Top Chef Carla Hall - up close & personal video

Carla Hall & Ariane Duarte © Dara Bunjon 

Before Top Chef, there was the premiere of the Food Network's Food Fight series at the French Embassy and that is where I first met Carla Hall. She had been a Washington, DC competitor and I, a Baltimore competitor. She was teamed with Chef Janis McLean and they won their competition. For the Baltimore competition, I was teamed with Chef Nona Nielsen-Parker, unfortunately we didn’t quite have the same results. 

 

Carla and I met once again at Red Dog Café at cookbook author dinner I planned with Chef Janis McLean promoting Susan Spungen’s cookbook. Carla and I had chatted a bit that evening. Most currently, beyond our Facebook friendship, I went into the prep kitchen at the Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor to chat with Carla. 

 

We played a bit of catch-up before I turned the video camera on and let her be “just Carla”, the one the national viewing audience came to adore on Top Chef, season 5. By the way, Carla let me know she will be participating at the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs conference in Washington DC the beginning of November.

 

I also chatted up cheftestant from Season 5 Top Chef, Ariane Duarte who was prepping for a children’s  and adult cooking demo with Carla.  She is absolutely gorgeous, TV didn’t do her justice. She reminded me of Monica Geller (Courtney Cox) character from Friends and wasn't she a chef?

 

Enjoy Carla being Carla in this video.

 

A couple comments about my videography acumen or should I say disclaimers:

 

1.  Carla is tall, I am short and I was boxed in a corner of the tent – please keep that in mind when viewing.

2.  I was leaning on a box of cabbage while filming and it gave way – you will see what looks like an earthquake but I quickly recovered.  

 

Now for the featured presentation: