Styled by Life: Alie’s Recipe for Beauty, Travel, and Inspiration

For more than two decades, Alie has lived between two worlds defined by creativity, beauty, and storytelling. A successful modelling career has taken her across continents, onto countless sets, and into a world where every detail matters. But behind the camera, another art form has always been quietly unfolding: baking.

For Alie, the connection between fashion and food has always been natural. The same eye that recognizes balance, texture, and beauty in an image now shapes the desserts she creates. Inspired by years of working alongside photographers, stylists, and creative teams, she brings an editorial sensibility to the kitchen where presentation becomes part of the story and every recipe is an expression of memory, place, and emotion.

Her travels have left the deepest imprint, particularly her years in South Africa, a country that transformed the way she experiences flavour, culture, and connection through food. Blending those influences with family traditions and a love of simple, beautiful ingredients, Alie’s baking reflects a life shaped by exploration, heritage, and creativity.

In this exclusive Models of Canada feature, Alie opens up about the unexpected ways modelling influenced her baking journey, the places that inspired her palate, and the recipes that capture the essence of a career, and a life built around beauty in all its forms.

Models of Canada: After 22 years in modelling, what has translated most unexpectedly into your approach to baking?

Alie: My gawd, how time flies. I never in a million years would have thought I’d be working as a model for over two decades!

Modelling has taken me all over the world and had such a huge influence on my baking in ways I’d never expect. It’s inspired me to try new foods, recipes, and flavours along the way. In my baking I’m very traditional at heart, but being surrounded by so much beauty, travel, and creativity it has definitely pushed me to add a simple flair to my recipes - whether that’s in the presentation or a simple twist in an ingredient. I can’t help but plate things beautifully... we really do eat with our eyes first. But I think this first started for me because of modelling and always seeing a beautiful ending or outcome.

Being on set for so many years has also shaped my baking. I’ve watched food stylists work up close, especially on shoots like the LCBO food magazine, and I was always completely intrigued by the process. I also do a lot of hand modelling with food, so I love seeing how an entire team comes together to create one final image.

There’s something really special about working in a team environment. I usually work on my own in baking, so being around others, seeing different approaches, and feeding off that energy always stays with me.

Models of Canada: Your work has taken you across the globe. Which destination has left the most lasting imprint on your palate and your baking style??

Alie: 100% South Africa!

South Africa has become like a second home to me, and you’ll find a handful of recipes on my blog that were inspired by my time living and working there. I could probably start a whole other blog just on South Africa alone.

The food there is fresh, lively, and beautiful. A real fusion of cultures and flavours. Especially in Cape Town, everything feels vibrant and full of life. I spent years exploring the wine (read my blog about wine here) and food scene, especially the markets where I could spend days wondering, shopping and eating! It’s actually where I fell in love with wine, which eventually led me back to Toronto to study at George Brown College in their wine program. That experience really changed the way I think about flavour and how I build recipes.

I’m also very inspired by French baking, and I would say my style leans a bit French country. I like things simple, with really good ingredients - butter, cream, and letting the ingredients speak for itself. There’s also a certain simplicity in South African food, it’s generous, it’s real, and nothing ever feels overly complicated.

Models of Canada: South Africa holds a special place in your story. How has that chapter shaped the way you think about flavour, comfort, or culinary identity today?

Alie: I think the biggest impact it’s had on me is around food awareness and food waste.When you spend time there, you see things differently. You see poverty, you see people struggling, and you see how differently food is valued. It changed how I connect to food and honestly how I used to take it for granted.

I became much more conscious of how I shop, how much I cook, and how much I throw out. I don’t overbuy anymore, and I’m very aware of portion sizes and leftovers in a way I wasn’t before. It’s hard to explain without sounding too blunt, but you can’t really ignore it when you’re there. It makes you more conscious. More intentional.

That’s stayed with me in my own kitchen. I think more carefully now. I don’t waste food, and I try to be very grounded in how I approach cooking and baking because of it.

Models of Canada: If you were to translate one of your modelling experiences into a signature dessert, what moment would you choose and what would it taste like?

Alie: That's actually a really difficult question, but if I had to choose, I'd probably say a pavlova. It feels like the closest translation of modelling for me. It's delicate and fragile, but when it's done well, it's also really striking and beautiful. It can be simple or elevated depending on how you present it, just like modelling itself.

When I first started modelling in the early 2000s, the industry could be quite cutthroat. I was young, still finding my confidence, and learning where I fit in. Looking back, I think I was a lot like a pavlova at that stage - a little fragile on the outside, trying to figure things out, but slowly becoming stronger with experience.

What I've come to appreciate most over the years is that neither modelling nor a great dessert happens on its own. People see the finished photograph or the finished dessert, but there's usually a whole team behind it. Hair, makeup, stylists, photographers, art directors - everyone plays a role in creating something beautiful. The same is true when you're creating a special dessert for a celebration.

I've always been drawn to simple, natural beauty, and that's why I keep coming back to pavlovas. They look effortless, but there's a lot of skill and precision behind them. To me, they represent growth, confidence, and the idea that something delicate can also be incredibly beautiful and strong.

Models of Canada: Your baking is rooted in family, travel, and nature. If you had to distill your creative philosophy into three defining ingredients, what would they be and why?

Alie: That's a tough one because my first instinct is to say butter, butter, and more butter! But if I really think about what shapes my creativity, I would have to say family, travel, and nature.

Family is where it all began. Some of my favourite recipes come from my grandmothers, and those recipes taught me that food is about much more than ingredients. It's about bringing people together, creating memories, and sharing something made with love.

Travel has probably been my greatest source of inspiration. Modelling has taken me all over the world, and I've been lucky enough to experience different cultures, foods, and traditions. Every place leaves a little mark on you, and many of my recipes have been inspired by people, places, and flavours I've discovered along the way.

And nature has always grounded me. I grew up surrounded by beautiful landscapes, living in the country and city, the seasons continue to inspire the way I cook and bake. Whether it's fresh berries in the summer, apples in the fall, or simply slowing down and appreciating what's around me, nature reminds me that simple things are often the most beautiful.

When I look at my blog as a whole, those three things are woven into almost every recipe I create.

Models of Canada: What is a moment in the kitchen that felt unexpectedly cinematic or “editorial,” as though it belonged in a fashion story rather than a recipe book?

Alie: Without a doubt, it was during the years I owned and operated my dessert company.

Wedding cakes and dessert tables weren't just desserts to me; they were part of the overall design and atmosphere of someone's special day. I spent years creating custom cakes and dessert displays for weddings throughout the Kawartha Lakes, and there were so many moments that felt straight out of a magazine.

I remember setting up three-tier wedding cakes in a beautifully restored barn, filled with twinkling lights, chandeliers, and long harvest tables dressed with flowers. Everything felt so thoughtfully curated and romantic. As a model, I couldn't help but notice the styling of it all, and as a baker, it was incredibly rewarding to see my desserts become part of that bigger picture.

There was always a moment when everything came together. The cake was in place, the candles were lit, the flowers were arranged, and suddenly what had started in my kitchen became part of this beautiful scene. It felt editorial, but more importantly, it felt joyful.

Those are some of my favourite memories because they combined both worlds that I love - beauty and baking.

Models of Canada: Which three favourite recipes would you love to share with Models of Canada readers and why those in particular?

Alie: That's like asking me to choose a favourite child!

If I had to narrow it down to three, I'd start with my Bunny Chow Banana Bread. It's one of my favourite recipes that I brought back from South Africa, a country that has had such a huge influence on both my life and my baking. It doesn't get nearly as much love on the blog as some of my other recipes, but it's one of those desserts that always makes me smile and brings back wonderful memories.

My second choice would be my Grandma's Pastry recipe because that's really where it all began. So much of what I know about baking was passed down through family, and this recipe has stood the test of time. If I could only keep one pastry recipe for the rest of my life, this would be it.

And because we're talking about beauty and baking, my third choice would have to be my Two- Tier Pavlova. Pavlovas were one of my most popular desserts when I owned my dessert company, and I first fell in love with them while working in South Africa and Australia. They're elegant, impressive, and endlessly customizable. Once you learn how to make a good pavlova, the possibilities are endless.

Looking at those three recipes together, they really tell the story of my baking journey - family, travel, and creativity all on one plate.

Written by: Models of Canada

For more recipes check out Alie’s website BakingForFriends.com