Carla Hall

The Climb

Technique and range were built early in Carla Hall’s training, with Howard University and L'Academie de Cuisine giving structure to the work that followed. Each step added another layer of kitchen fluency, from timing and repetition to the pressures that shape judgment under service. Executive authority arrived in 1999, when Carla Hall became executive chef at Garden Cafe in the State Plaza Hotel. That role meant more than a title; it placed her in the position of setting pace, holding standards, and carrying a kitchen through service. She later served as executive chef at Washington Club, extending a career built through kitchen rank rather than a single leap. Television widened the audience, but the work on Top Chef: New York (from 2008) and Top Chef: All-Stars still depended on the same baseline as any kitchen: speed, composure, and taste under pressure. As contestant and cast member, Carla Hall translated that kitchen discipline into a format where technique had to read clearly, quickly, and without explanation. The Chew in ABC (2011–2018) shifted her into a longer-form public role as co-host, where food talk had to hold attention without losing precision. That run established a different kind of fluency: presenting food in a way that stayed conversational while still grounded in practice. Judging and hosting have since become a major part of her work. Carla Hall became judge and host at Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship (from 2020), judge at Crazy Delicious in Channel 4 (from 2020), host at Worst Cooks in America in Food Network (from 2021), headliner judge at National Gingerbread House Competition (from 2022), and judge at Next Level Baker (from 2025). Each format asks for a distinct register—assessment, pacing, encouragement, and control—without changing the core requirement: knowing what the craft looks like when it is done well. Alchemy Caterers / Alchemy by Carla Hall (since 2001) keeps that work tied to hospitality rather than only broadcast. Through founder of Alchemy Caterers / Alchemy by Carla Hall, Carla Hall remains connected to the practical side of service while continuing to appear as judge of Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship (since 2020), current participant in Snack Chat segments of Sesame Street (since 2020), and host and judge of Best Baker in America (since 2021). The range of those roles reflects endurance in a crowded field: kitchen training, media work, and event-driven judging all held together by a single, readable style.

Today

Carla Hall is an American chef and television personality whose career spans kitchen training, executive leadership, entrepreneurship, and food television. She co-hosted The Chew and Chewed Up, and she judges on Food Network. Across those platforms, her work reads as direct and legible: clear technique, steady energy, and a manner that keeps the conversation on the food.

In Their Words “When one door closes, a window opens.” “The food made me think of home.”

Recognition

Carla's honors include Fan Favorite.