Carla Hall was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, where she attended Hillsboro High School. She initially pursued a career as a Certified Public Accountant before switching to modelling, appearing on the runways in Paris, Milan, and London. Hall later returned to the U.S., where she launched a lunch delivery service called The Lunch Bunch. She then trained at L’Academie de Cuisine before founding her catering company, Alchemy by Carla, in 2001.

Hall gained national recognition as a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef Season 5, where she finished as the runner-up. She returned for Top Chef: All-Stars (2011) and won the Fan Favorite title. That same year, she joined ABC’s The Chew as co-host, a role she held for the show’s full seven-season run through 2018. 

In addition to The Chew, she has hosted Chasing Flavors with Carla Hall on Max and co-hosted season 21 of Worst Cooks in America. She has also appeared as a judge on Fox’s Next Level Baker and Food Network’s Halloween Baking Championship. In January 2025, she launched Sweet Heritage Magazine, a digital publication for which she serves as editor-in-chief.