<<EDIT 11/12 @ 10:30 AM: Eager to find out more about Carla before the premiere tonight? Check out this quick Q&A over at the Washington Post that appeared in today’s Food section.>>
Tomorrow night, the first of seventeen cheftestants will be told to pack their knives and leave. Top Chef is back, and they’ve brought their biggest cast ever for Season Five. This time, DC and Baltimore are both represented: Carla Hall, chef and owner of Alchemy Caterers, is our hometown favorite, and Jill Snyder of Red Maple hails from Charm City.
Eager to learn more about our local competitor, I reached out to Carla through Alchemy. She was really sweet and eager to talk to local writers, so we scheduled an interview through Bravo’s publicity folks (a necessity to ensure that candidates don’t give away anything TOO juicy).
If you’re like us and can’t wait for Wednesday night to come, this chat with Carla Hall should help to tide you over.
We started out talking about Carla’s approach to cooking – something she’s probably discussed dozens of times since the show started taping. But she was gracious, taking the time to explain that her approach can be best described as “elegant comfort food.” Her biography on the Top Chef website talks about her introduction of classic French techniques (honed at Bethesda’s L’Academie de Cuisine) to traditional Southern recipes, and her description seems to sum that up perfectly.
Carla and the folks at Alchemy Caterers take it even further than that: it’s about changing the way people experience food. They source much of their produce and heritage-breed meats from local producers like Tuscarora Farms and South Mountain. And Carla works with her clients to get an understanding of who they are, then she uses that to inspire her dishes – she will completely rework a dish or just make a few small tweaks to better suit a person based on their interactions.
More insights into DC’s next Top Chef – including some of her favorite dishes around town and former cheftestant Spike Mendelsohn’s take on Carla – after the jump.
Carla was introduced to Top Chef by her husband, who saw the show and knew right away that it would be perfect for her. But she’s certainly caught up quickly. When I asked if there were any previous contestants whose performances she hoped to emulate or to avoid duplicating, she said she admired Antonia and Stephanie from last season but then she reached back to Season 2 to say she definitely didn’t want to come off as arrogant like Marcel did. And when talking about whether she felt odd being one of only two caterers competing, she correctly pointed out that there have been several caterers who have done fairly well in previous seasons before suggesting that her combination of catering and restaurant experience gave her a leg up approaching group challenges.
Some background on Carla – she’s a Howard University alumna who studied accounting and hated it. After college she modeled in Europe for three years, where she developed her love of classic continental cuisines. When the cooking bug bit she worked for a lunch delivery service for five years, gaining valuable real-world experience before her stint at L’Academie de Cuisine. In fact, she credits her on the job training for preparing her for the rigorous coursework. “I trusted that it was where I was meant to be,” she said.
I asked about her time on the show, and although she couldn’t give many specifics, she said the experience of living with so many strangers in tight quarters was “interesting.” As she put it, “I remember my 20’s, but I don’t want to live like that again!” Her tidy nature was put to the test by the living arrangements.
Among her competitors, Carla said she made fast friends with Baltimore’s Jill Snyder – apparently DC and our neighbor to the north contributed the two tallest females to the cast and they bonded above their opponents’ heads. She also felt a quick connection with Ariane Duarte who runs her own restaurant in Montclair, New Jersey.
How does she feel about representing DC on the show? There’s definitely some pressure, but Carla welcomes the opportunity because the DC community has really embraced her. She says local residents seem “happy to finally have a homegirl” on the show. As a local chef herself, Carla is pleased with the increasing attention that the DC restaurant scene has been receiving, both from the media and from serious chefs who are drawn to DC by L’Academie de Cuisine, the abundance of fresh, local produce and the great local chefs already working here.
Some of her personal favorites when dining around the District include the luxurious lobster burger at Central Michel Richard, the charcuterie boards at Sonoma on Capitol Hill, and a wide range of menu options at Nicaro up in Silver Spring.
Carla seems to be taking the whole experience in stride – she hasn’t really had many people recognize her from the promos yet, and she said she’d let her husband take care of reading the blogs (though she certainly comes across as tough enough to handle haters on her own). She isn’t even planning to make a big deal about the premiere. In fact, she’s scheduled to teach a cooking class that evening at the new CulinAerie cooking school on 14th Street near Thomas Circle. The two-part class (Cooking Basics One and Two) will run from 6:30 to 9:30 this Wednesday and next, and spaces for this introductory instruction are still available at CulinAerie’s website. Set the DVR and then spend the evening with a star!
Unlike Carla, DC’s established Top Chef will be watching this season’s premiere surrounded by friends and family. Spike Mendelsohn invites everyone to join him at Good Stuff Eatery to watch the season premiere. He’ll be sending out comments throughout the show via Twitter (no word on his username yet, so stay tuned) and they’ll be offering free wifi for anyone who wants to follow along online or maybe join in Endless Simmer’s regular liveblogging of the show.
I asked Spike for his thoughts on Carla’s chances, and he was unequivocally positive: “Right off the bat she’s going to be a strong contender. Her catering background is a huge asset, she’s very focused and she’s surrounded by good people in her life. I think she’ll go far.”
Carla’s summation of the whole experience really impressed me: “I will always try to find my flow – to make sure my voice is heard and I stay true to myself.” Here at Capital Spice we’re cheering for the home team and hoping she stays true to herself all the way to the finale!
November 12, 2008 at 1:57 pm
[…] ES Sneak Peek: Tonight’s guest judge will be none other than French culinary legend Jean-Georges Vongerichten, which means if any of these youngsters don’t have those classic French techniques down, they could be in big trouble. Looks good for DC’s own Carla, who, as JoeHoya informs us, was trained at Bethesda’s L’Academie de Cuisine. […]
November 13, 2008 at 12:06 pm
[…] Grub street has a “Where are they Now” post on previous competitors and Capital Spice chatted with Carla Hall, the chef and caterer from Washington, DC who, during the premiere episode, said that when it comes […]
November 15, 2008 at 9:55 am
[…] record ratings last week. Do you have a favorite yet? Naturally we’re rooting for local girl Carla Hall. If you’re cheering for Team Rainbow, Bravo is banking on you. Team Rainbow shirts are […]
December 4, 2008 at 9:49 am
[…] cooking classes at L’Academie de Cuisine (former school of Top Cheftestant and DC local Carla Hall) or newcomer CulinAerie (where she has recently taught some […]
January 28, 2009 at 3:43 pm
[…] he’s got in the works. You can bet there will be a lot of love in the room for local girl Carla Hall – here’s hoping she can rally from last week’s performance to place back in the top […]
January 29, 2009 at 2:45 am
[…] about the outcome of tonight’s episode of Top Chef, along with pictures and video of Carla Hall and Spike Mendelsohn from tonight’s watch party at Good Stuff Eatery. Check them out after […]
February 4, 2009 at 9:54 am
[…] and then serve it with a pinch of love (Look out L’Academie grad and current Top Chef Carla Hall!) in the form of some Maldon salt. I’ve heard a lot about Maldon lately and I’m […]
February 15, 2009 at 12:43 pm
God help me, I LOOOOOVE Carla! She is the perfect woman rolled into one – an ex-model with a degree in accounting, a fabulous chef, a great wife and mother. And no attitude, just sweet, sweet, sweet! I really hope she wins!
February 18, 2009 at 10:17 pm
I saw Carla at the Shirlington movie theatre with her husband back in January, but I couldn’t place her in the moment! Nobody else seemed to really recognize her either.
February 19, 2009 at 2:57 am
GO CARLA….TEXAS IS PULLIN’ FOR YA!!!! What a refreshing, poised, classy lady. If you had your own show, it wouldn’t matter what the subject was…I’D BE WATCHIN’….you’ve definitely got that “something” on camera. You should be on tv regularly!! Good luck!
February 19, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Carla: We are SOOOOO excited about your being in the finals!!!! I knew you could do it. You are just the best!!! The fact that I recognized your ‘greatness’ before Top Chef makes me smile. I consider you a good friend, and can’t wait to give you a real hug! I hope you realize the insomnia aspect of watching Top Chef so late 🙂 I have not slept on a Wednesday night for weeks! Much love Betsy and Dick
February 19, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Go Carla!
Wheaton, MD is behind you all the way.
February 19, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Carla. You. Rock.
February 20, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Carla – I knew from episode one that you would be in the top! Praying for you to win! I cheered when you won in New Orleans. My daughters and I love you! You go, girl!
February 21, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Best of luck Carla!!! I am rooting fot you in the final 🙂
February 25, 2009 at 8:05 am
[…] to get some quality time with Top Chef finalist Carla Hall. Before the show premiered, Mike got to chat with her when she was one in a mob of 17 chefs vying for the top spot. Several weeks later, […]
February 25, 2009 at 2:17 pm
[…] a November interview with Capital Spice you mention favorites at Central, Sonoma, and Nicaro. Do you have some off the beaten path recs to […]
February 25, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I’m pulling for you all the way, Carla!
March 1, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I was rooting for Carla; I felt so sad she didn’t win the title because I truly believe she deserves it more than the two gentlemen she compete with.
I wish all the best for CARLA. She brought a whole new meaning to the competition where dog-eat-dog mentality reigned in that arena. Never thought I’d cry… for a cooking show!
I wish Carla will have a cooking show someday!
Yes Carla, I felt the love! I am totally inspired by you…
March 5, 2009 at 3:03 pm
carla was my favorite and she kept the show interesting with her cooking and funny sense of humor, she was great!
March 5, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I was really rooting for Carla. I think she didn’t win because she didn’t stay true to herself in the final. Carla and red meat? I knew it was over then. Souffles instead of something with her fabulous pie crusts? Girlfriend-to thine own self be true-always. That was truly when you were at your best on Top Chef. You made this native Washingtonian
proud though. Hooty hoo!
April 30, 2009 at 8:06 am
[…] Our Pre-Season Interview with Top Chef Finalist Carla Hall – She was sweet, local and just a bit sassy. How could we not root for her as Top Chef Season […]
August 17, 2009 at 9:44 am
[…] Mendelsohn, a DC transplant, who checked out at a respectable fifth place. Season Five gave us Carla Hall (not to mention Jill Snyder from Baltimore). We were able to root for her as a local – and […]
February 27, 2010 at 10:37 am
I can’t wait.
April 22, 2010 at 10:41 pm
[…] Top Chef Buzz: Our Interview with DC's Carla Hall « Capital Spice […]