Author Event with Nara Smith/Homemade

Join Anderson's Bookshops for a conversation with Nara Aziza Smith (@naraaziza), the best-dressed culinary creator in digital media, who is bringing her signature style to 80 delicious, homemade family-friendly recipes in her debut cookbook Homemade. The event will be held on Saturday, October 17th at 11:00 am at Wentz Concert Hall on the campus of North Central College.

You may think you know Nara Smith—the glamorous outfits, the soothing ASMR voice, the beautiful family, the seemingly effortless approach to making food from scratch—but behind it all is a working mom with a relatable goal: preparing nourishing whole foods for herself and her family. Nara will be in conversation discussing the inspiration behind her cookbook debut and the ethos of slowing down and cooking with intention at home. Tickets include access to a moderated conversation and audience Q&A, a pre-signed copy of the book, and a posed photo.

Event Format

We will begin checking you in approximately 60 minutes before the start time. After a presentation and Q&A with the author, the photo line will form in numbered order with the following guidelines:

• Posed photo with your camera taken by our staff

• All books will be pre-signed. Smith will not be signing anything during the photo line.

Pre-registration is required for this event because space is limited.

More about Homemade:

Nara Aziza Smith (@naraaziza), the best-dressed culinary creator in digital media, brings her signature style to 80 delicious, homemade family-friendly recipes for slowing down, cooking with love, and finding the whimsy in the everyday.

You may think you know Nara Smith—the glamorous outfits, the soothing ASMR voice, the seemingly effortless approach to making food from scratch—but behind it all is a busy mom trying to do her best, while cherishing her time cooking and nourishing herself and her family.

Nara grew up in Germany, shaped by her family’s kitchen—her grandmother’s warm bread right out of the oven, meals made with care by her parents While working as a model, she met and married supermodel Lucky Blue Smith and started a family. When she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and eczema, she found that she could manage her symptoms by cutting out most processed foods—and turned her from scratch-cooking expertise in a new curated direction while sharing her cooking online with compelling and elevated content. Nara is a self-taught home cook, who found joy with the ethos of slowing down and cooking with intention at home.

Now, millions of followers later, Nara has made home cooking look incredibly chic while preparing delicious and thoughtful meals her family loves. In her eagerly awaited and beautifully photographed first cookbook, Nara shares recipes from simple to complex, such as:

• Softest White Potato Sandwich Bread, English Muffins, and Handmade Cheese Crackers, a few of the doughs that keep Nara’s hands busy
• Cinnamon Toast Squares, a quick breakfast beloved by Nara’s toddlers and better than anything you can find in stores
• Baked Fall Vegetable Salad with Miso-Sherry Dressing, a gorgeous salad that fuels Nara for long workdays
• Soy-Glazed Flank Steak with Plum Herb Salad, a beautiful, nourishing meal made from whole ingredients
• One Pasta Dough for all shapes and sizes, with sauces, including stunning edible floral lasagna sheets.
• Pork Schnitzel, a comfort food that brings Nara back to her childhood in Germany
• Lucky’s Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies, Nara’s husband’s recipe for the best American classic
• A chapter on Bits & Bobs, including everything from homemade mozzarella to flavored butters to chocolate-hazelnut spread, showing the simplicity and magic of cooking from whole ingredients

In Homemade, Nara brings ease and elegance to the creation of homemade food—inspiring readers to elevate their own reality, in the kitchen and beyond in their daily life.