Nara Smith is TikTok’s ultimate chef, turning every “from scratch” meal into a must-watch video with her fabulous outfits and soothing voiceovers. Join us as the model and social media personality gets candid, answering our burning questions about everything from the foods her kids absolutely refuse to eat—no matter how she prepares them—to the wildest “from scratch” requests she’s received from fans. Plus, find out just how often Nara frequents the grocery store and which food she’ll never buy there again.
#NaraSmith #BurningQuestions #BAZAAR
#NaraSmith #BurningQuestions #BAZAAR
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00:00A lot of people want me to make their dream man,
00:02which I unfortunately can't.
00:04Hey Harper's Bazaar, it's Nara Aziza Smith,
00:07and today I'm gonna answer your burning questions.
00:12Do I wait until everyone's like?
00:13Okay.
00:14What is your first memory of cooking?
00:16It's probably me being in the kitchen with my grandma
00:19and her chopping potatoes with a very dull knife,
00:22but that introduced me to cooking
00:23and it looked kind of fun to me.
00:25Yeah.
00:26What is the first TikTok meal you made from scratch?
00:29I think it was a while ago, it was like a year or two ago,
00:33I posted making bread and jam for my kids
00:36and people had a lot of opinions on that.
00:38A lot of people were like,
00:39who's gonna feed their kids breakfast three hours later?
00:42Or who's gonna take seven hours to bake some bread
00:45when your kids want breakfast?
00:46But it's all just fun.
00:48And I do feed my kids in between, obviously.
00:50How often are you at the grocery store?
00:52That's a very good question.
00:53I usually do a big shop once or twice a week,
00:57and then I find myself at the grocery store
00:59probably every single day.
01:00I just shop for general groceries that I always kind of get
01:03or fresh produce or anything
01:05that I'm kind of craving in that moment
01:06or that my husband mentions or my kids want.
01:08Sometimes I'll have a really cool idea and be like,
01:11I wanna make candy from scratch, so more sugar for that.
01:14But usually it's just pantry staples or fridge staples
01:17that I use for my videos.
01:18My pantry is pretty full.
01:20It's not organized.
01:22What is the wildest from scratch video request
01:24you've seen in your comments?
01:26Probably making electricity or water.
01:29A lot of people want me to make their dream man,
01:32which I unfortunately can't,
01:34but those are probably the wildest ones.
01:36What is the most overrated ingredient?
01:40Truffle.
01:41I don't like when people put truffle on every single thing.
01:44Sometimes it's great, but you don't have to overdo it,
01:47and some things just don't need truffle.
01:50Who are your favorite celebrity chefs?
01:53Gordon Ramsay, probably.
01:54I love how he yells at people.
01:56Or Martha Stewart, she's just an icon.
01:58How far in advance do you plan
02:00your TikTok recipes and videos?
02:02That depends on what I'm doing
02:04and what my current situation looks like.
02:05Sometimes I'm traveling, so I pre-plan some things
02:08and I pre-shoot some stuff.
02:09Or I just kind of make it up the night before
02:11and I'm like, ooh, that would be cool tomorrow.
02:13Or a lot of the times I film
02:15what I would naturally do already,
02:17like my meal prep videos.
02:18I would naturally meal prep anyways,
02:20so I just film that.
02:21Or making different dinners
02:22or making my kids things that they requested,
02:24because they actually do request those things.
02:26So, yeah, it depends.
02:27It's a mix of things.
02:29Does Lucky help you film?
02:31No, he doesn't.
02:32I'm very specific with how I want my angles
02:35and how I want it shot and how I want it to look.
02:37So he's offered.
02:39I've just politely declined.
02:40What's your family's go-to comfort meal?
02:42It has to be chicken noodle soup.
02:44I don't know what it is about a good chicken noodle soup
02:47if you do the whole thing properly.
02:49It's just so good.
02:50I have it in the summer, in the winter.
02:51I don't care how hot it is.
02:52I will always want a chicken noodle soup.
02:54What is a recent homemade meal your kids refuse to eat?
02:57Something with fish.
02:59I don't know what it is.
03:00They think fish is gross.
03:01So I've tried breading it.
03:03I've tried frying it.
03:04I've tried steaming it.
03:06Everything, but they still won't have it.
03:07So probably that.
03:09I feel like my kids are pretty good when it comes to eating,
03:13but what we've always done
03:14is just feed them whatever we're eating.
03:16So whatever we're eating, they're eating,
03:18and I'm not making separate meals.
03:20And some people, I don't know, have opinions on that,
03:23but I think it's helped them to become less picky,
03:24and I'm also not wanting to be in the kitchen
03:27any longer than I need to to make a meal,
03:29and just having them try the thing at least.
03:32German or American cuisine?
03:34I'll have to pick German
03:36just because it feels nostalgic to me.
03:38German.
03:38What's your favorite German meal?
03:40It's, ooh.
03:42It's this thing called die Geschnitze.
03:44It's basically just a schnitzel with mushroom sauce on it,
03:49and then I just love having french fries with it.
03:51Or this thing that's very specific to where I'm from.
03:54It's called Frankfurter Grüne Soße,
03:56and it's basically just this creamy sauce
03:58with a bunch of herbs,
03:59and you just have it with steamed potato.
04:02What does a date night with Lucky look like?
04:05Sometimes I cook an elaborate meal
04:07depending on what we're doing.
04:09Sometimes we'll have a good takeout.
04:12Do you style yourself for your TikTok videos?
04:14Yes, I do.
04:15I love throwing on a good dress, as you guys probably know,
04:18but then sometimes if I have a full-on evening gown on,
04:21I'm probably not gonna wear that in real life,
04:23but sometimes I do.
04:24I like surprising Lucky with different outfits,
04:27but I don't always wear really insane dresses to cook.
04:30How do you keep your clothes so clean in the kitchen?
04:33That's a mystery to me.
04:34I don't know.
04:35Every time I'm done cooking, I look down,
04:38and I think that I would see a messed up outfit,
04:41but I don't, so I don't really know how I do it.
04:44I really wish I had an answer because I'm surprised myself
04:48because even when I eat food,
04:49I usually spill because I'm a toddler.
04:51I don't know how they stay clean.
04:52It's a mystery to me.
04:53What is one item that you'd never buy from a store again?
04:57It depends on where I am and what I'm doing.
04:59Right now, I'm really into making ice cream,
05:02so I don't pick up ice cream from the store anymore.
05:04I just make it myself
05:05because I can customize it however I want,
05:07and I'm quite picky with that as well,
05:08so I wanna collaborate
05:10with some of my favorite ice cream places
05:12and bring out flavors,
05:13so let's see whether that's something that you'll see soon.
05:16Which from scratch meal are you the most proud of?
05:19Probably my grilled cheese I made.
05:21I made the bread, the cheese, the pesto, and the butter.
05:23It was the best grilled cheese I've had,
05:25but I haven't made it since.
05:27What's your best advice for first-time chefs in the kitchen?
05:31Invest in a good, sharp knife.
05:33I had the dullest knives for the longest time,
05:36and buying a really good knife block saved my life.
05:39Also, invest in quality pots and pans
05:42because they're gonna last you so much longer
05:44than if you buy cheap ones,
05:46and buy a KitchenAid.
05:49Thanks so much for watching.
05:50Be sure to check out the October issue of Harper's Bazaar.
05:54Bye, guys.