Carla Hall: From Top Chef to Center Stage

If you’ve ever watched Top Chef, you may know Carla Hall and her signature catchphrase, Hootie Hoo! But Carla didn’t start her career in kitchens. Before she became a beloved TV personality and celebrated chef, Carla was a CPA at Price Waterhouse who quickly realized her destiny was not in spreadsheets. What followed was a series of bold, joy-fueled pivots: modeling in Paris, launching a lunch delivery service out of her kitchen, competing on Top Chef, co-hosting ABC's The Chew, and now taking the stage in her own one-woman show. In this episode, Carla opens up about the courage it took to keep betting on herself at every turn—from enrolling in culinary school at 30 to building a platform for women over 50—and what she's learned about cooking, performing, and living with love at the center of it all.

 

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome Back to She Pivots

01:53 Little Carla

05:15 Sunday Suppers at Grandma's

09:11 Beginning with Accounting

14:44 Moving to Paris for Modeling

19:34 The Birth of Lunch Bunch

21:36 Culinary School and Alchemy Caterers

27:41 Finding Love

31:36 Top Chef Audition and Experience

36:23 Food meets Performance on The Chew

41:10 Restaurant Venture and Saying Yes

44:23 Please Underestimate Me: Manifesting A Dream

47:15 Embracing Life's Transitions and Future Plans

48:48 Closing Questions

49:58 Closing Thoughts and Upcoming Projects

Carla’s instagram: @carlaphall 

Carla’s website: carlahall.com

thememenu.com

--

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

--

NEW YORK PIVOTERS: Come see us do a live podcast recording with Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez at the Museum of the City of New York next week on April 15th! Tickets on sale now. PS– She Pivot listeners can use the code MCNY10 for a discount.

--

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.