Chef carla hall revisits soul food in her new cookbook

AND WHERE DID THE GLASSES COME FROM? I didn’t always wear my glasses; I wore contacts for a while. On _Top Chef_, I said, “I’m not going to wear contacts any more — it’s easier to just grab

my glasses,” and glasses just became my thing. They’re my face art. I started becoming more deliberate in choosing them, and now I have 50 pairs, not including the ones I can’t use because

the prescriptions are out of date. I choose them based on what I’m wearing, and I travel with at least six pairs at any given time. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR LATEST COOKBOOK, _CARLA HALL’S

SOUL FOOD: EVERYDAY AND CELEBRATION_. This is my most personal cookbook I’ve done. I have grown so much as a chef, sort of found what I’m passionate about. [This book is me,] telling my

ancestral story through food. It takes readers on a tour through the South, seeing the South through a fresh set of eyes, looking at soul food as my ancestors’ legacy. [When planning it, I

asked myself,] “If my grandmothers came over from Africa, how would they be eating?” The soul foods people know — fried chicken, smothered pork chops, mac and cheese — those are celebration

foods. People didn’t eat like that every day. One dish that I think grounded this book was the okra and tomato stew. It’s a big soul food dish, traditionally cooked for a long time. I made

it very light, using aromatics like onions and garlic, bay leaf, and I roasted the okra rounds. At the last minute, I put the okra into the soup, permeating that light broth. If this is the

first soul food you’ve made, and it’s a Monday meal and you need something light and fast, this is it. And you need to know how to make collard greens. My collard greens would be good for

every day; they’re made with smoked paprika instead of pork. YOU’RE INVOLVED WITH THE AARP FOUNDATION’S SUMMER OF SERVICE TO SENIORSSM, A SERIES OF NATIONWIDE EVENTS INTENDED TO SHINE A

SPOTLIGHT ON FOOD INSECURITY AND SENIOR POVERTY, AND SHOW HOW VOLUNTEER SERVICE CAN MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE. YOU’VE HELPED PACK MORE THAN ONE MILLION LUNCHES FOR HUNGRY SENIORS, FOOD PANTRIES

AND MORE! WHY DOES THIS CAUSE SPEAK TO YOU? Not only are these fun volunteer events that bring families together for something very serious, they bring awareness to the issue of seniors and

food security. As my mother has been aging and I’m getting older myself, you start to see age in a very different way. I see my mother, how little she starts to eat, even at 78. It becomes

very personal. As I got involved with the AARP Foundation and began understanding the statistics and how many seniors are faced with food insecurity … sometimes it can mean the difference

between choosing food or medicine. But also, being a chef, it is my business and my passion to feed people. To know that so many people aren’t being fed is a travesty. HOW ELSE CAN PEOPLE

HELP CONTRIBUTE TOWARD THE CAUSE OF ENDING SENIOR HUNGER? Donate to your local pantry. Check in on your seniors, make sure they’re not isolated, [that they’re] getting groceries and food.

When you go out with your good girlfriends — I like to eat with at least four people, because I’m an over-orderer — use [a credit card that donates a portion back to help seniors in need].

IN ADDITION TO HELPING PACK MORE THAN A MILLION LUNCHES, YOU’VE TRAVELED TO MOZAMBIQUE WITH THE NONPROFIT CARE TO LEARN ABOUT AND RAISE AWARENESS OF THE NEEDS FOR SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL HUNGER

AND MALNUTRITION. WHEN YOU SIGNED UP FOR _TOP CHEF_, DID YOU EVER THINK YOU’D ONE DAY BE ABLE TO EFFECT THIS KIND OF CHANGE? Absolutely not. I am flabbergasted when I look back on the last

10 years. I wouldn’t have done it! I would have been afraid of the success of this, and I would have said, “No, I’m not the one. Pick somebody else.” But I take having this platform, the

responsibility of it, very seriously.