Gabriel Weber
Staff Writer
Carla Hall got a full eight hours of uninterrupted sleep Tuesday night, and it may or may not have had something to do with Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Hall and Kwame Alexander traded stories of who had stayed in their rooms before them at the Hagen-Wensley Guest House; guest logs showed that Hall got the space Ginsburg stayed in, while Alexander slept in the same bed as Yo-Yo Ma — and reportedly heard music all night long.
For the Chautauqua Lecture Series’ Week Seven theme “Kwame Alexander and Friends: The Power of One” at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday in the Amphitheater, Hall and Alexander ignited the audience’s hunger as they discussed their origin stories, the role of connection in food, and authenticity.
An esteemed chef, Hall is known for her appearances as a competitor, judge and host on several popular cooking shows, as well as for her work in professional restaurants around Washington D.C. Also a published cookbook author with a second children’s book set to come out this October, Hall believes in cooking with love.
Alexander recalled the first time he and Hall had met at a dinner party in the Washington D.C. area. Fast-forward 10 years later, Alexander had been laid off and was selling copies of his book Acoustic Rooster and his Barnyard Band at a farmer’s market to pay rent; when Hall stopped to browse, she ended up buying two copies.
Giving a big cheers, Hall appreciated the collection of new memories, as her menopause — which she is working to normalize speaking openly about — leads her to re-remember moments in her life, like perusing a farmer’s market with her sister.
For their conversation, Alexander had written down 13 questions, composed with friends, and had Hall pick the slips of paper from a basket — while offering the opportunity for Hall to punt a question his way if she would rather have him answer. Sipping on their La-Z-Boy Specials, a drink Alexander discovered while shopping for a recliner and later modified for dinner parties, Alexander outlined how the conversation would be focused on discovery rather than a definitive orientation.
Hall is no stranger to figuring out things as she goes — especially recipes. The link between food and storytelling is an invisible but not insignificant one.
“I didn’t really start cooking until I was, like, in my mid-20s. At that time, the food was really bad, but I continued cooking,” Hall said. “I had to remember the food that I loved eating with my grandmother, and I recreated it through my senses. What was I smelling, what was I hearing, what was I tasting?”
Her grandmother, called Granny, played an instrumental role in the woman Hall has become.
“She was the one who told me, it is your job to be happy, not to be rich, which is how I live my life today,” Hall said. “She was my mentor. She was a teacher. She taught me about numbers and money, like, counting the money after church, the tithes and everything. I was that little girl. She was everything.”
Alexander remembers spending Sundays at his own granny’s house with about 45 other people, typically neighbors and family, where she would cook seven pans of rolls and the lucky ones got to partake. As a treat, Alexander cooked her recipe for Hall to critique and had his cousin Sean bring them out onto the Amp stage, warm and all.
“They’re good,” Hall said. “I want a little more salt.”
When Hall was a competitor on “Top Chef,” there were humbling moments that allowed room for learning.
“That experience taught me to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. I remember I was at the bottom. I thought I was going home; I was super nervous and was waiting for them to call my name, and I remember just feeling that nervousness. My breathing was very shallow, and I was thinking, wait, nobody has ever died here,” Hall said. “The other thing is, when you’re on the top, you get feedback from the judges. When you’re on the bottom, you get feedback. When you’re in the middle, you don’t get anything. When you’re just floating, you don’t really get anything, and I would rather be on the bottom and get feedback so that I can learn. I love feedback and talking to someone because I know on the other side of that conversation, I’m going to grow. My mantra is say yes — adventure grows. I’m hungry to grow.”
That kind of evolution has the potential to cause a butterfly effect, Hall said, as she feels like everyone possesses the potential to make the world a better place.
“When people come up to me to take pictures or say hey, I stop, and I talk to them. … You’ve gotten to know me on television, and in this moment, I get to know you. You’re the reason I have a job. I mean, truly. I feel that so deeply,” Hall said. “When I am doing recipes, when I am doing social media, when I’m doing a cookbook, I think about community first and how this book is going to be used. I think about where you’re going to get your ingredients, and how much time it is going to take, how many dishes are you going to have to wash, where do you live. I want everything to be approachable.”
As she just finished two weeks of photographing for her new book, visiting Chautauqua worked out perfectly for Hall, thanks to Alexander and a mutual friend.
Addressing Alexander, she said, “You sent me a message, and you mentioned our common friend. She sends me pictures, and this place looks really good. I didn’t know about Chautauqua. She says it looks really peaceful and amazing. I’m, like, I’m in. You don’t have to twist my arm.”
Hall aims to show up as her truly authentic self on stage and in life. Owning her power means recognizing that her reaction to something can influence others’ reactions.
“Have you ever been to a restaurant or have a waiter who seems to be in a bad mood? I’ve been in those situations,” Hall said. “They don’t want to be there, and I will say, all right, let me send them love. I’m going to send them really great energy and not react to the things that I would want to react to because they’re in a bad mood. Then you just pile on, and then I’m in a bad mood, and I leave, and I give it to somebody else — it is like a cancer. You’re just moving it. The next time you’re in a restaurant, see how they change. They will change.”
However lofty some may believe it is for food to carry an emotional and connective element, the proof lies in the pudding.
“I think that food really does bring us together,” Hall said. “Recently I was in Appalachia, and I was having this meal; I was around people I normally wouldn’t be around, and they were looking at me, like, ‘Are you sure you’re in the right place?’ I’m, like, ‘Yes, I am.’ We had a conversation, and it was amazing. You can’t take that away from people.”
To close, Alexander played a recording of Nikki Giovanni, accompanied by a jazz band, reading her poem “Still Life With Apron.” He asked Hall to create a dish inspired by “Still Life With Apron” for him to cook for a dinner party this weekend.
Hall envisioned strolling through a fish market with various spices in the air and chose fish, with a marinade of olive oil and garlic and a sauce of mayo, garlic and saffron. There would be white rice with turmeric and mussels, shrimp and scallops on the side. Throwing in some nicely grilled baguette with garlic and tomato, accompanied by a feta, watermelon and mint salad topped with a light vinaigrette, the meal will be paired with Sauvignon Blanc — which was recommended by Hall’s husband, Matthew, as she doesn’t drink.
If folks in the audience weren’t hungry at the beginning of the lecture, they likely were by the end.
