In Soul Food Cookbook, Chef Carla Hall Celebrates Black Culinary Heritage

Carla Hall grew up eating soul food since before she could speak.

Her latest book, Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, brings to life the cuisine of her childhood, and explores her winding, but rewarding, journey back to her heritage and Southern roots.

You may know Hall as an Emmy-winning co-host off ABC’s The Chew or her two turns on Bravo’s Top Chef, where she delighted audiences with her “cooking with love” philosophy and her quirky catch phrase: “hootie hoo!” (a two-part call she and her husband use to find each other in public).

The ebullient, offbeat, off-the-cuff songwriter and Rockette-dancing chef was born and raised in Nashville. She has written her third cookbook, hosted the James Beard …