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Speaker 1: Welcome back to she Pivots. I'm Carla Hall.

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Speaker 2: Welcome back to she Pivots, the podcast where women share

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Speaker 2: bold career moves and personal turning points that changed everything.

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Speaker 2: I'm your host, Emily Tish Sussman. Some people tiptoe into reinvention,

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Speaker 2: but some people, like today's guest, burst through the door

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Speaker 2: with a who do who. In this episode, we're hearing

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Speaker 2: from the incomparable Carla Hall. Chef, entrepreneur, author, performer, Emmy

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Speaker 2: Award winning TV host, and a pure force of joy.

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Speaker 2: Carla had an unconventional path to culinary stardom. Before Top Chef,

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Speaker 2: before the Chew, before the many successful cookbooks, Carla was

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Speaker 2: a CPA at Price Waterhouse who very quickly realized that

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Speaker 2: spreadsheets were not her destiny. So she pivoted. She moved

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Speaker 2: to Europe to model where Sunday Suppers sparked inspiration. At thirty,

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Speaker 2: she enrolled in culinary school and started a career in

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Speaker 2: cooking with love. Now, at sixty one, she's launching a

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Speaker 2: platform for women fifty plus and taking the stage with

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Speaker 2: her one woman show, Please Underestimate Me. This conversation is joyful, honest,

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Speaker 2: and deeply empowering and It's proof that sometimes the boldest

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Speaker 2: pivot starts with trusting your gut. This is Carla Hall,

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Speaker 2: and this is how she pivots. Okay, so we're going

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Speaker 2: to go in chronological order. Okay, I love it, which

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Speaker 2: means that we're going back. We're going way back. Okay,

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Speaker 2: Little Carla, I'm going way way back, Little Carla.

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Speaker 1: Oh, I got little Carlo's over there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, paint a picture of little Carla for us. Like,

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Speaker 2: where did you grow up? What was your family? Like?

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Speaker 2: What were you into?

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Speaker 1: I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. I was into art.

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Speaker 1: Like I was the kid who helped the teacher do

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Speaker 1: the bulletin board, you know, with that corrugated boarder stuff.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I was all into art. I was a

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Speaker 1: brownie girl, Scouts, the camp, that kind of thing. I

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Speaker 1: played basketball, but I was not good. I had buddies,

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Speaker 1: but you know, for whatever reason, they were like, it's

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Speaker 1: a team sport. They let me play. And I was

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Speaker 1: actually really shy. I was. I was shy. I was

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Speaker 1: the kid that the more confident girls took care of.

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Speaker 1: Nobody would let people tease me. People are surprised about that,

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Speaker 1: but I'm borderline introvert, extrovert, but I was really shy.

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Speaker 1: And then, you know, like around twelve, I started, you know,

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Speaker 1: my mother put me into theater because I'm out. It

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Speaker 1: was like, helped that child put her into theater. And

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Speaker 1: you know, that's when I sort of came out of

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Speaker 1: my shell. But I was still okay with being the

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Speaker 1: weird kid.

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Speaker 2: Did it kind of click right away for you in

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Speaker 2: theater or did you start more in the background.

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Speaker 1: It clicked right away. I was like, this is my space.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it was amazing. It was honestly like a

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Speaker 1: light switch. It's funny you use the term did it click.

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Speaker 1: I felt like those were my people. And even now

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Speaker 1: I think when something doesn't click, I'm like, oh, I'm

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Speaker 1: just not supposed to be here, So that's that it's wrong.

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Speaker 2: You know.

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Speaker 1: That's a difference between not clicking or having to learn

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Speaker 1: something you don't know it, but you're still there, you know.

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Speaker 2: But anyway, No, I love that I did theater too,

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Speaker 2: so I really get it.

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Speaker 1: Theater's everything, can I tell you?

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Speaker 2: It's everything.

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Speaker 1: Everybody needs to do. Theater everybody needs to do, like

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Speaker 1: theater or speaking or improv It is the best training

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Speaker 1: for life.

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Speaker 2: My middle daughter loves theater and she's pretty shy at

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Speaker 2: school especially, she's super shy. And then she gets on

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Speaker 2: the stage and she comes alive. But she only likes

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Speaker 2: to be in the back. She likes to be in

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Speaker 2: the chorus. Oh okay, she doesn't want to name, she

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Speaker 2: doesn't want any lines. Well right now, right now, right now,

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Speaker 2: but she like acts her face off in that in

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Speaker 2: that ensemble.

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Speaker 1: See, I love it. I love that for her. And

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Speaker 1: then your first child, I mean, your your last child.

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Speaker 2: My little one is in the other play. She's too

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Speaker 2: young to be in the school play, so she's in

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Speaker 2: like the little baby play that'll be next week. But

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Speaker 2: she is a real she's a real ballbuster. She's like

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Speaker 2: a little ceuched five year old. See today in kindergarten

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Speaker 2: is pajama day and she's wearing a pants suit. That

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Speaker 2: is real. She has many many pantsuits. Oh my god,

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Speaker 2: I love this.

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Speaker 1: Also, you know what when when parents have three souls,

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Speaker 1: three humans, and you recognize their differences and you recognize

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Speaker 1: that they all have different paths, that they can't all

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Speaker 1: be parented the same. I find it's fascinating to hear

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Speaker 1: about these little so it's so amazing to me. I

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Speaker 1: feel that very deeply. I have to parent my three

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Speaker 1: kids very differently. They're just they're totally different people, they're

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Speaker 1: totally different souls. To your point, yeah, as I should be.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely. Carla's love of food started at a young age,

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Speaker 2: where Sunday suppers at her grandmother's house in Tennessee introduced

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Speaker 2: to her the impact of communal meals made with love.

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Speaker 2: And it sounds truly delicious. Okay, So what were Sunday

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Speaker 2: suppers like at your grandmother's house?

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Speaker 1: Oh, my gosh. So we would go to church and

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Speaker 1: my grandmother lived in Lebanon and we were in Nashville.

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Speaker 1: We would go to church and it would be about

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Speaker 1: a thirty to forty minute drive and every Sunday, and

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Speaker 1: I'm like, Mama, can we stop until Randon? We're on

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Speaker 1: our way. Granted would assume that we were coming at

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Speaker 1: a particular time, but if we called her when we

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Speaker 1: get there, the corn bread would be ready. Said no,

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Speaker 1: it's fine, no, but actually it's not. And so I

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Speaker 1: was born in nineteen sixty four, so I figured nineteen

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Speaker 1: seventy four, we're driving I forty or is it twenty four?

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Speaker 1: I can't remember now to Levett and Tennessee, and I

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Speaker 1: see these limousines with the wires going out and over,

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Speaker 1: and I'm like, that car has a phone. What would

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Speaker 1: our car look like if we had a phone, because

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Speaker 1: we would be calling Granny right now and saying we

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Speaker 1: are so many exits away. Like I was fascinated with,

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Speaker 1: like all of the hardware to show that you have

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Speaker 1: a phone so you could call Granny and tell you're

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Speaker 1: on your way. Because Granny would not make the corn

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Speaker 1: bread until we were on the inside of the door,

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Speaker 1: and I knew that it was twenty three minutes until

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Speaker 1: that corn bread was ready and then we could eat.

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Speaker 1: And I was already starving when we were at church,

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Speaker 1: but she would have so the corn bread was amazing.

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Speaker 1: Now it's like a skillet corn bread. The skillet would

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Speaker 1: be in the stove heating up when we got there.

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Speaker 1: She would put the oil in the pan and she

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Speaker 1: would then put the the cornmeal, the buttermilk and all

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Speaker 1: of that, and then watching that batter go into that

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Speaker 1: hot cast iron skillet and then rolling up the sides

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Speaker 1: because of the fat and the oil and those are

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Speaker 1: going to be the crunchy bits. And then she would

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Speaker 1: take this big mit and then just put it into

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Speaker 1: her oven, and I'm like, okay, we're going to be

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Speaker 1: eating in twenty three minutes. And when that corn bread

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Speaker 1: came out, I didn't slice it like in the middle.

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Speaker 1: I would get a wedge. I would turn it on

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Speaker 1: the webside and put my butter on the cut side.

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Speaker 1: So the butter is going into the corn bread. And

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Speaker 1: that first bite like that corner biite, the cake bite,

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Speaker 1: the wit make a wish point. That was my favorite

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Speaker 1: bite of the dinner. And with it, she would have

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Speaker 1: like smothered pork chops, so she had that they had

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Speaker 1: been cooking like since her breakfast and so they were

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Speaker 1: just falling apart. Or she would do a roast chicken.

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Speaker 1: She might do a pot rose. There were always pickles

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Speaker 1: in the fridge. There were always like cucumbers, white onions,

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Speaker 1: homegrown tomatoes if it was summertime. And I thought that

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Speaker 1: was the name of them, homegrown tomatoes. When I go

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Speaker 1: to the store, like wear the homegrown tomatoes. I literally

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Speaker 1: thought that was the name. And so we would have

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Speaker 1: macaroni and cheese. We would have like all these sides.

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Speaker 1: She would do at least three or four sides. We

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Speaker 1: never had rice. She would make rice for my grandfather

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Speaker 1: who was from South Carolina, but she never really made

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Speaker 1: rice for us. Once be passed and green beans or

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Speaker 1: greens like mixed greens. Oh, I loved her food. I

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Speaker 1: just loved her food. Sweet tea, sweet tea with a

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Speaker 1: little bit of lemon and almond extract. And I did

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Speaker 1: not know that it was almond extract until I did

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Speaker 1: Paula Deine show and she was making sweet tea and

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Speaker 1: I was like, you said, oh yeah, I'm making this

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Speaker 1: lemonade sweet tea, and then she put almond extract in it.

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Speaker 1: And that was the ingredient that no one knew that

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Speaker 1: my grandmother used to make her tea. So it was

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Speaker 1: just a loose until that moment. I cried. I cried

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Speaker 1: in politics, I was say, oh my god, oh my god.

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Speaker 2: And you tried it and you had this incredible sense

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Speaker 2: memory bringing you back instrog grandmother's house. H incredible. Carla's

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Speaker 2: career path didn't start with cooking, though, it started in accounting.

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Speaker 2: Let's talk about how you went to Howard University for accounting, yes,

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Speaker 2: and then graduated and became a CPA at Price Waterhouse.

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Speaker 2: What drew you to that path?

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Speaker 1: Initially, the only reason I went to Howard and majored

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Speaker 1: in accounting is because I was rejected. I felt rejected

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Speaker 1: from Boston University, and that's where I wanted to go

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Speaker 1: to major in theater. And then I liked my accounting

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Speaker 1: teacher in high school, so I was like, Okay, my

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Speaker 1: sister was going to Howard. I said, okay, well, I

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Speaker 1: guess if major in the county. I mean, I didn't

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Speaker 1: really put much thought into it. I think if i'd

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Speaker 1: put thought into it, I would have still gone to

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Speaker 1: Howard and majored in theater because they have a great

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Speaker 1: fine arts program. But I couldn't take another piece of rejection.

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Speaker 1: So then accounting here. Accounting here, I call it, and

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Speaker 1: I love studying it.

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Speaker 2: You know.

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Speaker 1: I got me through school in high school and in

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Speaker 1: college being competitive. Hm, the friend who is probably one

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Speaker 1: of the smartest people in the class, that would be

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Speaker 1: my friend. That person got me through school because I'm like, wait,

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Speaker 1: you got a what? Oh no, next time, it's mine.

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Speaker 1: That's how I got through school because I'm competitive.

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Speaker 2: I was going to say that accounting at a collegiate

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Speaker 2: level is serious business, Like it's more than just like, oh,

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Speaker 2: I'm gonna just show up a little bit like you

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Speaker 2: must have really something got you through.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I have. I mean that right brain, left brain.

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Speaker 1: I love structure. I love like spreadsheets. I mean, the

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Speaker 1: only thing left of my accounting stint is that I

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Speaker 1: love a spreadsheet, like I still love a spreadsheet. I

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Speaker 1: like the order of things. I loved. Accounting isn't necessarily math,

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Speaker 1: but it's problems. I loved word problem. I was that

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Speaker 1: sick person even in that. I loved word problems because

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Speaker 1: it just they end up nice and tidy. My brain

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Speaker 1: thinks like that. I mean, it was still it was hard.

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Speaker 1: Don't get me wrong.

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Speaker 2: I'm not trying to say I sailed through everything. It

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Speaker 2: was hard, but that didn't last long. The actual CPA

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Speaker 2: career at Price Waterhouse. You said that you were terrified

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Speaker 2: of being forty and hating your job. So now you

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Speaker 2: take us back to that moment when you realized accounting.

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Speaker 2: You're like, I gotta get out, like this is not it.

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Speaker 1: I don't tell you exactly the moment. I mean, here

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Speaker 1: I am. I worked in Tampa, Florida, and we were

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Speaker 1: in o'calla, Florida, doing an audit of a company manufacturing

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Speaker 1: company that was ibeam, and I'm out there in the sun,

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Speaker 1: like in the summer, and that I being, that sun

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Speaker 1: is hitting that I beam and I'm feeling nauseous. And

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Speaker 1: I look over and I see this accountant. And maybe

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Speaker 1: I made this up, but I swear I remember him

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Speaker 1: folding a piece of paper and spending too much time

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Speaker 1: lining up the corners. And I was like, oh my god,

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Speaker 1: they can't be me at forty. I mean, I two

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Speaker 1: weeks later, I attended my resignation. I was so afraid

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Speaker 1: of just being unhappy and in a dead end job

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Speaker 1: that I didn't enjoy, and mainly because my grandmother said

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Speaker 1: it is your job to be happy, not to be rich,

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Speaker 1: and so I'm like, this job may make me rich,

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Speaker 1: but it is definitely not going to make me happy.

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Speaker 1: And and so I just I just quit.

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Speaker 2: You just up and quit. I mean, was that scary

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Speaker 2: to walk away from such a stable career after just

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Speaker 2: two years.

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Speaker 1: No, It's funny. I was more afraid of being unhappy

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Speaker 1: than I was broke and happy. I don't, I mean

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Speaker 1: that's me now. I think just being or settling for

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Speaker 1: a life that does not feel like it's mine, it's

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Speaker 1: almost paralyzing to me to like get out, like, you know,

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Speaker 1: get out. I can't. I can't do it.

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Speaker 2: How did the people in your life react to this?

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Speaker 1: Oh? You know how?

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Speaker 2: They were like, why, I can't believe it.

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Speaker 1: You got this good job and it's so competitive and

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Speaker 1: everybody wants this job, and you're taking a cp ex

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Speaker 1: I mean, you're making so much money and you have

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Speaker 1: your own place, and wait, you're gonna quit and what

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Speaker 1: are you gonna do next? Like, my mother was so

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Speaker 1: worried about me. My mother would tell my friends and

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Speaker 1: they I was so upset with my friends talking to

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Speaker 1: my mother about how they were worried about me too.

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Speaker 1: But I'm like, whose side are you on? I had

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Speaker 1: this overwhelming sense of like I just knew it wasn't right,

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Speaker 1: and I am one to follow my gut. I didn't

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Speaker 1: know where I was going to go. I don't know

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Speaker 1: what I was going to do. But my mother one

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Speaker 1: thing that she did once she knew that I like,

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Speaker 1: I just I said, by the way, I quit that job.

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Speaker 1: And you know when I got the CPA, and then

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Speaker 1: I hadn't even passed the CPA exam yet I quit.

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Speaker 1: I continued to take the exam so that I could

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Speaker 1: give my mother that certificate to hang in her house.

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Speaker 1: I'm like, you paid for this, this is yours. I studied,

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Speaker 1: you paid for it. It's yours. But my mother called

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Speaker 1: around and I said, I think I'll just go to Paris.

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Speaker 1: I think I'll model. Just try that, because when I

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Speaker 1: was in Tampa, Florida, I was doing a little bit

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Speaker 1: of modeling. I did a little bit of modeling at

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Speaker 1: Howard University. So she called a bunch of people and

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Speaker 1: somebody gave her the name of a woman who was

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Speaker 1: from New Jersey. It was literally five people removed. She

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Speaker 1: didn't even know this person. I had one telephone number

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Speaker 1: when I went to France. That was my mother's contribution

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Speaker 1: to say, okay, I'm going to support you. Here's one

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Speaker 1: telephone number. You didn't go to France.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, she was supportive, but that's not her jam. My

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Speaker 1: mother's very She knew she wanted to be a nurse

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Speaker 1: when she was a kid. You know, she retired that.

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Speaker 1: You know, she didn't understand this creative not knowing what

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Speaker 1: you're going to do next thing. She understand it.

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Speaker 2: So Carla moved to Paris to be a model. When

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Speaker 2: we come back, Carla will tell us. How even though

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Speaker 2: she got to be more creative as a model than

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Speaker 2: she was as an accountant, she still knew there was

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Speaker 2: something else out there for her to pursue. Stay tuned,

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Speaker 2: and did modeling feel creative in the way that it

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Speaker 2: was filling that gap for you?

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Speaker 1: Modeling I knew going into it was a bridge. There

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Speaker 1: was a bridge between what I knew I didn't want

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Speaker 1: to do and what I eventually wanted to do, and

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Speaker 1: I didn't know what that was. Now. Modeling did allow

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Speaker 1: me to exercise a part of myself that was more

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Speaker 1: like an actor. So when you're on stage, you are

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Speaker 1: the runway as I did more runway I am performing,

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Speaker 1: and I had that in space. I mean I'd done

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Speaker 1: I'd gone the acting camp for years, so that was

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Speaker 1: sort of like the form of acting to me.

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Speaker 2: Did you find peers among the models? I imagine you

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Speaker 2: had a bit of a different educational background than Manute.

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Speaker 2: You know.

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Speaker 1: Interestingly enough, a lot of the models that I met

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Speaker 1: they had left school. I mean, they had gone to college,

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Speaker 1: some of them, I have fifty percent of them. But

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Speaker 1: I think I was different in that I didn't have

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Speaker 1: the desire to make I knew it wasn't the thing

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Speaker 1: that I was going to do, so I wasn't going

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Speaker 1: to die on this heel. You know, there are girls

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Speaker 1: who are very competitive. They were like, Yeah, this is

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Speaker 1: my job and I need this by any means necessary. Yeah, yeah, y'all,

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Speaker 1: this is a pass through for me. I'm literally like

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Speaker 1: at the airport going from the secured area to your baggage.

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Speaker 1: I'm just going through that clear door this. Yeah, this

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Speaker 1: is a pass through.

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Speaker 2: So did that mean that you think that you had

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Speaker 2: like different boundaries than they did, or like accepted different

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Speaker 2: things Like I've interviewed other models in the show who

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Speaker 2: have said the conditions were really tough, and the hours

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Speaker 2: were really tough, and the not eating was really tough,

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Speaker 2: Like did you have a different approach to it? You

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Speaker 2: kind of went along with that?

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Speaker 1: You know. I remember being told, and I was thin

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Speaker 1: all my life, being told that I needed to lose

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Speaker 1: and I didn't take that so seriously. I mean, obviously

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Speaker 1: I wanted to lose weight. Obviously I wanted to get

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Speaker 1: Obviously I wanted to get a job, and I wanted

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Speaker 1: to be have the physique to get a job. But

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Speaker 1: when I was in Paris, they kept telling me, oh,

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Speaker 1: you're just so your look is just not classic. So

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Speaker 1: eventually they told me that I should go to London

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Speaker 1: because that's where the sort of avant garde designers were.

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Speaker 1: My look was more at the time my book, I

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Speaker 1: had like a nineteen thirty style, very angular, not classic

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Speaker 1: at all, so different that they kept telling me I'm different.

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Speaker 1: I did pay attention to, like I didn't work out,

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Speaker 1: but like we did a lot of walking. Things that

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Speaker 1: I was eating. You know, I had one friend she

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Speaker 1: would eat two big vacs in a sitting and she

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Speaker 1: was the thinnest girl ever. That was never my jam.

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Speaker 1: But you know, I did think about food that I

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Speaker 1: would eat. But I think it did get really competitive

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Speaker 1: if I think with some models, you know, people taking

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Speaker 1: people's shoes, you know, a little sabotage that never happened

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Speaker 1: to me. I don't think I was a threat. In

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Speaker 1: addition to during runway, I also did showroom modeling, so

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Speaker 1: it's less competitive. I knew that I was never going

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Speaker 1: to be that big mainstream model. I saw them, but

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Speaker 1: I knew that was never going to be me.

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Speaker 2: It was a pass through, and there you came back

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Speaker 2: to Sunday dinners again. There were the Sunday suppers at

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Speaker 2: the other models apartments in Paris.

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Speaker 1: Yes, so this woman named Lane, she was from Memphis, Tennessee.

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Speaker 1: She would have this big Sunday supper, Sunday brunches. She

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Speaker 1: would invite the models over, and that was a time

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Speaker 1: to sort of come together, you know, mostly Americans. And

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Speaker 1: I was like, Wow, this feels like I know this,

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Speaker 1: I know this vibe. This feels like my grandmother's house.

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Speaker 1: Girls would be standing around, like my mother makes macaroni

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Speaker 1: and she's like this. When my mother makes it like this,

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Speaker 1: I'm like, oh my gosh, I have no idea. And

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Speaker 1: because I'm competitive, I'm like, oh, I can't not know.

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Speaker 1: So I started going to the American bookstore buying books,

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Speaker 1: you know, figuring things out. And then that's how I

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Speaker 1: started cooking. And then clicking became an act of gratitude

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Speaker 1: where I was making soups and really simple things for

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Speaker 1: the people who allowed me to sleep on their couches.

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Speaker 1: And at this point I've moved out of the pensione.

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Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, we kind of study with you, you know,

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Speaker 1: because I would only be there three months at a time,

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Speaker 1: and then I would come back home. I would go

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Speaker 1: back and so food really became and clicking became an

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Speaker 1: active gratitude.

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Speaker 2: So Carla returned to the US with a fresh perspective

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Speaker 2: and started a lunch delivery service after bringing leftover sandwiches

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Speaker 2: to a friend's office. I asked Carla about the origins

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Speaker 2: of what would become her first foray into her culinary career,

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Speaker 2: the lunch Bunch. So then you came back to the

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Speaker 2: US and you started lunch Bunch, a lunch delivery service,

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Speaker 2: by bringing leftover sandwiches to your friend's office. This, yes,

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Speaker 2: So how did you build a business? And did you say, Okay,

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Speaker 2: I've found my thing, Like the modeling chapter is closed,

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Speaker 2: and now I found what It was a bridge too.

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Speaker 1: So when I took her the leftovers, I thought I

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Speaker 1: was just sharing them, and she's like, oh, this is

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Speaker 1: my friend, Carla. She has a business. And they're like,

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Speaker 1: what's the name of your business? And I looked at

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Speaker 1: this lunch basket and I was like, the lunch basket.

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Speaker 1: And then I later I'll change it to the lunch Bunch.

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Speaker 1: But then a week so I was like, okay, this

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Speaker 1: seems viable that they don't have anything to eat. I mean,

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Speaker 1: if other people don't have anything to eat. So I

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Speaker 1: went door to door a hair salon's, doctor's offices, barbershops,

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Speaker 1: and I was the lunch lady. And the first week

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Speaker 1: I had eight clients the first Then the first two

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Speaker 1: weeks I had like fourteen and sixteen. And I just

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Speaker 1: kept doing it. And then I didn't even realize it

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Speaker 1: was my thing until somebody said, you work so hard.

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Speaker 1: And I knew it was hard work, but I would

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Speaker 1: just get up and want to do it. You know.

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Speaker 1: That's I mean. I just wanted to continue it. I

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Speaker 1: just wanted I just kept doing it. And I did

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Speaker 1: that for five years. I mean when I tell you,

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Speaker 1: I worked every day for five years. If I wasn't

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Speaker 1: preparing the food, I was delivering the food. I had

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Speaker 1: people working with me from like seniors, jobs for the homeless,

401
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:19,439
Speaker 1: I was. I was working all the time. I had

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Speaker 1: a two hundred dollars mail truck, no insurance. Yeah, you know,

403
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Speaker 1: it was working out of my sister's house. Like we

404
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,760
Speaker 1: had converted the garage to like a kitchen. So I

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Speaker 1: was living with my sister and my brother in law

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Speaker 1: when I came back. And then you went to culinary

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Speaker 1: school at thirty were you still running the lunch bunch.

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Speaker 1: When you did it, like, what made you say it's

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Speaker 1: time to go back to school. It was I was

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Speaker 1: delivering to this barber shop and one of the guys like,

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Speaker 1: you're such a hustler, and I think that's a compliment. Now,

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Speaker 1: at the time, I thought it was a huge insult,

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Speaker 1: and so I said, Okay, I've done this, I've gotten

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Speaker 1: the experience. At that point, I wanted to get the theory.

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Speaker 1: And so I was like, okay, let me go to

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Speaker 1: culinary school. Let me put something on this. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I wanted to be respected, you know, the same way

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Speaker 1: that I went for accounting. You know, I turned that

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Speaker 1: mentality and then into an actual business. So now I've

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Speaker 1: done this for five years, so now I'm like, this

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Speaker 1: is a thing. So now let me get the theory.

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Speaker 1: And that's why I decided to go to culinary school.

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Speaker 2: Why not stick with the lunch business and grow it

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Speaker 2: and turn that into like a big business where you're

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Speaker 2: no longer in the weeds.

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Speaker 1: Girl, I needed the paper, I mean seriously, I needed that.

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Speaker 1: You're also talking to someone whose mom was like, what

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Speaker 1: are you going to do? And I was in this

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Speaker 1: thing of Carlo, what are you going to do with

430
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:54,119
Speaker 1: your life? Everybody's asking me that, right. So by going

431
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:59,639
Speaker 1: to culinary school at the time, it legitimized this path

432
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,920
Speaker 1: that I was taking, And so I did not set

433
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:05,480
Speaker 1: out to be an entrepreneur. I know I had been one,

434
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,520
Speaker 1: that I did not set out to do that. So

435
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,640
Speaker 1: by going to culinary school, the thought was I would

436
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,679
Speaker 1: get out, I'd work at a restaurant or whatever, you know,

437
00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,040
Speaker 1: and I would see where I would go. That was

438
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,520
Speaker 1: the reasoning for that. I didn't I didn't think twice

439
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:20,440
Speaker 1: about sticking out that business.

440
00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,240
Speaker 2: Wow, okay, Nat, you just said something I thought was

441
00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,040
Speaker 2: really interesting. You said that, he said, girl, you're a hustler.

442
00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:28,680
Speaker 2: At the time, you took it negatively. Now you see

443
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,959
Speaker 2: it as positively. How do you think he meant it?

444
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:33,560
Speaker 2: How did you take it then? And how is your

445
00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:34,520
Speaker 2: perception changed now?

446
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,879
Speaker 1: So I thought he was like, yeah, you're just out here,

447
00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:41,120
Speaker 1: you know, coming to the barbershop somebody. You know what

448
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,120
Speaker 1: when you get at a hairsan, a barbershop, I don't

449
00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:46,520
Speaker 1: know if it's in the black neighborhood. People are coming in.

450
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,639
Speaker 1: They sell socks, they sell jewelry. The girl they're like, huh,

451
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,280
Speaker 1: here get a thing, and I thought he was talking

452
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,119
Speaker 1: about me in that way, like I am just like

453
00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:59,679
Speaker 1: another salesperson coming to the barbershop, which I found. I

454
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,960
Speaker 1: think somebody who had gone to college and now at

455
00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,440
Speaker 1: this point, you know, I've worked at an accounting firm

456
00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,800
Speaker 1: and pass the CPA, and is this my life? So

457
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,200
Speaker 1: I was I was probably being really hard on myself.

458
00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,399
Speaker 1: When I think about it now, I think about especially

459
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,160
Speaker 1: during the pandemic when people lost their jobs in eight

460
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,840
Speaker 1: I think about a hush or somebody who create a job,

461
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:24,160
Speaker 1: like what, You're not going to hire me, no worries.

462
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:26,119
Speaker 1: I'm going to create my own thing. And I have

463
00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:29,119
Speaker 1: created my own thing repeatedly. I've gone out to find

464
00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:33,280
Speaker 1: that job. So now I see it as a mindset,

465
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,920
Speaker 1: a skill set, something that makes me not afraid when

466
00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:39,080
Speaker 1: there is change.

467
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,840
Speaker 2: Well, this leads us to the next phase. Is that

468
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,760
Speaker 2: you started Alchemy Caterers in two thousand and one, so

469
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,720
Speaker 2: you actually came back to the cooking and the catering.

470
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:52,160
Speaker 2: You're like, all right, so what made you say I'm

471
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:53,720
Speaker 2: ready now as opposed to before.

472
00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:58,879
Speaker 1: So now I have worked in restaurants, I have worked

473
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:03,080
Speaker 1: with other caterers at this point, I felt like I

474
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,439
Speaker 1: have the skill set, I have the theory, I have

475
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,200
Speaker 1: tools that I didn't have before. And then I also

476
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,840
Speaker 1: had potential clients. I was doing a little bit of catering.

477
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,480
Speaker 1: There were clients that I had They're like, hey, can

478
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,920
Speaker 1: you cater this event? Can you? And that was happening

479
00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:23,159
Speaker 1: more and more and more. So by making that transition,

480
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 1: it really felt supported by people who were supporting me

481
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:33,480
Speaker 1: throughout my day to day and now I'm reconnecting with

482
00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:36,560
Speaker 1: them after going to culinary school, after working in a restaurant.

483
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,640
Speaker 1: Now I can go back to them like, hey, this

484
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,440
Speaker 1: is where I am. Now do you need catering? And

485
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:46,920
Speaker 1: I had people to help me, you know, set this up.

486
00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:50,480
Speaker 1: So that's how I ended up doing it everything which

487
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:56,520
Speaker 1: seems willing nilly, It's a calculated risk. I've already assessed

488
00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:02,639
Speaker 1: my risks. I've already assessed the situation, and there is

489
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:05,240
Speaker 1: some method to the madness, even though from the outside,

490
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,320
Speaker 1: even to my friends, it felt willy nilly.

491
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:10,879
Speaker 2: Can you talk us through what that risk analysis was? Like?

492
00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:13,240
Speaker 2: Who were the people around you to support you this

493
00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 2: time to make it successful?

494
00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:19,360
Speaker 1: So I had a really good friend who was as

495
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,120
Speaker 1: she was working as a caterer. She had a big

496
00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:24,119
Speaker 1: catering company, and I would sometimes go to her and

497
00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:29,040
Speaker 1: get staffing when I had jobs. So I had people

498
00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:33,480
Speaker 1: who also were other chefs who were working in the

499
00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,920
Speaker 1: restaurants that I could call on and say, hey, if

500
00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,800
Speaker 1: I need help, can you help? Right, So I had

501
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:44,159
Speaker 1: the foundation I had because I couldn't afford a regular staff,

502
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,040
Speaker 1: so I had people that I would call on that

503
00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:51,680
Speaker 1: would be transitional labor, so to speak. Then I had

504
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,040
Speaker 1: somebody an accountant, who helped set my business up. Now,

505
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,520
Speaker 1: mind you, yes I was an accountant, but the last

506
00:26:57,560 --> 00:26:59,520
Speaker 1: thing you want to do is to be your own accountant.

507
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:04,000
Speaker 1: I knew, yes, I already knew that I didn't want

508
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 1: that job. I didn't want it then, I don't want

509
00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:09,000
Speaker 1: it now at that point. Right. But the thing about

510
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,320
Speaker 1: me is I understand what an accountant needs. So when

511
00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:14,280
Speaker 1: you're telling me, I need all of these things, I

512
00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:16,600
Speaker 1: need these receipts, I need these things organized, I need

513
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,520
Speaker 1: the spreadsheet, Oh I got it. I got you. I

514
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,280
Speaker 1: know why you need it, and I can put it

515
00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:22,840
Speaker 1: together for you and deliver it to you in a package.

516
00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:25,800
Speaker 1: So when I look back all my life, I can

517
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,440
Speaker 1: see why I needed that little blip that seems sort

518
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:33,200
Speaker 1: of an outlier, but really it wasn't. But it took

519
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,000
Speaker 1: looking back that it wasn't an outlier.

520
00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,760
Speaker 2: I think that's often the case that it takes looking back.

521
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,320
Speaker 2: So to bring in the personal life into this. That

522
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,520
Speaker 2: you met your husband on match dot com at age

523
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:49,840
Speaker 2: forty two using the username scrabble girl. Yes, can you?

524
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,360
Speaker 2: Can you give us your meet cute with your husband?

525
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,440
Speaker 1: I'm such a nerd first of all. Okay, if I'm

526
00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:58,800
Speaker 1: going to do and you know, right now, I'm forty two,

527
00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,600
Speaker 1: I've already passed that stage of oh my gosh, am

528
00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:04,320
Speaker 1: I going to get married? I'm probably not going to

529
00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:07,040
Speaker 1: get married. You may as well just be who you are, right,

530
00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:09,440
Speaker 1: I mean at this point, I think when you when

531
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:13,119
Speaker 1: you passed that forty your your bucket starts. Your bucket

532
00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:16,199
Speaker 1: a fuck. It starts to develop, right, Yeah, it's not

533
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,679
Speaker 1: as big as it is now, but it starts to develop.

534
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,280
Speaker 1: You care a lot less about what people think. Also,

535
00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,919
Speaker 1: I remember thinking I want to be so much myself

536
00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,440
Speaker 1: that what is the name that's going to tell people.

537
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:31,840
Speaker 2: I'm a nerd?

538
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,480
Speaker 1: Blurred whatever? I love scrabble scrabble Girl. So I sat

539
00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:40,720
Speaker 1: down with a friend to write my profile. She was like, girl,

540
00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:42,959
Speaker 1: are you sure you want to do that name? And

541
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,760
Speaker 1: I'm like, I kind of do because I think it

542
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:50,200
Speaker 1: will weed out a bunch of people. And so I

543
00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:56,040
Speaker 1: went on and I talked about how communication was really important.

544
00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:59,280
Speaker 1: You know, I wanted somebody I could take to square

545
00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,520
Speaker 1: dancing a whole down and also black tie, somebody who

546
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:05,320
Speaker 1: could conjugate verbs, you know, all the things, all the

547
00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:08,760
Speaker 1: things that are important, especially that verb conjugation. Okay, come on.

548
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,600
Speaker 1: My friend was and I'm working in a restaurant at

549
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,520
Speaker 1: this point. I'm going back and forth, so I'm still catering,

550
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,920
Speaker 1: also working back. I went back and forth, restaurant and catering.

551
00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:23,520
Speaker 1: So she said, oh, I would have her check my

552
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:27,200
Speaker 1: match dot com and she was checking. She said, oh, girl,

553
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:31,680
Speaker 1: I think this is your husband. And the subject line

554
00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:35,800
Speaker 1: was Ken Lives run Parallel and dude had written a

555
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:40,160
Speaker 1: whole single space two pages, so that's a girl. Just

556
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:41,320
Speaker 1: read it to me. I don't have time to sit

557
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:46,000
Speaker 1: down to read it. So the verb conjugation excellent. So

558
00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:49,000
Speaker 1: all of these things. Also, I was getting people who

559
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,520
Speaker 1: were like, why did you put this picture on the

560
00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:53,200
Speaker 1: front with your hair all over your head when you

561
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,880
Speaker 1: have a much prettier picture, like a subsequent picture with

562
00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,360
Speaker 1: straight hair. You know, I'm like, that's exactly why that

563
00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:03,120
Speaker 1: pictures they are you out because why right? So my

564
00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:06,280
Speaker 1: whole thing was I didn't have a glamour picture. I

565
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,360
Speaker 1: had my glasses on, I had my hair thrown up

566
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,560
Speaker 1: on my head. As my profile picture, I'm scrabble girl.

567
00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:15,120
Speaker 1: I've already set it up. And so to weed out

568
00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:19,760
Speaker 1: the people who were just shallow and they just weren't

569
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:22,640
Speaker 1: the they weren't the ones, but Matthew. It turned out

570
00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:24,800
Speaker 1: that Matthew had changed his whole profile because he had

571
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:27,000
Speaker 1: been doing Match for a month. He changed it that

572
00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:30,680
Speaker 1: he did the George Costanza. They charged him. He was like, shoot,

573
00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,080
Speaker 1: I thought I had canceled it, but we don't give refunds,

574
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 1: so they were like okay. He was like, okay, let

575
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:36,960
Speaker 1: me just do I was doing five four. I'm gonna

576
00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:39,560
Speaker 1: do five ten taller. I was like, you know you've

577
00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,360
Speaker 1: been married now, you know you haven't been married before.

578
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,160
Speaker 1: He was like, okay, you have kids, Like okay, no kids,

579
00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:47,320
Speaker 1: And I popped up. I was the only person within

580
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:50,960
Speaker 1: a two hundred mile right. So yeah, and then that

581
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,680
Speaker 1: was our whole thing. And when we met the tail.

582
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:59,840
Speaker 1: For me, he held my hand, my fingertips across the

583
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:03,000
Speaker 1: and I didn't want to pull back. That was the

584
00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,680
Speaker 1: tell for me because I remember a guy had kissed

585
00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:07,840
Speaker 1: me once. I'm like, why are you trying to kiss me?

586
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,240
Speaker 1: You know, so I just you know, it's an energy thing.

587
00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:16,400
Speaker 2: After the break, we'll hear about how Carla's husband, Matthew,

588
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:20,480
Speaker 2: encouraged her to audition for Top Chef, setting the stage

589
00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:26,160
Speaker 2: for yet another pivot Carla's move into television be right back.

590
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,160
Speaker 2: And he encouraged you to audition for Top Chef.

591
00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:42,920
Speaker 1: He dude, he watched Top Chef. Had never even watched

592
00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,880
Speaker 1: Top Chef, so he encouraged me. No, I didn't watch it.

593
00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:49,320
Speaker 1: I was working, Carl, I was working. I was like,

594
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:51,640
Speaker 1: that was the last thing, honestly, I wanted to say

595
00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:52,240
Speaker 1: with somebody.

596
00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:52,880
Speaker 2: Killing more cooking.

597
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:56,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like, no, I don't want to do it. So, yeah,

598
00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:00,360
Speaker 1: he encouraged me, and I remember watching I started watching

599
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,920
Speaker 1: it season I want to say three, because I auditioned

600
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,760
Speaker 1: during season four. Yeah, and I had my catering company

601
00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:08,959
Speaker 1: and yeah that was wild.

602
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:11,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, what made you say yes? To it, like why

603
00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:12,640
Speaker 2: did you want to why did you want to go

604
00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:14,760
Speaker 2: through with that? Okay, between me and you and the

605
00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,400
Speaker 2: and the lamp post, I said yes to the experience

606
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,080
Speaker 2: of auditioning. I really didn't think they would choose me.

607
00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:23,440
Speaker 2: I was like, yeah, I'll do this, I'll audition.

608
00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is cool. When I was in my kitchen,

609
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:30,640
Speaker 1: my catering kitchen, and they called me and they were like,

610
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:32,760
Speaker 1: are you alone, I'm not to looked at everybody in

611
00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:34,720
Speaker 1: the kitchen. I went to a corner. I turned into

612
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:37,360
Speaker 1: the corner and I'm like, yes, You've been chosen for

613
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:41,040
Speaker 1: Top Steff. I'm like what. I was as shocked as anybody.

614
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,040
Speaker 1: I couldn't believe it. So I was like, oh, I

615
00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:44,840
Speaker 1: guess I have to do this. I didn't prep I

616
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:47,920
Speaker 1: didn't prepare. I didn't think about what this show is.

617
00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:48,600
Speaker 2: Going to do for me.

618
00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:53,600
Speaker 1: I had, I think, three days to get my stuff

619
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:57,880
Speaker 1: together because I'd been working and catering. And I even

620
00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,600
Speaker 1: told my team y'all, I have to go and work

621
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,760
Speaker 1: in the Bahamas. So I'm leaving my company, y'all.

622
00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:04,440
Speaker 2: Good luck.

623
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:08,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, because I I didn't even tell them, I didn't

624
00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 1: tell anybody. Wow. And I just left my business and yeah,

625
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:17,080
Speaker 1: and then it became I mean spiritually. The first time

626
00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:21,160
Speaker 1: I did it, I was like, I focused on being

627
00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:23,440
Speaker 1: And I know this probably sounds strange, like a lot

628
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:25,640
Speaker 1: of people will go through they'll start clicking stuff and

629
00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,040
Speaker 1: all of this and going through recipes and I did

630
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:30,239
Speaker 1: a little No, No, I didn't. I didn't do any

631
00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:32,960
Speaker 1: of that. I wanted to be spiritually strong enough, Like

632
00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:34,360
Speaker 1: that's what I focused on.

633
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:37,040
Speaker 2: Do you remember what your first day on set was like?

634
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:42,040
Speaker 1: So I remember all of us sitting there and they

635
00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:44,040
Speaker 1: were bringing us in. They were like, don't talk to

636
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:48,960
Speaker 1: anybody because they wanted everything, everything to be organic. And

637
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:53,600
Speaker 1: they brought us in and then we saw Tom and

638
00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:55,760
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh my gosh, all Tom. I thought it

639
00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,240
Speaker 1: was a meet and greet. I literally thought, oh Tom,

640
00:33:59,280 --> 00:33:59,480
Speaker 1: is it?

641
00:33:59,600 --> 00:33:59,719
Speaker 2: Oh?

642
00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:02,400
Speaker 1: And then was Paedma and they were like, okay, here

643
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,920
Speaker 1: comes your first challenge. I'm like, what, I had no idea.

644
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:09,520
Speaker 1: I had no idea that a show doesn't have the

645
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:11,840
Speaker 1: money to just do a meet and greet of a

646
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:16,520
Speaker 1: people they brought to do the show. And they were like, Okay,

647
00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:20,120
Speaker 1: we have to We're going to do these cutting. We

648
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:22,560
Speaker 1: did the Apple and all this stuff, and I was

649
00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:28,080
Speaker 1: so far removed from thinking of it as a competition,

650
00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:31,319
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, we're competing. So when you

651
00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:33,920
Speaker 1: see me cut this apple, I just went into like

652
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:36,880
Speaker 1: production mode. I was like yeah. And then when I finished,

653
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:40,239
Speaker 1: like and so the release of everybody's like I always like,

654
00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:44,400
Speaker 1: was so overjoyed and like the big win. It wasn't

655
00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:46,719
Speaker 1: that I wasn't gloating. It was like, oh my gosh,

656
00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:49,160
Speaker 1: I made it through. Yay. Because I love a game.

657
00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:49,640
Speaker 2: I got you.

658
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,120
Speaker 1: I'm competitive, so if I'm on the winning side, I'm

659
00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:56,879
Speaker 1: like yes. But that was my first time, my first day.

660
00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:58,560
Speaker 1: I remember it like it was yesterday.

661
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:00,799
Speaker 2: Did you make genuine connections there?

662
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:03,520
Speaker 1: Top Chef was like the Peace Corps. You know, when

663
00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:05,840
Speaker 1: you do something hard and you're working with people, you

664
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:10,080
Speaker 1: will have those relationships that those are the people who understand,

665
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,360
Speaker 1: unlike anybody else, what you went through and what that

666
00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:16,520
Speaker 1: experience is. Like Arian d'orte, which we were really close.

667
00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,360
Speaker 1: She was the next oldest person. She was called Cougar.

668
00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:21,960
Speaker 1: She works with me today, so she's on my team.

669
00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:27,279
Speaker 1: Stefan Richter, which was so crazy. I talked to him.

670
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,799
Speaker 1: I think throughout the seasons. You tend to talk to

671
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:32,600
Speaker 1: people people who just called, like, oh, they were on

672
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,239
Speaker 1: Top Chef, and you connect with them because you understand

673
00:35:35,719 --> 00:35:36,680
Speaker 1: what they went through.

674
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:42,640
Speaker 2: That totally makes sense. Carla quickly became a fan favorite

675
00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:47,600
Speaker 2: on Top Chef, beloved for her personality, poise and catch

676
00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:51,160
Speaker 2: phrase who do Who? In addition to her personal approach

677
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:51,960
Speaker 2: to cooking.

678
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:53,400
Speaker 1: Who do Who do?

679
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:54,800
Speaker 2: Who do Who?

680
00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:56,759
Speaker 1: Is something that my husband and I say when we

681
00:35:56,840 --> 00:35:59,360
Speaker 1: go out and we can't find each other. One of

682
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,640
Speaker 1: us were saying and the other one say, who Hi.

683
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:03,319
Speaker 2: Hi.

684
00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:04,799
Speaker 1: It's a two part call.

685
00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:09,080
Speaker 2: Even though she didn't win, her success on Top Chef

686
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:12,920
Speaker 2: opened up many doors for her. She eventually landed a

687
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,359
Speaker 2: spot as co host on ABC lifestyle series The Chew,

688
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,919
Speaker 2: where she was able to incorporate her love of performance

689
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,799
Speaker 2: with her love of cooking with Carla Hall.

690
00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:24,799
Speaker 1: She's co host of ABC's The Chew.

691
00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:28,560
Speaker 2: Well, we've got celebrity chef and TV host Carla Hall

692
00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:33,840
Speaker 2: joining you sort of like brought in your theatrical sense. Yes,

693
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,719
Speaker 2: maybe not on Top Chef, but certainly when you were

694
00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:39,560
Speaker 2: hosting The Chew. Like now you can decide. So, what

695
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:42,839
Speaker 2: was it like to merge your love of food and performance.

696
00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:46,880
Speaker 1: So interestingly enough, when I did, when I got the shoe,

697
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:52,200
Speaker 1: I think the producers didn't realize that it was different

698
00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:55,000
Speaker 1: from Top Chef. On Top Chef, you're just cooking in

699
00:36:55,040 --> 00:37:00,040
Speaker 1: their cameras capturing you. On a talk show where you

700
00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:03,960
Speaker 1: you have timed segments, you have to host, you have

701
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:07,440
Speaker 1: to interact with others, you have to do your recipe,

702
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:11,600
Speaker 1: you have to teach. It is a ten ring circus.

703
00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:14,239
Speaker 1: I did not know how to do that. I did

704
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:19,400
Speaker 1: not understand it. It was probably one of the steepest

705
00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:22,719
Speaker 1: learning curves of my career. For the first three years,

706
00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:25,319
Speaker 1: I thought I was going to get fired, and I

707
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:30,959
Speaker 1: felt like I wasn't prepped. We even had a lead

708
00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:33,239
Speaker 1: up to the two and they were running you know

709
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:36,279
Speaker 1: scenarios where we would be sitting there with topics, it

710
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:40,200
Speaker 1: be talking, but there was no media trainer for me

711
00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:44,640
Speaker 1: or Daphne. The people, like the guys, they had already

712
00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:49,000
Speaker 1: done media training on either with Clinton on his network

713
00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,680
Speaker 1: or you know, food network, but we didn't have that,

714
00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,040
Speaker 1: and so I didn't get a media trainer. I don't

715
00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:59,840
Speaker 1: think it's so season two and that's when somebody said, oh,

716
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:03,280
Speaker 1: maybe they would benefit from this really it was really

717
00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:05,080
Speaker 1: steep learning curve. I mean it was a little I

718
00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:07,480
Speaker 1: have a little I use I'm okay now, but up

719
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:09,719
Speaker 1: until like two years ago, so I had PTSD about it.

720
00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:13,279
Speaker 2: But how did you end up on the show in

721
00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:15,640
Speaker 2: the first place if you hadn't, it feels like you

722
00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:18,320
Speaker 2: were really surprised by the experience.

723
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:23,279
Speaker 1: Yes, I was so a new shows like The View.

724
00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:26,840
Speaker 1: They needed five people in food they were They just

725
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,560
Speaker 1: threw through everything at the at the kitchen, in the

726
00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:32,840
Speaker 1: kitchen seek, you know, they brought in everybody. I was

727
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:40,680
Speaker 1: on like a massive call whatever audition. Marcus Samuelson was there,

728
00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:42,680
Speaker 1: there were a bunch of other people. We were just

729
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:44,360
Speaker 1: sitting around a table and there was one of the

730
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:48,440
Speaker 1: execs throwing out things to talk about and I was

731
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:50,480
Speaker 1: not chosen. So that was the first round. I was

732
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:55,000
Speaker 1: not chosen. And then they did a year of all

733
00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:57,880
Speaker 1: these five other people, and daphne Os was one of

734
00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:00,799
Speaker 1: those five people. She was the only one from their

735
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,799
Speaker 1: original group. And that's when they were doing all of

736
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:07,839
Speaker 1: these pilots and stuff. Once I did Top Chef again,

737
00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:12,120
Speaker 1: I one fan favorite. I think that's why they brought

738
00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:14,920
Speaker 1: me back in. So at this point they're taking off

739
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:17,720
Speaker 1: a beloved show to all my children. Now they're having

740
00:39:17,719 --> 00:39:19,960
Speaker 1: to bring people on that people know, that people are

741
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:24,960
Speaker 1: invested in. And I think I was considered somebody because

742
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,920
Speaker 1: I won fan favorite to be on this show. So

743
00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:30,880
Speaker 1: I came back and we did a chemistry test. My

744
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:34,319
Speaker 1: chemistry test was twenty minutes. I think three days later

745
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:35,520
Speaker 1: they named us as the cast.

746
00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:36,760
Speaker 2: Oh so fast.

747
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:41,719
Speaker 1: It was really fast. And I remember my attorney trying

748
00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:43,520
Speaker 1: to work out this deal and they were really trying

749
00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:45,600
Speaker 1: to push it through because I think they were trying

750
00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:48,360
Speaker 1: to push it through because there was a very small

751
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:53,600
Speaker 1: window that one of the cast members had to sign

752
00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:56,880
Speaker 1: before his other deal with another network was done.

753
00:39:57,120 --> 00:39:57,640
Speaker 2: Oh my god.

754
00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:01,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, So they were just trying to through and so

755
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:05,000
Speaker 1: my deal was not as favorable to me because they

756
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,879
Speaker 1: would focus on somebody else's deal. Let's just say that.

757
00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:11,719
Speaker 1: But the experience was good in the end, in the area,

758
00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:14,759
Speaker 1: in the very end, in the very end, it was good.

759
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,120
Speaker 2: Right as of two years ago. This good?

760
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:21,360
Speaker 1: No, I mean I loved it. I really I really

761
00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:24,479
Speaker 1: loved it. I feel like years five, six, and seven

762
00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:26,520
Speaker 1: were really great. You know, I felt like I had

763
00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:28,640
Speaker 1: a handle on it. I felt like and then I

764
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:31,799
Speaker 1: was doing more things outside of the studio. Right, That's

765
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:34,480
Speaker 1: why I had more packages, because I just needed to

766
00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:38,200
Speaker 1: find my footing. So again that there is an issue

767
00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:41,560
Speaker 1: where I'm like really uncomfortable. Now, I'm like, okay, where

768
00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:43,680
Speaker 1: can I go to be comfortable? They were like, hey,

769
00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:46,839
Speaker 1: who wants to do a filming segment? And blah blah

770
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:48,880
Speaker 1: blah blah. I do. I just I just kept raising

771
00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:51,520
Speaker 1: my hand. So I did more than anybody. And that's

772
00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:54,239
Speaker 1: where I held That's that's where I gained my confidence.

773
00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:59,320
Speaker 2: While she was hosting on the Chew, Carla also opened

774
00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:05,480
Speaker 2: a restaurant, but things didn't exactly go as planned. And

775
00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:07,920
Speaker 2: so line up the timing for us with your restaurant,

776
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:09,840
Speaker 2: Carla Hall's Southern Kitchen in Brooklyn.

777
00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:14,360
Speaker 1: So we started talking about that restaurant. I think in

778
00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:17,560
Speaker 1: twenty fifteen. My partner was asking me about that restaurant

779
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:19,000
Speaker 1: for three years. I'm like, child, did not I tell

780
00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:21,120
Speaker 1: you I didnt want a restaurant? So finally he talked

781
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:24,320
Speaker 1: me into it. I said okay, And it opened in

782
00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:27,480
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen and it closed in twenty seventeen.

783
00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:30,840
Speaker 2: So you already alluded to this earlier in the conversation,

784
00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:33,600
Speaker 2: But you considered this one of the great traumas of

785
00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:34,600
Speaker 2: your life.

786
00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:38,960
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, And it's interesting because I look at trauma

787
00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:43,239
Speaker 1: sometimes as a crash course in life, saying this is

788
00:41:43,239 --> 00:41:49,160
Speaker 1: what you have to learn. So I did the restaurant.

789
00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:51,360
Speaker 1: We had to close it after a year, and it

790
00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:53,440
Speaker 1: had nothing to do with the food. The food was amazing.

791
00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,879
Speaker 1: It was the location, you know. And then I ended

792
00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:59,520
Speaker 1: up holding it for another five years because I didn't

793
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:03,400
Speaker 1: want to file bankruptcy and I held it solely just

794
00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:07,120
Speaker 1: to pay off loans, pay off everything. And during that

795
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:10,719
Speaker 1: time I was trying to reopen it, but it had

796
00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:14,319
Speaker 1: been closed by the city. But those five years, I

797
00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:16,759
Speaker 1: said yes to so many different things in order to

798
00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:19,480
Speaker 1: pay for this restaurant that that was the blessing, I mean,

799
00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:22,719
Speaker 1: and that's what I had to see in hindsight. So

800
00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:27,560
Speaker 1: I would say yes to so many various things, hosting shows,

801
00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:34,560
Speaker 1: being the auctioneer, working with brands, TV spots, and I

802
00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:38,440
Speaker 1: could not afford to be singlely focused on food TV,

803
00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:41,439
Speaker 1: so I had a variety of things that I did

804
00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:42,680
Speaker 1: and it was a blessing.

805
00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:46,319
Speaker 2: What were some of the wildest or craziest things that

806
00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:48,439
Speaker 2: you did during that time, so.

807
00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:53,560
Speaker 1: I wanted to host, and I felt like hosting big

808
00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:58,840
Speaker 1: fundraisers I could shine because personality, you know, you're working

809
00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:01,600
Speaker 1: with the audience. I taught myself how to be an

810
00:43:01,600 --> 00:43:04,399
Speaker 1: auctioneer in a funny way, not in a professional way.

811
00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:07,359
Speaker 1: So at first I was saying, I will do this

812
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:11,720
Speaker 1: for free. Then I then I slowly increased my rates.

813
00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:14,279
Speaker 1: But I would get up there and I was like,

814
00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:16,080
Speaker 1: we're going to do the auction, and they would they

815
00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:18,680
Speaker 1: would have an auction, they would have an auctioneer, and

816
00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:21,560
Speaker 1: I was like, can I please just do one item.

817
00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:25,000
Speaker 1: I will donate my time, I'll do a dinner. Let

818
00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:28,720
Speaker 1: me auction off my one item. And that's how it started.

819
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:30,400
Speaker 1: And I would get up there, I'm like, however, we

820
00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:32,200
Speaker 1: got a hundred right here, we got a hundred, get

821
00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:34,120
Speaker 1: one here, kind of get one, fit on, kind of

822
00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:38,759
Speaker 1: get one two hundred. And I started doing that, and

823
00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:42,520
Speaker 1: I know that's not how an auction is supposed to go,

824
00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:47,080
Speaker 1: but for me, it was the caenence and the and

825
00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:50,160
Speaker 1: it became a thing, and it became something that people

826
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:55,560
Speaker 1: were seeking me out to do this, and so the

827
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:59,319
Speaker 1: fees grew. I did a lot of speaking engagements, I

828
00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:03,640
Speaker 1: talked a lot about my restaurant failing. It was just

829
00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:06,640
Speaker 1: it was just super fun. I did a lot of voiceovers.

830
00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:10,600
Speaker 1: I was on BoJack Horseman. I just said yes to

831
00:44:10,719 --> 00:44:13,480
Speaker 1: a lot of different things. I did stuff with the Muppets.

832
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:19,000
Speaker 2: All of these experiences have culminated in Carla's next venture,

833
00:44:19,560 --> 00:44:24,200
Speaker 2: moving from the screen to the stage. You've said that

834
00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:26,719
Speaker 2: you want to be the black Carol Vernett when you

835
00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:30,160
Speaker 2: were young, and now at sixty, you're launching a one

836
00:44:30,200 --> 00:44:34,520
Speaker 2: woman show called Please Underestimate Me. Now. I love the

837
00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:37,040
Speaker 2: way this came to be. You said it in a

838
00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:38,640
Speaker 2: news article. It's like you manifested it.

839
00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:43,480
Speaker 1: I sure did. I manifested it. I said it in

840
00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:47,799
Speaker 1: the New York Times article prior to that. I am

841
00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:51,920
Speaker 1: a big believer that manifestation is doing the work. So

842
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:55,120
Speaker 1: I'd break down the thing. I'm like, Okay, I told

843
00:44:55,160 --> 00:45:00,440
Speaker 1: my agent voiceovers more cameo roles. I got an acting coach.

844
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,920
Speaker 1: I was acting as if. I kept asking people, how

845
00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:05,160
Speaker 1: do I do a one mom show? How do I

846
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:06,320
Speaker 1: do it? How do I do it? I found a

847
00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:08,480
Speaker 1: writer and then I said, you know what, I'm going

848
00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:11,800
Speaker 1: to mention it in this article The Times. Kim Severson

849
00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:12,560
Speaker 1: did that article.

850
00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:14,480
Speaker 2: What was the article about?

851
00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:17,840
Speaker 1: It was about my life. Kim Severson was the writer

852
00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:20,879
Speaker 1: and she came to DC. It's so funny because Kim

853
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:22,840
Speaker 1: talks about how I didn't cook. I didn't cook for

854
00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:25,680
Speaker 1: her when she came here. I was like, tell, I'm busy.

855
00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:27,480
Speaker 1: I mean, let me get some stuff that I just

856
00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:32,920
Speaker 1: got from the Whole Foods. But I mentioned that that

857
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,280
Speaker 1: I wanted to do a play. All in the theater

858
00:45:35,719 --> 00:45:39,680
Speaker 1: saw that article reached out and said, hey, we have

859
00:45:40,400 --> 00:45:44,080
Speaker 1: we do workshops for new works. Are you interested? And

860
00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:48,120
Speaker 1: in the meantime, I've been working with these two writers,

861
00:45:48,640 --> 00:45:53,200
Speaker 1: Laurie k and Les Thomas, and so we've been working

862
00:45:53,239 --> 00:45:57,120
Speaker 1: on this since February of twenty twenty three, and we

863
00:45:57,120 --> 00:46:00,360
Speaker 1: were just doing vignettes and we were writing up something

864
00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:05,319
Speaker 1: for the Oh my God, the Apollo. This person told

865
00:46:05,360 --> 00:46:07,080
Speaker 1: us to write up something for the Apollo. They never

866
00:46:07,120 --> 00:46:09,879
Speaker 1: even asked for it. They ghosted us afterwards. But as

867
00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:13,400
Speaker 1: soon as only came to us, we had it written already.

868
00:46:13,560 --> 00:46:15,560
Speaker 1: So I'm like, that was the reason I needed, that

869
00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:18,839
Speaker 1: we needed that thing. And so only we did this one.

870
00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:21,959
Speaker 1: We did a week workshop. It was two years ago

871
00:46:22,480 --> 00:46:23,960
Speaker 1: and at the end of it, they were like, we

872
00:46:24,120 --> 00:46:27,399
Speaker 1: loved it, people responded to it. Would you consider being

873
00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:30,520
Speaker 1: a part of our twenty twenty five to twenty six season. Yes,

874
00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:33,719
Speaker 1: And then the rest is sort of history. And I

875
00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:36,520
Speaker 1: keep saying even this year, I'm like, oh, yeah, next year,

876
00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:38,200
Speaker 1: I'm doing this one moment show. They're like, oh, in

877
00:46:38,239 --> 00:46:40,160
Speaker 1: twenty twenty seven. I'm like, no, in twenty twenty six,

878
00:46:40,239 --> 00:46:43,440
Speaker 1: I'm like, shoot, we're in twenty twenty six. So yeah,

879
00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:46,839
Speaker 1: I'm excited. It's about my life. It's called Carla Hall,

880
00:46:46,960 --> 00:46:50,359
Speaker 1: Please Underrestimate Me, which I think says a lot about

881
00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:52,759
Speaker 1: my life. You know, there's a path. I'm like, yeah,

882
00:46:52,800 --> 00:46:54,600
Speaker 1: I can do that. I can absolutely do that. I

883
00:46:54,640 --> 00:46:56,759
Speaker 1: can figure that out. I want to try that. But

884
00:46:56,800 --> 00:46:59,360
Speaker 1: I talk a lot about, you know, my love of theater,

885
00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:03,440
Speaker 1: being shy, my time at the two, and what I

886
00:47:03,480 --> 00:47:07,319
Speaker 1: think it will make this show special. There is audience participation,

887
00:47:08,239 --> 00:47:11,239
Speaker 1: there is a little bit of improv. It's scripted, but

888
00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:14,840
Speaker 1: there are other interesting facets to this show.

889
00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:17,440
Speaker 2: What does it feel like to be winding up at

890
00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:20,440
Speaker 2: sixty instead of winding down? Girl? Come on?

891
00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:24,000
Speaker 1: First of all, again, have I mentioned how competitive I am?

892
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:26,839
Speaker 1: My great grandmother was one hundred and three.

893
00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:29,440
Speaker 2: Oh, so we're not We're not even We're barely at

894
00:47:29,440 --> 00:47:30,600
Speaker 2: midlife dude.

895
00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:38,600
Speaker 1: Okay. So I decided that I want to be if

896
00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:42,000
Speaker 1: I'm in of sound mind and body, that I want

897
00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:44,359
Speaker 1: to be here until one hundred and four. I live

898
00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:47,160
Speaker 1: my life with that intention. When people like, what do

899
00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:51,480
Speaker 1: you do, I live like, I need to be here

900
00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:53,400
Speaker 1: forty something more years.

901
00:47:53,440 --> 00:47:53,680
Speaker 2: Great.

902
00:47:55,160 --> 00:47:58,920
Speaker 1: Do you think you'll pivot again? Of course I will. Yes,

903
00:47:59,520 --> 00:48:02,640
Speaker 1: I'm all already working on something. I mean, so, I

904
00:48:02,680 --> 00:48:06,960
Speaker 1: have this a self coaching program called the Meme Menu.

905
00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:10,000
Speaker 1: So we're doing that and that is online. It's with AI,

906
00:48:10,120 --> 00:48:14,120
Speaker 1: it's with my partner, Dev Brayson Regal. We're working on that.

907
00:48:14,120 --> 00:48:18,600
Speaker 1: That launched. I also do art, so I really would

908
00:48:18,600 --> 00:48:22,160
Speaker 1: love to have a show. I do paper quilting. I

909
00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:24,880
Speaker 1: would love to have a show there. I would also

910
00:48:25,080 --> 00:48:27,520
Speaker 1: love to be a game show host. I've already planned

911
00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:30,839
Speaker 1: it out. I've planned my stuff. I put it out there.

912
00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:35,120
Speaker 1: We'll see when it comes. But I'm constantly challenging myself.

913
00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:37,879
Speaker 1: And if people say, oh, we put you in food,

914
00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:41,719
Speaker 1: and I said, that's okay, I don't I've already moved

915
00:48:41,719 --> 00:48:44,040
Speaker 1: on to the next thing. Yeah, you know exactly.

916
00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:46,960
Speaker 2: What is something that It could be something we've talked about,

917
00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:49,319
Speaker 2: or it could be something different. What is something that

918
00:48:49,600 --> 00:48:52,160
Speaker 2: at the time you saw as a negative or a

919
00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:55,120
Speaker 2: low point, and now in hindsight you see it as

920
00:48:55,120 --> 00:48:56,839
Speaker 2: having really launched you to the success you are.

921
00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:03,160
Speaker 1: I think losing when people say losing Top Chef and

922
00:49:03,239 --> 00:49:05,440
Speaker 1: doing it again, I never thought I was doing it.

923
00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:08,240
Speaker 1: I did not want to do it again. I think

924
00:49:09,160 --> 00:49:15,600
Speaker 1: they're learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable and then

925
00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:21,120
Speaker 1: doing that show with intention, you know, it was everything.

926
00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:23,239
Speaker 1: If people ask me if I want to compete now,

927
00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:27,920
Speaker 1: absolutely not. I do not. But betting on myself and

928
00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:32,080
Speaker 1: doing it again was I think the right thing to do.

929
00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:35,960
Speaker 2: I love that. Well. Thank you so much, Carla, thank

930
00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:38,160
Speaker 2: you for coming on. It's been so I love all

931
00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:41,359
Speaker 2: of your acts. You are in every category. I can't

932
00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:44,680
Speaker 2: wait to see the next act, literally the show or

933
00:49:44,760 --> 00:49:45,960
Speaker 2: the next act.

934
00:49:46,080 --> 00:49:49,640
Speaker 1: Carl oscar I have an any I would not have

935
00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:51,120
Speaker 1: an Oscar for something.

936
00:49:51,360 --> 00:49:55,400
Speaker 2: Let's manifest it. I love it. Thank you, thank you

937
00:49:55,480 --> 00:49:58,879
Speaker 2: so much, Thank you for coming on. What I love

938
00:49:58,920 --> 00:50:02,000
Speaker 2: about Carla's story is that every new chapter builds on

939
00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:08,480
Speaker 2: the last, accounting modeling, culinary school, television performance. Every pivot

940
00:50:08,680 --> 00:50:12,720
Speaker 2: helped her build a life rooted in love, flavor, connection,

941
00:50:12,880 --> 00:50:16,520
Speaker 2: and joy. Today, Carla is based in Washington, d C,

942
00:50:17,080 --> 00:50:19,880
Speaker 2: where she lives with her husband, Matthew, and beginning on

943
00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:22,440
Speaker 2: June third, you can see her take the stage at

944
00:50:22,480 --> 00:50:25,000
Speaker 2: the Only Theater in Maryland and her one woman show

945
00:50:25,440 --> 00:50:29,760
Speaker 2: Please Underestimate Me, a title that feels very on brand

946
00:50:30,120 --> 00:50:33,440
Speaker 2: for a woman who has spent her life exceeding expectations.

947
00:50:34,160 --> 00:50:37,680
Speaker 2: Carla also recently announced that she is pivoting back into

948
00:50:37,760 --> 00:50:41,520
Speaker 2: the restaurant business. Soon She'll be opening a southern restaurant

949
00:50:41,520 --> 00:50:45,279
Speaker 2: called Bumble Birds in partnership with DC's Sunnyside Restaurant Group

950
00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:49,640
Speaker 2: in DC's Capitol Hill neighborhood, and I'm sure it'll be delicious.

951
00:50:50,480 --> 00:50:53,200
Speaker 2: You can keep up with Carla at Carla p Hall.

952
00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:58,440
Speaker 2: That's it for today, see us soon. Thanks for listening

953
00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:01,480
Speaker 2: to She Pivots. If you like this episode, follow the

954
00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:04,120
Speaker 2: show so you never miss a pivot story and share

955
00:51:04,160 --> 00:51:05,920
Speaker 2: it with one woman in your life who might need

956
00:51:05,960 --> 00:51:08,680
Speaker 2: to hear it. To learn more about our guests and

957
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:12,200
Speaker 2: join our community, follow us on Instagram at she Pivots.

958
00:51:12,239 --> 00:51:16,120
Speaker 2: The podcast our subscribe to our substack for exclusive content

959
00:51:16,160 --> 00:51:19,279
Speaker 2: and behind the scenes conversations. You can also find us

960
00:51:19,280 --> 00:51:24,520
Speaker 2: at shepivotspod dot com. This episode was produced and edited

961
00:51:24,560 --> 00:51:27,960
Speaker 2: by Paige Davis Janatt, with sound editing and mixing by

962
00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:31,920
Speaker 2: Nina Pollock. Logistics and planning by Amostopic and Kendall Crupkin.

963
00:51:32,320 --> 00:51:35,799
Speaker 2: Research by Christine Dickison. She Pivots is proud to be

964
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:40,799
Speaker 2: a part of the iHeart podcast network. I endorse she Pivots.