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Nara Smith’s internet persona is built on a specific kind of perfection: extravagant gowns, immaculate kitchens, and from-scratch recipes that make artisanal homemade cereal feel entirely reasonable. A true modern renaissance woman, she seamlessly balances cooking, influencing, and motherhood, and is even set to star alongside Charlize Theron and Demi Moore in the upcoming thriller Tyrant, a film delving into NYC’s elite fine dining scene. Her new book, Homemade, balances her campy approach to cooking—the cover features Smith in a dress that doubles as a table—with recipes for homemade cinnamon toast squares alongside more practical, kid-friendly dishes like pork schnitzel and Coconut Cassava Waffles.
In person, she’s far less precious and much funnier. During Smith’s visit to the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen, her relentless pace was on full display. When I ran down a couple of floors to return a pen her producer had left behind, I found her completely transformed, glam fully retouched, already posing for her next shoot for Vanity Fair.
We spoke to Smith about the kitchen slippers hiding beneath her camera frame, the failed homemade Twizzlers that still haunt her, the sudden onset of her egg ick, and the oddly specific way her dad taught her to cut pancakes into tiny squares.
What’s the first thing people get wrong about you?
People think I'm wearing heels. I'm actually wearing slippers. I'm very tall, and if I wear heels the counter is too low and nothing looks proportionate. Also, I'm standing all day and my lower back would never forgive me. So it's always a really good cushioned house slipper. Comfort first.
You spend so much time making food on camera. Are there recipes that feel especially personal to you?
These German pancakes. My dad made them before school when I was growing up. He'd always make the first one before he woke us up because the first pancake is always bad. When I was writing the recipe for my cookbook, I asked him for measurements and he was like, "A little bit of this, a little bit of that, maybe two, maybe three eggs." That's not exactly cookbook language.
Your cookbook is full of from-scratch recipes. Is there anything you'd never make yourself?
Never say never. I tried making Twizzlers once and they were terrible. Absolutely terrible. I still think about trying again because I love a challenge, but candy is one of those things that can really humble you.
What's been your biggest kitchen disaster?
The Twizzlers were bad, but sourdough was probably worse. My first few attempts were a complete mess. The funny thing is I often make recipes for the first time on camera, so if something goes wrong, everyone gets to watch it happen in real time.
The Test Kitchen wanted to know: What's your favorite way to eat eggs?
This is controversial because I have 20 chickens, but I got the egg ick while I was pregnant and it never fully went away. If I'm eating eggs, I want a fried egg with crispy edges and a runny yolk on top of fried rice. Just don't give it to me first thing in the morning.
You garden, too. How's that going?
Honestly? My garden is dying. The zucchini is struggling. The cucumbers are gone. All my lettuce died. Between the heat and the rain, everything has kind of given up. It's my first year, though, so I'm trying to be kind to myself. Next year will be better.
What's the most specific food habit you have?
I cut these pancakes into tiny squares. My dad used to do it for me, and now it's the only way I like eating them. I put applesauce on top, dust them with powdered sugar, cut them into little squares, and eat them one by one. Everyone else in my family thinks it's weird.
What's one cooking tip you swear by?
Weigh your ingredients. Especially flour. A cup of flour means something different to everyone. Good ingredients matter too, but if you're baking, a scale will save you a lot of heartbreak.