About Carla Hall
Carla Hall first won over audiences when she competed on Bravo's “Top Chef” and “Top Chef: All Stars” and shared her philosophy to always cook with love. She believes food connects us all, and she strives to communicate this through her work, her cooking, and in her daily interactions with others. Carla spent 7 years co-hosting ABC’s Emmy award winning, popular lifestyle series “The Chew”, and is currently featured on the Food Network in shows such as “Thanksgiving, Holiday and Halloween Baking Championships” (judge), and “Worst Cooks in America”.
Her latest cookbook, Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, was published in 2018, landing on annual “Best Cookbook” lists across the country and receiving an NAACP Image Awards nomination. In 2024, Carla is being honored by Les Dames d’Escoffier as Grande Dame, a lifetime achievement award and honorary title is given to members in recognition of extraordinary contributions within the fields of food, beverage and hospitality.
Hall published her debut picture book, Carla and the Christmas Cornbread, in November 2021, with Denene Millner Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. Illustrated by Cherise Harris, Carla and the Christmas Cornbread is a heartwarming tale loosely based on Hall’s childhood growing up in Nashville, TN, that celebrates family traditions, old and new, and also includes a child-friendly Christmas cornbread recipe perfect for the holidays.
She is active in many charitable endeavors and focuses her board member-level participation in organizations where she can make an impact advocating for children such as with 4H, Pajama Program, GenYouth, and Helen Keller International. In addition, Carla volunteers time to promote other non profit organizations such as: The James Beard Foundation, FEED America, Jacques Pepin Foundation, The Smithsonian Institutes and their membership of museums, and many others.
About the Mendelsohn Family / Sunnyside Restaurant Group
The Sunnyside Restaurant Group (SRG) is a family-run team of seasoned restaurateurs, financial gurus, professional chefs and public relations experts who have been in the hospitality industry for five generations, locally and nationally as well as internationally. Harvey, Cathy, Micheline, and Chef Spike Mendelsohn each bring their own expertise to every aspect of the business which has resulted in the creation and success of five restaurant concepts in the US and the world, and a company whose culture is deeply rooted in family and community.
In 1916, Nicholas Sklavounakis and Peter Polatos, the patriarchs on both sides of our family, arrived on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in Montreal from their beloved Greek Island of Kefalonia. Nick took the first job he could find in a restaurant working as a night watchman who also happened to make ice cream as he protected the premises. Through his hard work and dedication, he opened his first restaurant with the help of friends. Peter, coincidentally, also worked in a candy and ice cream shop which he ultimately bought from the family he worked for.
Nick and Peter, unbeknownst to them at the time, started a restaurant family tradition that continues with this generation.
From the lush vegetable gardens, sun-kissed fruits, and lemon groves of their Greek homeland, Nicholas and Peter created menus from their memories and passed down that passion to them. It’s a heritage that they embrace in everything they do and allows them to build concepts and restaurants from a place of true authenticity.