. And they're like, "Do we pay you?" I'm like, "No. No, no, no. These are just samples." And they're like, "When are you coming back?" And I said, "Tomorrow."
[LAUGHS]
I went home, went to the store, made some more stuff. I went back to the office the next day. And then I went to other offices. Within a week, I add five to seven clients. Within two weeks, I had 14. I went door to door, hair salons--
JAYMEE SIRE: Wow.
CARLA HALL: --doctor's offices. And that's what I ended up doing for five years until I went to culinary school.
JAYMEE SIRE: So at what point did you decide like, I want to level up a little bit and really take this seriously?
CARLA HALL: Well, I was doing that along the way. It didn't take long for-- I just felt like I've had a direction. Because imagine, so the modeling was a bridge between what I didn't want to do, which was accounting, and what I eventually wanted to do. And I didn't know what that was.
So at this point, I was like, Oh, maybe this is my calling. Because people are responding to the food. And the greatest compliment-- and I'm a words of affirmation person-- so is for them to get something that I made and to say that they enjoyed it, right? So-- and just wanting to get that repeatedly.
So I was-- not only was I doing the lunches, I started catering, I started-- so this was growing year after year. It probably only took about six months before I was like, Oh, this is a thing. And then I started to work with somebody on my branding, and called myself the Lunch Bunch, and all this stuff.
And then-- so I went from the Lunch Basket to the Lunch Bunch. And it was a thing. It was the thing for five years. Yeah.
JAYMEE SIRE: That is an incredible story. It reminds me of one of your personal mottoes that I love, which is, "Say yes, adventure follows, and then growth."
CARLA HALL: Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: I think that was obviously an example in your life when you said yes and you are glad you did so. Is there another example of that that you could share?
CARLA HALL: I could use The Chew as an example. I could use going on Top Chef as an example. Because both of those were really scary things to say yes to. And I remember when The Chew came up, I said to my husband, "This opportunity is coming up, but I have to move to New York. What do you think?" Because if he had said-- I would have put my marriage first. I honestly would have put my marriage first. And he said OK, so I said yes to The Chew.
Knowing not really-- well, not realizing that it was a very different thing than to be on Top Chef, where the cameras are shooting me just doing what I'm doing than to actually host. And it's more coordinated and produced. And it was a very different muscle. And I found it really hard for three years. Even though people may not have seen it. It was-- I was working really hard for three years, until it became muscle memory and step into my own authenticity.
And so the adventure was every day. And then the growth when I look back. Just the growth. And even that experience helped me become a better listener. Because when you're working with four other hosts, you have to listen in order to see what your response is. And it can't be canned, you can't dial in. You have to be engaged.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. You have to-- and you have to share the ball, as we say--
CARLA HALL: Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: --in the sports world. And know when it's your time to shine and know when it's your time to sit back and like you said, listen and be part of the team. Speaking of saying yes, you have your own podcast. You're a pro at this already. Say Yes! with Carla Hall.
You really dive deep with some guests on their own failures and successes. And you've had some Food Network stars on the podcast as well. What inspired you to get into the podcasting world and want to tell these stories?
CARLA HALL: Well, I've been wanting to do a podcast for five years prior to actually doing it. I just didn't know how. It-- And Michael Simon used to always tease me, because I would always say, "I always wanted to do that." He was like, "Really, Carla? Really? You've said this about 13 things-- 13 different things." I'm like, "But it's true."
And so I love people's back stories. I love listening to radio. I love the medium of radio and just hearing, Because you don't have any distractions. And it's all about listening to people and just focusing on what they're saying. And so that's what made me want to do it.
And then when I thought about my life, and how I had said yes, and how I had the ups and downs of just learning and the outward perception of failure, but it was always growth. And I wanted to explore that because I'm like, if I'm having this experience, that also means that other people are having this experience. And I think that there is such power in understanding that you are not alone. In whatever you are experiencing, that you're not alone.
And so when you put a celebrity in the seat of telling their successes and failures, if it can happen to them, then it can happen to anybody. And they survived it. And here they are to tell the tale. And I thought it was just a really powerful story to tell. And so I want to keep telling it over and over.
JAYMEE SIRE: What's your favorite part about just the whole process of hosting a podcast? And is there anything that you didn't realize that now you know looking back?
CARLA HALL: Well, one thing because many of my episodes were-- actually, all of them were post-COVID, I-- well, I did a couple of them in studio, and then I had to do them at home. And it was the techie side of it.
[LAUGHS]
So the--
JAYMEE SIRE: Yes.
CARLA HALL: --if something goes wrong, it's on you. I mean, even here, I'm like, OK, I got this. I have my microphone. I've got my headphones. The only thing that I didn't do is pop up my little sound tent. So I was just excited about that.
And I remember even working with the software. If something went wrong, I only knew what I needed to know, unless it went wrong. And that's when I discovered another part of how to use the software. And even that was valuable.
I love interviews anyway, because no matter how many times I tell a story, I always feel like I'd learn something about myself in that story. And so no matter how much research I would do into someone's background, learning that nugget, or when they-- that moment in which they trust you to share something that wasn't-- that you weren't able to look up online, right? They're giving you this really real moment.
That is the magic moment. That is what I love. And that was the thing that make me want to do it every single time over and over again.
JAYMEE SIRE: I'm sitting here, smiling and nodding, because I agree with you on all those things. It's-- from the technology to the storytelling and getting those magical moments out of people, I think, is really, really special.
You seem to be such a positive person. But I would imagine that you have bad days like everybody else. How do you keep that mindset and that positivity? And how are some of those ways that you cultivate that in your life?
CARLA HALL: I have always been optimistic. I mean, that's just been my MO. My sister and I grew up in the same house. We are completely different.
[LAUGHTER]
She is not as wonderful as she is. However, one thing that people don't know about me is that I am borderline introvert, extrovert. So when I am out, I am genuinely happy and excited, but I do have to recharge inside. So I have to recharge.
So if anybody caught me out in the world, and I hadn't recharge, or if I'm hungry or tired, they're like, Oh, maybe that's not real for her. But I think-- I believe my positivity and how-- to answer your question, how I cultivate it is that I know that when-- I can tell, just from experience. And I'm also-- well, I'll be 57. And this just comes from life and experience, that when something is hard, it is a lesson for me. If I am indifferent to whatever this thing is, it's not for me. So-- and I don't want to repeat it. So if it's something hard, I'm like, OK. Come on. Let's get through it. Let's get to the other side.
And one of the things that struck me when I was doing Top Chef. And it was Restaurant Wars Season 5, and I was standing there. And I just knew I was going to go home. And I was shaking like a leaf. My heart was pounding. And I just felt so exposed. And then I said, well, wait, nobody has ever died here. Nobody has ever died at the judges table. And that is probably the worst thing that could happen. So I'm good. I'm good.
[LAUGHTER]
JAYMEE SIRE: That's a good attitude to have. I'm not dead, so let's just be positive about life and go on our way. So you have another-- you have another motto, "Food connects us all," which I love as well. How has food been a connector for you to love ones or even strangers in your life?
CARLA HALL: It's really hard to be angry with somebody when you're sharing food. The second cookbook that I did, Carla's Comfort Foods: Favorite Dishes from Around the World. I would take an ingredient. And I explored that ingredient, like what-- how that ingredient would be used in four different places. I would start in the South.
And so if I take smothered chicken, and that's how I eat it in the South. And if I took out the milk and I added cream, and maybe I added tarragon, and mustard, and white wine, I could be in France. And if I took out the cream and I added sour cream and a sweet paprika, I could be in Hungary. Or if I took out the dairy and added tomatoes, and peppers, and maybe mango, I could be in West Africa.
And so the idea that we all have a perspective on food. And if we sit down, I'm not going to tell you how to do your smothered chicken. You're going to do it the way that you do it in your part of the world. But if we could come together and say, Wow, look at all of the similarities, and let's look at all the differences, we can all really rejoice and get on.
And so that's how I look at food. And I think that is what I mean when food brings people together, because we all have something to talk about, and some ways that we can like, Oh, my gosh, that's how you do it? This is how we do it. Like, Oh, my, did you realize that we all do the same thing here?
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. And we all have to eat, right?
CARLA HALL: Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: So--
CARLA HALL: We all have to eat.
JAYMEE SIRE: So why not sit down and do it together, and enjoy each other's company at the same time? I'm wondering if food connected you to your husband, Matthew, in any way, or--
CARLA HALL: Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: How did that-- how did that story happen?
CARLA HALL: So Matthew and I met on an online dating service. The universe--
JAYMEE SIRE: The first day, right?
CARLA HALL: Yeah, the first day. The first day. And I was on there for a week, because you never know what the first day is going to bring. Let me have six more-- let me have my six more days.
JAYMEE SIRE: Got to keep my options open.
[LAUGHTER]
CARLA HALL: So he made-- I went to his house. And he made for me his black pepper chicken curry. And he was such a caretaker. And I would even-- I would come over after I'd been working in the kitchen, smelling like onions and just like food. But he would say, do you have any laundry? I can do your laundry for you. I'm like, Oh, my God.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh my goodness.
CARLA HALL: So he would do my laundry.
JAYMEE SIRE: He's a keeper.
CARLA HALL: He was a keeper, right. He was-- he would cook for me. And I remember the day that I had stubbed my toe. And he's in the kitchen cooking. And I'm in the open living room with den. And I stubbed my toe. And he yells from the kitchen, "Step on it." And he's like, "Step on your foot." And I stopped, I was like, Oh, my God. What-- I said, "It feels better." It was like something that my grandmother would say, right?
So I mean, Matthew was just this combination of a caretaker and nurturing. And it was-- I am one of the luckiest women in the world. But he continues to cook for me. He continues to help me do the meal prep. And he just loves it.
And I tell people-- people always assume, "Oh, I bet--" when they're talking to Matthew, "I bet Carla makes you some great meals." He's like, "Occasionally. Maybe for the holidays." So food continues to bring us together.
And also, he knows what I'm going to get excited about. So when we travel he has his folders. And now they're virtual folders. And he would pick out the restaurants. But also, when we were driving from Nashville to Grand Rapids, we went on a donut run. And he had planned out this whole stop along the way of the dump places we were going to go and have donuts. I'm like, "You get me. You love me so much."
[LAUGHTER]
JAYMEE SIRE: We have to talk about your Food Network journey as well. You are no stranger, obviously, to culinary television. But what about Food Network? What was the first gig you got with Food Network? And do you remember getting that call? And what that was like?
CARLA HALL: When I got the call to do the Halloween Baking Championship. And I had never been a guest judge. And it was really exciting. And even when you go on, you're very apprehensive, because I have been on the other side of being judged. And so I always bring that with me.
And I had the benefit of wearing costumes, because it actually lets you escape into a character. So whenever you see me dressed up, especially in the beginning, I was-- it was always escapism for me to get rid of the nerves. I'm like, I'm not Carla. I am this character. Because again, the acting is saving me.
But to get that call-- and even to get a call when the Food Network was just thinking about working with me, I felt seen. And it's pretty amazing just to feel seen, and to be thought of, and to come up in a conversation. Whether you get the job or not, it's just the first step in-- of consciousness in getting the job.
JAYMEE SIRE: And now you are a host. You're hosting the new season of Best Baker in America. What is special about Best Baker in America, and your favorite part about now hosting? Because you've talked about competing and judging. And now you are seen in this regular hosting role, which is really fun.
CARLA HALL: It is-- I love hosting. I get to know the bakers a little more intimately. Actually, this year, there's so many changes in Best Baker. This is my first time hosting and actually doing Best Baker. But I understand that there are so many changes from previous seasons.
And Gesine Prado is there, judging with me, as is Jason Smith. And Jason Smith actually won one of the seasons. So one, I get to-- I get to meet the bakers. But also to actually physically see them working and processing the challenge, which is incredible.
It's also-- I learn a lot. See, I'm not a baker. I call myself a chef's baker, not-- because I didn't study as a pastry chef, but I love baking. And so I'm just curious. The other thing that I love about this show, when you see bakers from all over America and you talk about bringing people together through food in baking, wherever you're from, we really focused on the regional treats that this country has to offer.
And so the country is really represented through all the four corners in the country. And that was incredible. And some of these things that I didn't know before, some of these delicacies and treats. And-- so that was exciting.
JAYMEE SIRE: Do you get to taste the food?
CARLA HALL: I do. I do. I get to taste it. I get to taste it. But when-- back to hosting, as I'm thinking about this, I think I get an opportunity to almost act and to become this big character. I mean, even though I'm Carla, but hosting becomes bigger. And it feels pretty special.
JAYMEE SIRE: What do you think is the secret ingredient to being a great baker? You've said you're not one, but seeing these bakers in action.
CARLA HALL: I think the biggest thing-- and I don't know if people think about this, but as you talk about food and obsession, with bakers, for the most part, the trust that they have has to be incredible. So everything that they do, that they have to put into an oven, you do what you need to do, you put into an oven and you can't touch it. And you hope that everything that you did in the first step is going to produce something delicious. And you won't know it until it comes out an hour or two hours later.
I mean-- and it's out of your hands. And the amount of release or surrender that has to happen in that moment. And you see it. And you also see when a baker is looking through the window of an oven and is not doing the thing that they had hoped. And they're like, Oh, shoot. I'm going to have to make this over. That, it's just so much tension. But I think a really good baker has to have that sense of surrender. And it's a lot of science that happens there. But it's a puzzle too, like accounting, it's a puzzle,
[LAUGHS]
Which is why--
[LAUGHS]
--which is why I love baking. I love baking at home. And I keep saying that I want to do a bread baking course. And Gesine Prado teaches in Vermont. And I'm like, "I'm going to take your class one day. I'm going to take your class." And it's something that I really want to do. And it was not one of the millions who did sourdough during the pandemic. But--
JAYMEE SIRE: Me neither.
[LAUGHTER]
I did some pizza baking. That was my--
CARLA HALL: Did you?
JAYMEE SIRE: --my version of sourdough. But--
CARLA HALL: And did you get the crust-- did you get the crust that you wanted? Did you have success?
JAYMEE SIRE: I did. I did. It was very satisfying, for sure.
CARLA HALL: See?
[LAUGHS]
Yes. I love that.
JAYMEE SIRE: You also had a chance to co-host on Worst Cooks in America. We had Anne Burrell on the podcast a few weeks back. She obviously said nothing but great things about working with you. What is your friendship like with Anne?
CARLA HALL: OK. Let me just tell you, I battled down to Miss Anne Burrell. I bow down. That show, honestly, Worst Cooks. And what I love, every morning, I would go in to set. There were long days. Anne would be up and ready. And she takes it so seriously, because she's so passionate about teaching people to cook.
When you see all the games that are super funny when you watch them on television, they're so well thought out. Because the people at home should be learning something as the contestants are going through them. And everything is so well thought out. She's amazing.
And for a while there, I looked at her, and I said, I thought we were friends. What you have me doing is this right here? I'm telling you, it was so hard. And I found it to be so hard because everything that you say to these people who don't cook, they are just sponges. And it's like being with a child. And everything that you do and say is going to impact them and change them in some way.
And so I would obsess at night, like, how do I teach this? How do I make this easy? How do I say this in a way that I haven't been doing this forever, that I can teach them for the first time that they're hearing this? This guy, Joey, didn't know how to use a can opener.
[LAUGHS]
I mean, what-- and you can't-- I mean, you want to laugh but you're like, are you serious? But he didn't have the dexterity in his hands. And so you're like, OK. That's where the bottom is. That's where the floor is. And you have to rise to the occasion. So that when he leaves, if nothing else, he can open up a can. OK.
[LAUGHTER]
JAYMEE SIRE: That's a success, a small success, if you like. But a success, nonetheless. I could spend all afternoon chatting with you, but we are running short on time. So I want to ask you some quick rapid fire questions. And then we will get to our final question that we ask everybody. So are you ready? First thing that comes to mind. I'm going to just fire them off.
CARLA HALL: I'm ready.
JAYMEE SIRE: All right. Favorite kitchen appliance.
CARLA HALL: Microflame.
JAYMEE SIRE: All right. Best hot chicken spot in Nashville.
[LAUGHS]
That's a tough one.
CARLA HALL: Oh. OK. You know what? I'm going to say Bolton's. I'm going--
JAYMEE SIRE: OK.
CARLA HALL: OK.
JAYMEE SIRE: All right. All right. Bolton's it is. Worst thing you have ever cooked?
CARLA HALL: Oh. OK. Does the raw chicken served-- I guess it wasn't cooked, though. But I did serve it to somebody, thinking that it was cooked.
[LAUGHTER]
JAYMEE SIRE: So it's the worst thing you have ever not cooked, I guess.
CARLA HALL: Yes. Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: It was supposed to be cooked.
CARLA HALL: Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: Moment you are most proud of in your culinary career.
CARLA HALL: When Jacques Pepin ate my squab and peas, and said, "I could die happy," on Top Chef.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh, beautiful.
CARLA HALL: Yeah.
JAYMEE SIRE: Dish you crave most often.
CARLA HALL: The collard greens, a pot of stewed beans and cornbread. Reminds me of my grandmother.
JAYMEE SIRE: All right. Well, that might carry over into our final question, which is, the one that we ask everybody here on Food Network Obsessed. Your perfect food day, what would be on the menu? So breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. There are no rules. You can spend as much money as you want. You can travel, traverse the globe, whatever it takes to get your perfect food day.
CARLA HALL: Oh. My perfect food day, I would have a big bowl of oatmeal. And I could have that from Sarabeth's. They have the Mama Bear, the Papa Bear, the Baby Bear.
[LAUGHS]
Any of those. I would then have brunch with malted pancakes and just maple syrup, and bacon, and then sausage. And then I would also have an omelet. Oh, my God. I would have the French--
[LAUGHTER]
JAYMEE SIRE: I love this breakfast.
[LAUGHTER]
CARLA HALL: I would have a French omelet. And the pancakes would be my second course in breakfast. But I would have a French omelet with just goat cheese and then fine herbs. I would have tea and orange juice. And then I would have a burger, cooked medium on a brioche bun. The cheese is on-- cheddar cheese on the bottom side of the bun. I'll also have mayonnaise, and Dijon mustard, and raw onion, and pickles, and lettuce, and tomato in the season. French fries and three onion rings. And then for dinner--
JAYMEE SIRE: Only three.
CARLA HALL: Only three because I had the French fries. Oh, and then I would also have lemonade and a chocolate malt made with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. And then I would have lemon meringue pie for dessert. And then for dinner, I would have-- I feel like I should go somewhere else for dinner. But I wouldn't mind going to London and having the most amazing Indian food, because I have really great Indian food in London. But I also would want fish and chips.
And I could take any of these meals away in various countries. I just want you to know. So--
JAYMEE SIRE: OK. These-- the best versions of those meals in whatever country you might be in.
CARLA HALL: Yes.
[LAUGHS]
JAYMEE SIRE: That sounds like a very fulfilling and filling perfect food day. It sounds delicious and delightful, just as this conversation was. Thank you so much for sharing all of your stories. I think you are truly such an inspiration, especially for people looking to still find that perfect happy career and love maybe later in life. And I think you are living proof that that can happen for anybody. So thank you so much.
CARLA HALL: Jaymee, thank you. This has been so great. And you have just convinced me, obsession is OK.
[LAUGHTER]
JAYMEE SIRE: It is. It Is. It's OK. Thank you again.
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I know you guys can't see me, but I can promise you, I am grinning ear to ear right now. I just love Carla's positivity, and listening to her journey. You can catch Carla hosting the new season of Best Baker in America on Food Network.
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to drop us a rating and review, so we can keep on serving you the Food Network content that you love. And of course, be sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcast, so you don't miss a single thing. That's it for now. We'll see you, foodies, next Friday.
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