Nara Smith's World: Cooking in Couture, Work/Life Balance, and the Art of Making Everything From Scratch

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If you've spent any time on social media in the past few years, you've probably watched Nara Smith make something from scratch that most of us would happily pick up from the store, and she does it all while wearing pieces most of us would never risk near a stovetop—a floor-length gown worn while kneading sourdough, a vegetable-embroidered Schiaparelli jacket straight off the runway at the stove, tulle that most would save for a festive occasion getting its moment to be worn. It all started with grilled cheese. Smith, a former IMG model who was scouted at 14, posted one video, and the internet couldn't get enough, so she kept going. Millions of views later, that simple idea has taken her to fashion weeks and red carpets around the world. Her next stop? The bookshelves with her first-ever cookbook, Homemade.

Spend a little time with Smith, though, and it becomes clear the gowns were never about spectacle. She started dressing up at home during the pandemic, when her closet was full of beautiful pieces with nowhere to go, and her daughter loved it so much that it became a way for the two of them to connect. These days, her mornings start at 6 a.m. so she can do her skincare and get dressed before her four kids wake up. Then comes breakfast, school drop-off, and a full day of filming and meetings before everyone is back home for dinner. She's the first to admit that balance is something you never fully achieve. To Smith, life comes in seasons, and this one belongs to Homemade. Come with us to explore her world.

Give us a peek into your world. What does a typical day in your life look like right now?

A typical day starts pretty early, around 6:00. I wake up. I try to do my skincare and get myself dressed before I get the kids up. Then I make everyone breakfast, make school lunch, get my daughter out the door, and then spend some time with the other kids at home, and then my workday starts. So it's either filming content all day or a mix between content and meetings, coming up with concepts, just a workday. And then they come home, and it's dinnertime.

Tell me what work/life balance looks like to you. How do you juggle family, yourself, and a successful career?

I think of my life in seasons. I think balance is not something that's easily achieved. I don't think we ever achieve balance, to be honest. I think something always has to give. There are seasons where being at home gives a little bit, and then there are seasons where working gives a little bit. So I think [it's just about] trying my best to show up in both areas and also being kind to myself and knowing that I can give parts of myself away in that way.

Tell us about your current project. Why should everyone have this cookbook on their kitchen shelf?

I feel like the cookbook is me in a hardcover. It feels intimate, and it feels like a part of myself that's going out into the world. There are so many amazing recipes in there that people could learn from, take, and use and make their own. And it really was a journey, writing Homemade, and I'm just happy that people get to experience these recipes now. So I'm excited for them to have it in their kitchens.

What's one thing you know now about running your home kitchen and preparing meals that you wish you knew when you first started cooking?

Always take inventory of what you have in the pantry and the fridge and be on top of it. There's nothing worse, to me, than going into the kitchen and wanting to cook a certain meal and realizing that I don't have everything that I need in my pantry. So probably that—just always being on top of what you have and what you don't have. Also, always staying organized.

After cooking anything and everything under the sun, what would you consider your death row meal?

Ooh. I love Asian food so much, so it would have to be probably a tom yum soup, pad see ew, pho, kimchi jjigae, some beef bulgogi, and ice cream and then some sort of fun drink.

Is there anything you haven't made from scratch yet that you're planning to create in the future?

I'm really trying to be brave enough to make a croissant, but that feels very intimidating.

Define your personal style right now in three words.

Sophisticated, playful, and confident.

Where does your incredible sense of style come from? Any significant fashion icons that you've always looked up to?

With fashion, it's always been an expression of myself, and I've drawn inspiration from cultures around me, people around me, food, images I see online, colors I see. I think it's truly just been whatever I find myself gravitating toward, and obviously, that changes as I evolve and grow and probably will be different in a few years than it is now.

So I think [I'm] always finding that playful element in it, and I just know that my mom always had a closet that I loved experimenting in, and then my grandma had a lot of heirloom pieces, like bags and watches, that I always found really fun.

Do you have a favorite outfit that you wore to prepare something from scratch?

Honestly, all of the outfits that I wear in my content are outfits that I absolutely adore, or else I wouldn't wear them. So it really just depends on the mood, but I would say the most recent one is the vegetable Schiaparelli jacket just because that was the last item of clothing I wore in a cooking video.

What initially inspired you to dress up while preparing meals and treats from scratch?

When COVID happened, obviously no one was really leaving their house or doing anything, and even after COVID ended, I felt like the culture had shifted a little to where not everyone was going out and about to wear things.

I had all these beautiful garments sitting in my closet and thought that it would be a shame if I didn't wear them, so I just started wearing them at home because why not? And my daughter actually really, really adored it, so it was just a fun way to also connect with her.

Do you have a least favorite fashion trend?

No, none that come to mind, to be honest. I feel like fashion is such an art that I just believe everyone should dress and wear whatever makes them feel the most confident.

If you could trade closets with one celebrity just for a day, living or dead, who would it be?

Oh, that's a really hard question. Who would I trade closets with? Honestly, myself. I love my closet.

How has your modeling career influenced the way that you dress now that you're focused on your own personal projects?

During my modeling career, I don't feel like I had a lot of time to express personal style just because you went to castings and go-sees, shot e-commerce, and it was very much [that] you were just wearing whatever the designer wanted you to wear when you were presenting that clothing. But then, when it was just you at home, I wore very simple things, like a black, gray, or white tank top with whatever denim I could find. So it never really felt super exciting to dress up.

Now, with having projects that are very personal to me, I can express that through my clothing, which feels super, super fun. But also, with having a career in modeling, it made me be submerged in that world, seeing new designs and seeing how designers work and the art of tailoring. So it really did teach me a lot about fashion that now I use in my day-to-day life.

What's one piece in your closet you'd like to pass down to your children someday?

Honestly, all of them. I have a lot of pieces. A lot of the outfits that I wear in my content get worn, and then they get stored properly for my kids to have one day.

Was there a moment on social media that made you initially feel like, "Wow, this content is really going somewhere"?

I made a grilled cheese once, and people seemed to really like that, and it was so fun to create that art and cook that meal that I just kept doing it.

What made you decide to pursue a career in modeling? Are you surprised at how your career has evolved into so much more?

I got scouted when I was 14 by IMG Models. Did I want to be a model? Yes. Did I think it was going to happen? Not necessarily. I think it was more so people around me telling me that I should, and then it did happen, and it was really fun and thrilling, and I loved every second of it.

But yeah, I am surprised at where my career is now because it wasn't something I initially set out to do, but I couldn't be more grateful for it now, and it really feels like an expression of all my favorite things.

What was it like to write your first book?

Oh, that is a loaded question, but writing Homemade was thrilling. It was heart-wrenching. It was exhausting. It was joyous. It was all things all at once. And it truly felt like such an accomplishment—having it written and then it coming out.

It took a lot of trial and error. It took a lot of creativity. It took a village, honestly, to get the shoots done and get dressed and build the sets and style the food. It really was such a passion project for me that it couldn't have been better, honestly.

Is there a recipe in there that you're especially proud of?

Every single recipe that's made it into Homemade is one that I'm proud of just because we started with so many more recipes, and we kept editing as time went on. So there's not one specific one that I'm absolutely obsessed with. It's all of them, and they all feel special in their own unique way.

What's something you wish you knew at the beginning of your career?

Honestly, I'm glad I didn't really know anything, to be honest. It allowed me to learn and be open and take every opportunity as it was and not get in my head about it being a certain way. I have learned and grown throughout my career, and for that, I'm really grateful.

Do you have any mantras right now in relation to personal or career development?

Honestly, yeah. Give yourself grace, and there's perfection and imperfection.

What advice will you give your children when they enter the career world?

Always try your best. Be humble, be hardworking, and the sky is your limit.

Where is your safe space?

My bedroom, my bed.

When you come home, what is the first place you go to or thing you do?

Take off my shoes at the door. Usually go downstairs to the kitchen just to look at it, honestly. And then go back upstairs, get in the shower, and get into bed.

You travel often for work. What's the one hotel that feels like a home away from home?

There are a few I love. I'm in New York quite frequently, so probably hotels in New York. I love the Nine Orchard or Fouquet's.

What's your favorite restaurant in your home city?

There's this one restaurant called Bailey's Backyard that I absolutely love.

If you could get a vacation home anywhere in the world, where would it be?

On the beach somewhere, or there's a very special place in Montana by a lake that I would be thrilled to live part-time.

What does the perfect workspace look like to you?

Clean, organized, and just functional.

What artist do you actually listen to nonstop?

Raye.

When you're preparing home-cooked meals, do you have a particular playlist or music theme in mind?

The idea of listening to music while I cook is always very thrilling, but having four kids that are running around the kitchen, helping me, and being loud makes that a little bit more challenging. So in an ideal world, I'd be playing jazz.

Are there any binge-worthy shows you haven't been able to stop watching lately?

I finished House of the Dragon, and right now, I'm watching this show called Shrinking on Apple TV, which has been so fun. But I also love a good Grey's Anatomy, New Girl—you know, the usual.

Do you have any favorite books to read by yourself or with your kids?

I love a good fantasy book. Always. And then for my kids, I read them the Magic Tree House books, chapter by chapter, which is really fun.

Is there something in your queue that you're looking forward to watching, reading, or listening to that you haven't gotten to yet?

ACOTAR 6 is coming out, so I'm getting really excited for that. I want to go watch the new Sense and Sensibility movie, which is probably going to be a delight.

What else is there? There are a few shows that I'm trying to watch that I'm forgetting the name of. Or a good true-crime situation on Netflix is always really good.

What's your love language?

My love language to give is acts of service. My love language to receive is probably words of affirmation or physical touch.

What's something that's overrated and then also underrated?

Something that's overrated? That's a tricky question. What is overrated? Being a hater. That is overrated. Being a hater—honestly, yes.

And then what's underrated? A good tomato with some Slap Ya Mama seasoning on it. Not enough people do that.

What's the best gift for you to give and to receive?

Honestly, I'm a very simple gal. I love, love, love a handwritten letter.

What do you want people to take away from an interaction with you?

I just want them to feel excited and have them feel a little lighter and a little bit more assured.

What should people look for in a long-term relationship?

Good communication. I feel like anything can be solved through having open and honest conversations, and whether that is to have a long-term relationship or to determine that that person is not your long-term partner, I think just communicating about how you feel and whether you're aligned and being very open and honest. Honesty as well.