Behind the glamour of the spotlight is a woman who loves food If you meet Carla Hall dressed in street clothes, your first thoughts would probably be “Vogue model,” or maybe “Manhattan socialite.”
True, Hall was once a model strutting the fashion show runways, so that image resonates. But the truth is she most often wears chef’s whites and stands behind stoves stirring up some culinary fantasy — think of her cookie collection, starring such petite edibles as Black Forest crinkles, pecan shortbread with vanilla salt and peanut butter biscotti dipped in dark chocolate. And she runs her own Silver Spring-based catering and personal chef business, Alchemy Caterers.
And if the name Carla Hall sounds really, really familiar, that is probably because you remember her as one of the finalists in last year’s “Top Chef” competition, narrowly losing to Hosea Rosenberg. Session after grueling session, viewers watched as she waged kitchen battles with her competition, structuring dish after dish that have probably remained etched in her memory. Of these, Hall cites her favorite as her recreation of the Le Bernardin [New York restaurant] dish, Escolare With Sauce Bearnaise.
What’s happened with Hall since those heady days of a year ago?
Well, her life has certainly changed, finding a female chef who once had some local notoriety to someone who now has a national presence. She has appeared on “The Today Show,” LXTV, NPR, Fox Morning News and other shows, and she now needs her own publicist to structure her speaking, demonstrating and cooking schedules.
“I am really busy,” she said. “People don’t realize how busy I am. They see the glamour part, but what they don’t see is there is a lot of homework. I have to have recipe ready and I am doing interviews. That all takes preparation.”
In addition, Hall also travels all across the country putting on cooking demonstrations. And, she points out, she still runs a business and stays true to herself and her own vision of recipe creation and food presentation.
“I am suddenly growing so fast,” she said, “and I still see myself as a boutique catering company.”
Hall also chronicles other changes to her cooking life: For one, she finds that it — and she — are always under scrutiny.
“My cooking is actually under a microscope,” she says. “I use this as a good thing, so I keep exploring. So often we can become complacent, but this scrutiny keeps me honest and exploring.”
Indeed, her Southern-influenced cooking — Hall comes from Tennessee — has become more comfort-food focused. As she notes, she wants people who eat her food to “have a feeling of warmth and of being hugged.”
Hall said she finds her worldview has shifted as well, rejoicing when people tell her that what she has cooked has really inspired them.
“Food is meant to be shared and to inspire others,” she said. “So when people say they can do it [that is, recreate a recipe or cook well], that is really a gift. That is really exciting to me. Maybe now I am more of a teacher than a caterer.”
In the end, all her friends and fans love and admire her, but it’s a safe bet that Hall’s own mother is the proudest of all.
“My mother is so proud. She is so sweet,” Hall said. “She was at a funeral, and everyone came up to her asking, ‘What’s your daughter doing?’ And no matter what my mother is doing, she always asks people, ‘Do you watch ‘Top Chef?'”
Q&AQ&A with Chef Carla Hall
What is your comfort food?
It changes. My comfort food is a bowl of soup, any kind of soup. I love greens, so a soup with kale and sweet potatoes is one. This goes back to my Southern soups. And some cornbread. That’s my go-to thing as a Southern from Tennessee. It cannot be sweet.
What is your cooking philosophy?
To understand talent and to cook from the heart. And if it is coming from the heart, you don’t have to worry about making someone else’s food from a recipe. If you are trying to make someone else’s, it is not as good. Just really let your talent dictate your food.
Which is your favorite restaurant?
It varies. Every Sunday, I think about Commonwealth. I went there for a Sunday lunch, and I have food memories from England, and that reminds me of London. I recently went to Ris, and had a really wonderful meal. They now have a Saturday brunch. I like burgers, and pho, so it varies, so I will go to Spike’s place [Good Stuff Eatery].
What is your signature dish?
That’s hard to say. After the show [“Top Chef”] we did beignets and oyster stew. It’s hard to have a signature because in catering everyone’s taste changes. But the one recipe, oyster stew, and I am really proud of it. Also the oil-poached escalade I did on the show. I love the complexity of the sauce. It’s all because of Eric Ripert. I had to recreate it.
From the Chef’s Kitchen
Seared Artichoke Hearts tossed in Arugula Pesto
Serves 4
1 (12-oz.) package baby arugula
3/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps. pine nuts, toasted, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
4 artichokes
1 lemon
1. Prepare the pesto: Toss arugula in enough olive oil to coat, about three tablespoons. Put in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse five to seven times, or enough to roughly chop arugula. Add in garlic, pine nuts, lemon zest, remaining olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Continue to pulse until mixture is smooth, or at desired consistency. Add the cheese and pulse to combine. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
2. Clean the artichokes: Have a bowl of water on hand with the juice of half a lemon. Cut off the top 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Rub the cut parts with the other lemon half to keep the artichoke from turning brown while trimming. Remove all the leaves, starting with the outermost leaves first. Grab each leaf by the top and pull downward until all the leaves have been removed. Using a paring knife, remove the remaining hard leaf remnants around the base and 1/2 inch from the bottom of the stem. Cut the remaining piece in half. Use a spoon to scoop out the purple leaves and the prickly portion covering the artichoke. Slice or quarter the pieces as desired. Place pieces in lemon water until ready to cook.
3. Cook the artichokes in boiling salted water until crisp-tender. Rinse in cold water and pat dry. Toss the pieces in olive oil and sear in a hot pan. Toss in one to two tablespoons of pesto. Serve immediately or at room temperature with shaved Parmesan and toasted pine nuts.
