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![carla hall wearing light pink shirt against tan wall carla hall wearing light pink shirt against tan wall](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/benefits-discounts/members-only-access/info-2023/carla-hall-10-quick-questions/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/container_image/articlecontentfragment/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.png/content/dam/aarp/members-only/member-benefits/2023/03/1140-qq-carla-hall-promo.png)
Chef Carla Hall, 58, has demonstrated her kitchen skills competing on Bravo’s Top Chef, cohosting ABC’s The Chew and as a culinary contributor on Good Morning America. Now, she wants to outfit every kitchen with her new cookware line, Sweet Heritage by Carla Hall, available on QVC and QVC.com.
Did you always enjoy cooking?
I did not cook when I was a kid. Both grandmothers were really big cooks. I love to eat. … The first time I made something — apple crumble and spaghetti — was for a Girl Scout badge. I was more interested in the badge than the dish.
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Then where did your journey to become a chef begin?
It wasn’t one path. I didn’t say I wanted to be a chef. I just remember being interested in cooking when I was in Paris. I was 24. I was away from home and I was at a Sunday brunch, and everyone’s talking about … the foods that they had at home. … The Sunday brunch was very much like my grandmother’s Sunday suppers. I realized I had no idea how to make the food that I was having every week. So I started going to the American bookstore and buying cookbooks and just started playing. And those recipes, those dishes, became acts of gratitude for the people who were allowing me to couch surf.
What was your inspiration for Sweet Heritage by Carla Hall?
The inspiration was both of my grandmothers. I wanted something that felt sort of vintage-y but also modern — something that was colorful and happy and brings joy in the kitchen. I also wanted something that was sturdy. I got into it in the beginning to really focus on things that were missing, and also on how I would work things. I have big hands, so I have a sheet pan with wide handles so that if I go in with a kitchen towel or a pot holder, it's not going to go into the pan. Also, the name “Sweet Heritage” — I really wanted something that said I'm not only telling you something about myself in terms of my aesthetic, but I’m telling you a little bit about my culture. And so the okra flowers [emblem]. The emblem is very intentional.
When it comes to food, do you have any guilty pleasures?
Do I have guilty pleasures? Oh, girl, yes. Let me count the ways. I don't drink. I don't smoke. But sugar, when I'm on these baking shows, everyone takes one little bite. I’m like, OK, third bite, last bite, this is it, really. I’m also known for saying, “Can you pack this up for me?” [And] ice cream. I just love Jeni’s ice cream, wildberry lavender.
![on left is a mixer and two cutting boards with tomato, spinach, onions and oil on them; on right is a sheet pan w/silicone liner on left is a mixer and two cutting boards with tomato, spinach, onions and oil on them; on right is a sheet pan w/silicone liner](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/benefits-discounts/members-only-access/info-2023/carla-hall-10-quick-questions/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par9/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/members-only/member-benefits/2023/03/1140-qq-carla-hall-secondary.jpg)
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