One of the many things that fans of Tamron Hall’s self-titled daytime talk show love is how unpredictable it is. In a single episode, they can be a part of an intimate conversation with rapper/actor Eve, see a fashion show with up-and-coming designers and hear from country music legend Dolly Parton. The diverse segments are at least part of the reason Tamron Hall has earned two Daytime Emmys.
Hall, a decorated journalist who’s worked with NBC News, MSNBC and the Today show over her esteemed career, keeps you on your toes during interviews, too. With Forbes Travel Guide’s recent Zoom chat, for instance, she logs on from her vehicle parked in front of a New York City shoe store. The always-fashionable Hall isn’t searching for a new pair of pumps, though; her five-year-old son Moses’ school had just called to say that he played the soles off his sneakers, and he desperately needed a new pair.
Between emergency shopping runs and hit show tapings, Hall also spends a lot of time at the stove. In the just-released A Confident Cook, the Texas native and her longtime friend Lish Steiling break down kitchen fundamentals so well that anyone can feel empowered to try their recipes. We’re not sure if she’ll be replicating any of the dishes when she takes the stage at the first Food & Wine Classic in Charleston (September 27 to 29), but if whatever she does is half as flavorful as the following conversation is on food and family, the crowd will be in for a treat.
What’s been the most enjoyable part of your career journey?
Never expecting [TV success], but always feeling it was possible. I’m here in the middle of New York City — I’ve just left my talk show, and we did two shows today. To go to college, study broadcast journalism and look at [African American newscasting pioneer] Iola Johnson way back when I was 12 years old and wonder if I could be a journalist, some part of me had to believe that it was possible, even though on paper it didn’t seem to be. For you to try, there’s some part of you that believes that it’s possible.
For me, I think that’s been the magnificent part of this journey, knowing that at some point my family planted a little seed of belief. And here, I get to live it and flourish in it.
When you look at today’s landscape of daytime talk shows, what are a few things that separate your show from the rest?
I think we are a show of many weapons. We can do a whole show dedicated to cooking and then, just today, I taped a show on the art of the apology. And then, we’d have [rapper/actor] Method Man on the show for our up-and-coming fashion design series, and then we’d go to Vegas and hang out with [country superstar] Miranda Lambert. I think that we are one of the few shows where you can see [comedian] Druski and [soap opera legend] Susan Lucci on the same show.
I think, with my journalism background, we’re also able to dig into news events. One of my favorite series that we have is “Behind the Headlines.” And this isn’t just funny things that happen on social media. [We discuss topics like] the Armie Hammer documentary, for example. We’re able to lean in on my news [background]. We’re able to lean in on my investigative crime [past]. I’m a cookbook author. I’m a crime author. It’s not a talk show; it’s a live show. There’s no aspect of your life that we don’t touch.
What sparked the urge to write a cookbook?
When I moved to New York in 2008, my father passed away. My dad had this incredible love of cooking. He’d gone to the military when he was 16 or 17. I never got to the heart of why he loved cooking so much. But every meal — breakfast, lunch, dinner, you name it — [my dad would make it]. My dad could barbecue. My dad could bake. Some people say, “If you can cook, you can’t bake.” My dad mastered both. He loved having huge meals. And he also liked a good chicken salad sandwich. He loved making those meals for us.
After he passed away, we knew we would miss everything. My dad was like this giant of a character, just a great human. And the first holiday without my dad, it wasn’t, “Oh, gosh, we miss putting up the Christmas tree” or “Oh, we miss the décor.” It was the meals. So, I set out on this journey to learn to cook as a way to say, “I love you,” to my dad.
He got sick right after Thanksgiving, his favorite holiday. He passed away right after New Year’s. Thanksgiving was impacted. Christmas was impacted. All of these holidays that he loved so much. But we were able to get on the phone right around Thanksgiving as he was taking ill.
I couldn’t come home to Texas that holiday because I was working. He said, “Okay, let me walk you through the pie.” So, he walked me through his sweet potato pie. That was such a big deal. It didn’t taste great. I didn’t know what I was doing. It was so sad. But I said, “You know what? I’m going to figure this out.” I may not be able to make something exactly as he would, but I can find the love and joy that he experienced from feeding his family and from just getting in the kitchen.
And this love is translating into appearances at food festivals like the Food & Wine Classic in Charleston.
I was lucky enough to go to a few of the Food & Wine festivals in Aspen and hang out with Justin [Chapple, Food & Wine’s culinary director-at-large]. Full disclosure: I was just his sidekick. I remember he taught me how to crack an egg. Those festivals are beautiful and they’re amazing. But again, it’s the joy of being around other people who have found food to be a connecting tissue. It is a common thread, right? If you want to know about me, know my journey, learn my food.
We had a show with [actor] Yvonne Orji and we did jollof rice [tastings]. There’s like 500 different kinds of jollof rice. Through one dish, you learn about the world.
I grew up in Texas and we have Tex-Mex. I was just joking the other day about Taco Tuesday, but there’s a whole different flair to northern Mexican food [compared to other regions]. For me, going to food festivals always reminds me that you really are walking around with people that you don’t know and then suddenly someone says, “That’s good. Did you try that? Have you been here?” These are people who, if you ran into them on the subway or while walking, you may never say anything to them. But food brings us together.
Have you been to Charleston before?
As a reporter, I’ve been there many times. But it’s all just been down and dirty work, covering an election or one of the stories that I did for Deadline: Crime. So, this will be a different side of Charleston for me. I’m excited about it. It’s one of those iconic food places culturally for this country. Sure, we know the importance of Charleston and the complexity of it. But we also know that food has always been a common thread, whether it’s through race or socioeconomics. [Food is] an important component for the world but, for Charleston, in this very specific way.
How much traveling as a family are you able to do these days?
We travel. I’m lucky, my kid so far has been to six countries. He says frequently he wants to move to Spain. We’ve been to Spain once. Because I’m a late-to-the-party mom, as I like to say for having my kid so late, I don’t like leaving him behind. It’s not always convenient. I’ll be out in L.A. at a food fest, and that’s just a quick turnaround [so he’ll stay home].
Charleston, for me, will be a quick trip because I’m in the process of [taping] the show. But I love allowing him to see the world through my eyes, through who I am. And that doesn’t mean who I am as a talk show host or anything; it’s just who I am as a person and the curiosity that I hope I lead with. But we have a great time traveling with him. People ask me for advice all the time about flying with him.
What do you tell them?
I have two snacks for every hour and two toys for every hour. That keeps it moving. If it’s a four-hour flight, plan two highly desired snacks. Don’t go giving them some healthy snack. This is when you have to bring out the big guns!
For my kid, it’s Doritos. He doesn’t really like candy, but I’d have some crunchy nacho chips or something. And then I’d just layer [giving them to him]. And then I anticipate. You don’t want to wait for them to get grouchy to offer. If it’s been 45 minutes, go, “Hey, you want a snack?” I don’t wait for the threat.
You get in front of it.
I get in front of it. It’s like a pain pill. You get in front of the pain. I anticipate. And I have books, too. I do a whole setup. I know it’s rough, and they don’t fully understand.
If you’re on a plane and they have the little flight tracker, don’t underestimate how entertaining that is. I love those magnetic puzzles, too, because, if they fall, they stick to the thing. I also recognize he’s a little kid, so I let him stand up.
Our longest haul has been eight hours. He did great. He was awfully chatty on the last one. But he’s a kid. I’m always very mindful of the people behind me. But I figure, if a child’s laughter or crying makes you upset, then you’re living a sad journey on this planet. One day, Moses was crying or doing something. A man was growling, and I had to tell him, “You’ll be in diapers soon enough, sir.”
Have you already set up your holiday travel plans?
We’re going to Texas. We might go to the Cowboys game. I probably will make the ham from our book. I might make the Sock It To Me cake. We usually watch the game after. We’ve got some great snacks in our cookbook, so I’m going to weave those in. This is my triumphant return to Texas and my dad’s kitchen with my own cookbook.
What are a few recipes in the cookbook you’d recommend I try?
What do you like to eat?
I’m a big fish guy.
Say no more. We have a whole fish with salsa verde that is incredible. It was the first recipe Lish created for the book because we travel a lot to the Caribbean. I love whole fish, but it is an intimidating thing. The book is about building your confidence in the kitchen. If you can tackle something like a whole fish — and you can — it bolsters your confidence, and it gives you something delicious.
You’re a cook, a writer, a TV host and more. Tell me about an endeavor that you haven’t tried yet that you will in 2025.
Learning to swim. I’ve been learning to swim for 12 years. I’m getting there. I saw a photo years ago of Beyoncé jumping off a boat into the ocean. I might not do that in 2025, but it’s coming.
