Submitted by Saint Martin’s Univeristy
Saint Martin’s University has announced that the 2019 Saint Martin’s Gala will feature celebrity chef host Carla Hall, best known as the co-host of ABC’s Emmy-award-winning lifestyle series “The Chew.”
The Saint Martin’s Gala, which will be on Saturday, Nov. 2, in the Marcus Pavilion on Saint Martin’s main campus in Lacey, is the University’s major fundraising event for student scholarships. Last year’s Gala raised $1.3 million for scholarships. Over the years, the black-tie affair has grown to be the premier culinary event in the South Sound region, featuring a live auction, a five-course gourmet dinner and on-stage cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs. Previous featured chefs have included Roy Yamaguchi, Ming Tsai, Andrew Zimmern and Ligia Karazawa, Lidia Bastianich and Michael Symon.
Saint Martin’s University President Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D., said, “We are overjoyed to welcome celebrity chef, author, television personality and restaurateur Carla Hall as the host of Gala 2019. Her winning personality, passion for food and commitment to working with charities and nonprofits makes her a perfect host for the Saint Martin’s University Gala.”
Besides her time as a co-host of “The Chew,” Hall is well known as a competitor on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Top Chef: All Stars,” where she won over audiences with her philosophy to always cook with love. Her approach to cooking blends her classic French training and Southern upbringing for a twist on traditional favorites. Hall’s cookbooks include the recently published “Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration,” which has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, “Carla’s Comfort Food: Favorite Dishes from Around the World” and “Cooking with Love: Comfort Food That Hugs You.”
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Hall received a degree in accounting from Howard University, but traveling through Europe awakened her passion for food and inspired a new career path. She attended L’Academie de Cuisine in Maryland where she completed her culinary training and worked as a sous chef at the Henley Park Hotel in Washington, DC. She also served as executive chef at both The State Plaza Hotel and The Washington Club, and has taught classes at CulinAerie, Sur la Table and her alma mater, L’Academie de Cuisine. Hall serves as a board member for the Pajama Program and GenYouth. She also works with Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen Chef Network, DC Central Kitchen, the USO, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Feeding America, Women Chefs and Restaurateurs (WCR) and serves on the advisory boards for the Edible Academy for the New York Botanical Gardens and for the Food and Finance High School in New York City. She is a member of the James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Leadership Advisory Committee and is the culinary ambassador for Sweet Home Cafe at the Smithsonian National Museum for African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Hall lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Matthew Lyons.
The corporate-level sponsors for 2019 Saint Martin’s Gala include: Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters, Bon Appétit Management Company, Capitol City Press, KCTS9, Showcase Magazine and WSECU.
Individuals or organizations interested in sponsoring Saint Martin’s Gala can contact Dana Pethia, director for fundraising events and corporate sponsors, at dpethia@stmartin.edu.
Saint Martin’s University is an independent, four-year, coeducational university located on a wooded campus of more than 300 acres in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 13 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 26 majors and ten graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education, nursing and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes more than 1,300 undergraduate students and 250 graduate students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its Lacey campus, and more students to its extended campus located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Visit the Saint Martin’s University website at www.stmartin.edu.
