Born on May 12, 1964 in Nashville, Tennessee, Carla Hall worked as an accountant and model before turning her sights to cooking. She established herself as an executive chef and launched a number of businesses that included her own catering company and an artisanal cookie line. Hall has become an author and a media personality as well, having starred as a contestant on two different seasons of Top Chef and serving as co-host on the hit ABC daytime show The Chew.
Carla Hall was born on May 12, 1964 in Nashville, Tennessee. She went on to attend Howard University’s business school in Washington, D.C., earning her degree in accounting and then working for a time at Price Waterhouse, becoming a CPA. She eventually decided that career path wasn’t for her and traveled to Europe to work as a runway and print model. It was while overseas taking part in the social scene that Hall began to develop her passion for cooking. She was also inspired by how her Grandma Thelma crafted meals well into her later years.
Contestant on 'Top Chef'
Returning to the states, Hall started a lunch delivery business and then attended L’Académie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland, earning her certificate in the mid-1990s. After sous and executive chef positions at establishments like the Henley Park Hotel and Washington Club, she launched her own company in 2001, Alchemy Caterers. She would also become the owner of Carla Hall Petite Cookies, an artisanal cookie line sold online as well as in stores across the East Coast and Midwest.