by Michael J. Lamp

Hearts wept across America when Carla Hall was eliminated from Top Chef: All-Stars this week. Carla caught up with RealityWanted and other reporters to talk favorite challenges, European inspiration and losing focus when it mattered most. 

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: I'm devastated to be speaking with you. I've been a Hootie fan from way back. I'm curious to know what was different, from your perspective, about the All-Stars experience.
A. Carla: Thank you. I think I knew what to expect a little more, even though it was much harder. I knew how the game was played. You're not necessarily freaked out by the cameras. You know the judges, although I have to say that the judges continue to not be people to me. They're judges.

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: Favorite challenge this season?
A. Carla: The fishing episode. That was so much fun. That was really amazing. I left the challenge saying I was gonna go fishing. I liked the Jimmy Fallon challenge, too.

Q. How much did the kitchen fire throw you guys for a loop?
A. Carla: Oh! The funny thing is Antonia is standing there talking about how dangerous it is and she's not moving away from it. We're so focused on our food and so used to things being thrown at us, we don't even react when it's really dangerous for us. I think the crushing part was when Tom said you had to start over.

Q. How did you feel leaving around the same time in the competition as you did during your first season?
A. Carla: Oh, I'm okay. Honestly, I would've preferred to have left at Ellis Island. I knew my dish was good [there]. It was about the judges preferring another dish. [In the Bahamas], the Quickfire was a mess, the Elimination was a mess. I won't defend either of those dishes. It was bad.

Q.  What dishes from Western Europe inspired you to get into cooking?
A. Carla: When I was living in Paris, we were doing brunch every Sunday. The models were talking about their experiences in the kitchen and I was only interested in the end product - to eat the food. When I was trying cookbooks out, chicken potpie was the first thing I made that people liked. I didn't have a lot of money to eat out, but it was little things [like] pizza in Italy. I just got interested in food in a way I hadn't been before.

Q. Discover anything interesting about your family's genealogy that we didn't see aired?
A. Carla: On Ellis Island, I found out a lot about the history of my great grandparents. I think I said that they were business people. I do remember when they were talking about the Price family; the one thing they didn't show was when I said, "Oh those were the people that bought us!" My great grandmother was the last slave to be freed. It is just [one of those things]. It's how we got here, like I said on the show. You don't have to stay there.

Q.  What's going on with you now?
A. Carla: I am working on a line of petite and savory cookies. Right now, I'm working on products and [creating a] brand identity. We are also doing cooking classes in Silver Spring. We do them twice a month. I'll put more up on my site. We have a good time.

Q. Favorite places to eat in DC?
A. Carla: I had falafel at the place on 8th Street. Oh my goodness! Yummy; so good. I've been thinking of them ever since. I love 8407. The reason I'm so excited about the falafel place [is because] I like small places where [you] can go and it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.

Q. Can you talk about the ups and downs this season? You won a lot and then toward the end you seemed to falter a bit.
A. Carla: I was definitely feeling the fatigue and just lost focus. I think that was the problem going into the final rounds. It's really hard to have a break, transition your business and then go back into the game. Sometimes, I'd rather just keep going. I just didn't come back with the right focus. That being said, it obviously worked beautifully for Isabella.

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

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