Nara Smith's cookbook debut risks being overshadowed by stinging 'tradwife' criticism

Nara Smith's cookbook debut risks being overshadowed by stinging 'tradwife' criticismControversial digital creator Nara Smith has secured a major deal for her debut cookbook Homemade, sparking The Mirror's Dr Aimee Walsh to question exactly who this tradwife fantasy is forNewsopinionAimée Walsh Columnist and U35 Deputy Editor11:55, 23 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesTiktokker Nara Smith has signed a book deal with Fourth Estate(Image: Lucky Smith)4th Estate has triumphed in a high-stakes auction to publish HOMEMADE , the debut cookbook from Nara Aziza Smith - the digital creator who has become the glamorous, if polarising, face of the "tradwife" aesthetic.‌The deal, secured by Publisher Michelle Kane, brings Smith’s hyper-stylised domesticity to the UK and Commonwealth markets. To her millions of followers, Smith represents a soothing return to traditional craft; to her critics, she is the vanguard of a controversial trend that romanticises a regressive, often unattainable standard of domesticity.‌Smith is famous for her "from scratch" videos where she prepares glasses of coke in glittering gowns - all delivered in a whispery ASMR tone. While this "tradwife" imagery has been criticised for presenting an idealised version of stay-at-home motherhood that feels more like a performance than a reality, the book aims to ground her story in personal necessity.‌View 2 ImagesHOMEMADE by Nara Smith will be released in October(Image: Fourth Estate Publishing)READ MORE: Women's Prize for Fiction 2026 shortlist spotlights fresh voices and small publishersREAD MORE: Researcher wins £10,000 for hopeful climate change books showing we can save EarthBut, for this book critic, tradwives are a distraction from the real issues plaguing modern women. What is offered by these conservative tropes is a flattening of the feminine experience; it reduces women to house-wives who create everything from scratch, while also appearing glamourous.Who exa...