In Her New Cookbook, Nara Smith Brings Fashion Into the Kitchen

On the cover of Nara Smith’s new cookbook, Homemade, the model, content creator, and home chef is pictured wearing a soft-pink gingham dress. It begins with dainty frills around her neck and extends into a full table around her waist, complete with cereal, waffles, orange juice, a plate of fried eggs—and a live chicken. As a good cover should, the image perfectly sums up what’s inside: recipes for entirely homemade daily meals, all dressed up in elaborate fashion editorials. In the bread chapter, Smith is pictured rolling dough in an ornate gown adorned with delicate flowers reminiscent of a flaky pastry. In another spread, she cuts a bounty of vegetables, the radishes perfectly complementing her fuchsia V-neck dress. Throughout, the recipes teach readers how to elevate classic dishes and kitchen staples. It all goes back to Smith’s assertion in the introduction that “the ordinary can be divine” as long as you treat it with care—and add a dash of whimsy.

If you’re familiar with Smith—and given her 17 million followers across Instagram and TikTok, you likely are—you’ll also recognize the book’s premise as extremely her. The 25-year-old shot to viral fame around 2023 when she began sharing videos of herself in the kitchen, always wearing a high-fashion outfit—no apron—while making snacks for her children entirely from scratch and narrating the whole thing in a soothing ASMR-style voiceover. (Think a grilled cheese where she actually makes both the bread and the cheese before grilling.) Since then, she’s garnered a devoted following, as well as the inevitable discourse and misconceptions about her “tradwife” lifestyle—a label she does not endorse. With Homemade, which was released on October 13, she finally shares not only her dishes but also her story: how her grandmother taught her to cook, the health journey that inspired her slow-food approach, and why she thinks it’s important to bring fun into the kitchen.

Harper’s Bazaar’s questionnaire series “First, Now, Next” dives into the past, present, and future of some of our favorite creatives, spotlighting the moments and people that have influenced them. We caught up with Smith before the release of Homemade to learn about her love of good focaccia, how she styles her clothing with her food, and her dream collaboration with Martha Stewart.

What’s the first book that cracked something open in you?

I mean, how far in the past are we talking here? It was probably this tiny book about Marie Antoinette when I was like six or seven. I thought she was fab just because she dressed in all these pretty dresses.

What was the first thing you ever wore that made you feel truly beautiful?

Probably a good pair of jeans. There’s something about a really nicely tailored pair of jeans. I remember having this oversize Levi’s pair when I was about 14, and then my mom got them tailored, and they were phenomenal.

What did you spend your first big paycheck on?

That’s so hard to remember. I mean, probably some sort of food, like either going to the grocery store and getting anything and not looking at the price or going out to eat and ordering a lot of different dishes that I usually wouldn’t. Something food-related.

What was the first project that made you take yourself seriously?

I mean, the first project that really required a lot of thought was my cookbook. I feel like that is a project that’s going to live on forever, [so] I really had to sit down and think and really be intentional with how I [approached] it. So, probably that.

When did you start thinking about the cookbook? What made you decide you wanted to make one?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer—which is funny—of some sort. And I always thought it would be fiction first, but then I naturally slipped into this whole social-media cooking realm, which is so fun to me. And a lot of my comments years ago, when everything kicked off, were “We need the recipes! Where are the recipes? She’s going to make a cookbook from scratch!” All these comments that I saw kind of prompted me to start writing it. Then I found a bigger purpose in writing it, which is having a part of my upbringing through my grandma live on in this book with everything else that is sprinkled in. So it truly stemmed from people wanting it and me opening my mind to that possibility, because I never really thought that I would be in a position to do that. So I’m very grateful for that.

How did you define success at 16, and how would you define it now?

I think when you’re younger, you probably equate success to money. And even though that is part of the equation and always is, to me, success is waking up every day and putting things out into the world that I’m proud of, whether that’s creating content or writing a cookbook or even raising my kids or starting other business ventures. Anything that I feel proud of that then gets put out into the world to do any sort of good means success.

What are you saying no to now? And what are you saying yes to?

I think “yes” to every possibility that makes sense. Because why not? You only live once. And it’s so fun for me to explore and push boundaries and step out of my comfort zone, even if the possibility might be a little frightening. And saying no to staying in my comfort zone.

What’s something that your mom or dad did that drove you crazy but that you now do too?

Having everyone sit at the dinner table growing up. I would hate that. I’d be like, “What do you mean? I’m done eating, and all my siblings are taking forever!” Like, “Let me go!” But now I’m like, “Everyone’s sitting at the table until everyone’s done because this is our quality time, you guys, and I know you don’t get it yet, but you will.”

If you could wear only one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?

That is so hard because you need to factor all these different things in, like comfort, sizing, length. That is such a complicated question you’re asking me. I mean, I think we need to go back to the denim just because even though I would love to wear a fancy dress, I don’t know whether I want to wear that every single day. And I feel like denim can be versatile. Like, we could do a jumpsuit, we could do a flared pant, straight-leg bootcut skinny jean, you know, denim dress... Let’s just say denim. Not even a piece of clothing. Just the material.

Just a Canadian tuxedo every single day.

You know what? I would not be opposed to that as long as it’s very fitting.

What was the last thing you splurged on? And what is one thing you still refuse to spend a lot of money on?

I think the last thing I splurged on was a car. And good pots and pans. I just bought some more pots. They’re so cute, and you can never have too many pots. What do I say no to? Subscriptions. There is nothing worse to me than wanting to watch a show, and it says $34.99. No, no.

Who were your chef inspirations when you were putting together your cookbook?

It’s funny, because I had never owned a cookbook before writing a cookbook. So when we were going through the process, my publishers were asking me, “What are your favorite cookbooks?” And I had to go to Barnes & Noble and actually sit down and look through them all. But there wasn’t necessarily a chef inspiration behind the book. It was more so my grandma and my upbringing and the nostalgia of it. But I also, in the process of finding a good cookbook, stumbled across Julius Roberts’s cookbook [The Farm Table]. It inspired one of the recipes in my book, which was really fun. So probably that book. But when it comes to actual inspiration, it was my grandma.

How did your grandma inspire the book?

She was such an integral part of my first memories in the kitchen. She would always make her oatmeal a specific way, or peppermint tea, or she would really just take very humble ingredients and turn them into something so delicious. And she just taught me, was very patient, and allowed me to be in the kitchen with her. A lot of dishes that I had when I was growing up, I didn’t think much of back then, but now being an adult and feeding my kids—but also things that I gravitate toward that bring me nostalgia and comfort now as an adult—are her dishes, which kind of surprised me. I figured that out when we started writing this cookbook.

There is so much whimsy in the cookbook, and one thing I loved about it is how the photos feel like fashion editorials in a magazine. I’m curious how you thought about styling the fashion alongside the food.

Exactly that. I wanted it to feel like you’re opening a fashion magazine, but also not leaning too editorial. I wanted it to strike a good balance but still encapsulate all the things that I love, which is food and fashion. We had a shoot to begin with, and then I scrapped that shoot, and I was like, “We actually need to pull this together.” Everyone was so stressed. My literary agent was like, “How?” I’m like, “Yeah, we just need to.” So we pulled this shoot together, and I’m so grateful we used a fashion photographer. Her name was Olivia [Malone], and she was so phenomenal. We built little sets. I had my stylist Thomas [Christos Kikis] pull outfits. A lot of brands were so nice to be a part of this. And Rodarte made the dress that we had on the cover custom so that we could drape it over this table that we made. So it was just a labor of love and so much passion. And I wanted my love for fashion and editorial fashion photography to come through a little bit. I just wanted the book to encapsulate all the different aspects of me.

When you’re thinking about what look would go with each recipe, what were you thinking about? How did you get inspired there?

I think it really depends. Sometimes it’s a feeling, sometimes it’s a color, sometimes it’s a texture, sometimes it’s an era. I really like using fashion as a way of expressing myself. So for one of the images, I wanted it to feel very regal and chef-like and commanding. We found this Thom Browne look that looked like a chef’s coat, just completely reimagined in a more fashion way. It was white and structured, and it was a two-piece, and it had buttons all the way down, and it just felt very chef-like. So that made a lot of sense for that situation.

For the pasta chapter opener, we made this box out of gingham to resemble an Italian tablecloth. And obviously we had to wear Dolce & Gabbana in that shoot, because it just made a lot of sense and there was that Italian nostalgic tie-in. So I think it really depends on what we’re looking at and what we’re trying to evoke in someone else. I remember shooting the salad chapter opener, and I wanted it to be a very tight, makeup-focused shot because it would remind me of the modeling industry and salad in the modeling industry. So it’s like an all-around thing; it could be truly anything.

Do you have a favorite recipe in the book?

It’s like asking me to pick my favorite child. I mean, I love a roast chicken. We have three different variations of roast chicken in the book because I love it so much. I also, weirdly enough, have really gravitated toward my lentil stew in the book, which surprises me because I do love eating meat a lot and that one is vegetarian. What else is in there? There are so many recipes.... I love my sandwich bread, which I make almost weekly, a good focaccia.

How has this project changed you?

It made me feel more confident in my decisions and how I feel, trusting myself and my vision and not relying on someone else because I might think that they’re more experienced than I am. It just all around made me trust myself more and be able to express myself in ways that I didn’t really know I would thrive in.

If you could collaborate with anyone next, who would it be and why?

Oh, there are so many people. I guess Martha [Stewart] would be the obvious thought because she’s just an icon. And I think we’d have a lot to chat about.

If you could single-handedly dictate the next big trend in culture, what would it be?

Everyone, pick what you want to wear. Pick what you want to eat. Be confident in the choices you make for yourself and don’t just follow the current.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give the next generation?

Give yourself grace. Honestly, I feel like we’re so hard on ourselves on a daily basis over a multitude of things. So just give yourself grace and it’s all going to be all right. Sometimes starting and getting it wrong is better than not starting at all. And that’s something that I’ve learned.

If you retired from what you’re doing today, what would you do in your next act?

I don’t feel so stuck in what I do. So I think even if I were to gravitate away from this—which would make me so sad—I would probably venture into acting, which I’m doing currently. I’d venture into building my own businesses, which I’m working on. So there are so many things that I feel like I can do while also showing this part of myself to the world on social media. It feels like I’m in such a blessed situation to be able to do all these different things that the world is my oyster. That feels very, very joyous to say, and I’m really grateful that I get to even say that.

Do you think you would have more cookbooks down the line?

Potentially, yeah. Just give me, like, a year’s break, and then we’ll revisit.