Sandra Lee (chef)

Sandra Lee Christiansen (née Waldroop; born July 3, 1966),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="biography.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> known professionally as Sandra Lee, is an American television chef and author. She is known for her "Semi-Homemade" cooking concept, which Lee describes as using 70 percent packaged products and 30 percent fresh ingredients.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Bennett"/> She received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Show Host in 2012 for her work and her show. As the partner of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, she served as the de facto first lady of New York from 2011 to 2019, when the couple ended their relationship.

Early life

Lee was born in Santa Monica, California,<ref name="biography.com" /> in 1966, the daughter of Vicky Svitak and Wayne Waldroop,<ref name="ravenous">Template:Cite news</ref> who had been high-school sweethearts. When Sandra was two, her mother sent her, along with her younger sister, Cindy, to live with their paternal grandmother, Lorraine Waldroop.<ref name="gma-excerpt" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1972, after divorcing Wayne, Lee's mother moved with her girls to Sumner, Washington, where they acquired a new stepfather, whose last name (Christiansen) Lee took. Vicky had three additional children in the 1970s: Kimber,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Richie, and John Paul.<ref name="Stein">Template:Cite news</ref> Due to her mother's illness and the absence of her and her siblings' fathers, Lee effectively raised her four younger siblings.<ref name="ravenous"/><ref name="Stein"/><ref name="anti-julia" /> In her youth, Lee learned how to feed her younger siblings frugally with a combination of food stamps and welfare payments, an experience that informed her future approach to cooking.<ref name="Bennett"/><ref name="anti-julia" />

Lee graduated from Onalaska High School, in Onalaska, Wisconsin,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.<ref name="gma-excerpt">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Lee has said her family is Catholic<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but was raised as Jehovah's Witnesses. One source reported they were also Seventh-day Adventist for a time.<ref name="Bennett"/><ref name="Tablet">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In December of her junior year, she left college to live near family in Malibu, California.<ref name="gma-excerpt" /> She later attended a two-week recreational course at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.<ref name="Vogue02222011">Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

In the early 1990s, Lee created a product called "Sandra Lee Kraft Kurtains," a home-decorating kit designed to turn a wire rack and sheets, or other spare fabric, into decorative drapery. It was sold via infomercials and cable shopping networks. Home-shopping network QVC hired her as on-air talent.<ref name="Vogue02222011"/> In her first 18 months, Lee sold $20 million worth of merchandise.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> QVC also selected Lee to launch its craft and home decorating categories on its networks in the U.K. and Germany. In 1994, she released her first DIY home improvement video series, which sold more than a million copies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee premiered on the Food Network in 2003. The show ran for 15 seasons<ref name="Bennett"/><ref name="DeSantis">Template:Cite news</ref> and was in the top three new weekend shows on the network for its first five years.<ref name="Luscombe">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Each episode contains entertaining and arts and crafts elements, in which Lee decorates the table setting and kitchen in accordance with the theme of the meal that she just prepared.<ref name="Stein"/> She refers to these as "tablescapes", a term she coined.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Lee's second Food Network series, Sandra's Money Saving Meals, began airing on May 10, 2009,<ref name="fn-bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in response to the Great Recession.<ref name="Bennett"/> At the time, she was the only host on the Food Network with two cooking series running concurrently. Kurt Soller, writing for Newsweek, described her as "among TV's most successful female chefs".<ref name="anti-julia" /> Template:As of, her shows have aired in 63 countries.<ref name="DeSantis"/> She has authored 27 books,<ref name="Malkin">Template:Cite news</ref> including Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade: Cool Kids Cooking (October 2006) and a memoir, Made From Scratch, which was released in November 2007.<ref name="fn-bio" /> Her book Semi-Homemade Cooking appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A magazine based on her show, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, was released in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> In late 2009, Lee hosted Sandra Lee Celebrates, a series of four one-hour specials that aired on HGTV.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2012, Lee won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Host for Semi-Homemade Cooking.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

Also in 2012, she started a monthly lifestyle magazine, Sandra Lee, in partnership with TV Guide.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> People magazine has included her in its list of "Most Beautiful" people multiple times.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In early 2020, Lee began creating her "Top Shelf" video series for Today.com, showcasing new ways to make meals from products commonly found in pantries.<ref name="Bennett"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> An April 2020 New York Times article authored by Jessica Bennett called Lee "the queen of making something out of nothing".<ref name="Bennett">Template:Cite news</ref> In late 2020, Lee hosted a series of holiday segments, "It's a Wonderful Lifetime", on Lifetime.<ref name="Malkin"/>

Documentaries

In 2015, shortly before being diagnosed with cancer, Lee started her own production company.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She created Rx: Early Detection – A Cancer Journey With Sandra Lee, a documentary about her experiences with cancer, which aired on HBO.<ref name="Watson"/> The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and on HBO in October 2018.<ref name="Watson">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Lee received the Made in New York Award at the Gotham Independent Film Awards in November 2018 for her work on the documentary.<ref name="Feinberg"/><ref name="Luscombe"/>

Lee was an executive producer of the documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, titled Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words, in collaboration with Academy Award-winning director Freida Lee Mock, Geralyn Dreyfous, and others. It premiered on Starz in March 2021<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as part of the network's Women's History Month programming.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>

Philanthropy

Lee co-founded the Los Angeles chapter of UNICEF in 2000.<ref name="Peters"/><ref name="Dreher">Template:Cite news</ref> She donated the proceeds from her second cookbook to God's Love We Deliver and Project Angel Food, two organizations that deliver food to homebound individuals.<ref name="DeSantis"/> In 2015, she led a UNICEF team on a mission to Haiti in her role as a special nutrition emissary for the organization.<ref name="Peters">Template:Cite news</ref> The U.S. division of the UN's World Food Program, the world's largest humanitarian organization,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> appointed Lee to its board of directors in May 2020.<ref name="Dreher"/>

Lee was a spokesperson for Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign for more than ten years<ref name="Peters"/> and created No Kid Hungry's annual fundraiser, the Great American Bake Sale.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her first Great American Bake Sale, in 2011, raised more than $50,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She has also worked with the Elton John AIDS Foundation<ref name="Dreher"/><ref name="Stein"/> and serves on its board.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Critical response

Hsiao-Ching Chou of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote a review of Lee's cookbook Semi-Homemade Cooking in 2002 that criticized both her recipes and her "semi-homemade" concept.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She then wrote a follow-up column, noting that the review received a response "that was more impassioned than I anticipated". Chou wrote that, though most readers agreed with her, a number of readers took Lee's position, including one who wrote, "Lots of people who don't want to take the time to shred a cup of carrots want to cook a good meal."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kurt Soller, writing for Newsweek, compared Lee's impact upon television cooking with that of Julia Child, noting that although Lee's show "is the furthest from Child's methods", both women "filled a niche that hasn't yet been explored".<ref name="anti-julia" />

Amanda Hesser, in a 2003 review of Semi-Homemade Cooking in The New York Times, wrote that Lee's recipes, in their use of packaged ingredients, can end up costing more, having harder-to-find ingredients, taking longer to make, and tasting worse than equivalent recipes made from scratch. Hesser also wrote that, in her cookbooks, Lee "encourages a dislike for cooking, and gives people an excuse for feeding themselves and their families mediocre food filled with preservatives."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, both Jessica Bennett in New York Times<ref name="Bennett"/> and Jaya Saxena in Eater noted that the context of pandemic scarcity made the "semi-homemade" concept feel newly relevant. Of Lee, Saxena wrote, "her show, Semi-Homemade Cooking, might be the perfect way to cook through quarantine."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kwanzaa cake

Much criticism of Lee coalesced around a recipe for "Kwanzaa Cake" that she demonstrated on a 2003 episode of Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. The recipe consisted of angel food cake topped with icing, cinnamon, apple pie filling, pumpkin seeds and corn nuts (which she referred to as acorns), all of which were store-bought, with seven Kwanzaa candles then inserted into the cake.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Food writer Anthony Bourdain, who was harshly critical of Lee in general, described the video clip of this segment of the show as "eye searing" and "a war crime".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The cake was called "scary" by the Houston Chronicle,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and "the most ghastly-sounding dish in Lee's culinary repertoire" by Tulsa World.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Salon.com wrote that the video "takes pride of place in the pantheon of hilarious culinary disaster videos".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Cookbook author Denise Vivaldo, who claims to have ghostwritten recipes for many celebrity chefs, claimed in The Huffington Post in December 2010 that she was responsible for the recipe, but that the candles were Lee's idea, for which Vivaldo apologized. She also wrote that Lee "has incredibly bad food taste".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A week later, the post was removed after Lee's lawyer threatened legal action.<ref name="ravenous"/> Lee has said this recipe is the only one of hers whose criticism she has taken to heart, and that the recipe was due to the Food Network then dictating the show's content.<ref name="ravenous" />

Personal life

From 2001 to 2005, she was married to then-KB Home CEO and philanthropist Bruce Karatz,<ref name="Barbaro">Template:Cite news</ref> for whom she converted to Judaism.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Tablet" />

In the fall of 2005, Lee entered into a relationship with Andrew Cuomo, who served as the 56th Governor of New York from 2011<ref name="anti-julia">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> until his resignation in August 2021.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The two lived in a home owned by Lee in Chappaqua.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On September 25, 2019, the couple announced that they had ended their relationship.<ref name="Split">Template:Cite news</ref>

Lee has been reported to be dating the Algerian-born Abdulwahab Benyoucef, an actor professionally known as Ben Youcef, since March 2021. He is younger than her by 13 years, Friends of the couple reportedly affectionately refer to them as "Bendra."<ref name="Bendra">Template:Cite news</ref>

Cancer and advocacy

Lee announced on May 12, 2015 that she had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. By then she had undergone a lumpectomy, and was scheduled to have a double mastectomy later in the week. Governor Cuomo was to take some personal time to be with her during and after the surgery.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In August 2015, she contracted an infection in her right breast that resulted in her going on bed rest and receiving intravenous drugs for three months.<ref name="Kopaczewski"/> Lee announced that she was cancer free in late 2015.<ref name="CancerFree">Template:Cite news</ref> Seven years after undergoing her double mastectomy, Lee underwent a hysterectomy procedure in March 2022. Her surgery was successful.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2016, Lee pushed for the passage of the $91 million "No Excuses" law in the state of New York,<ref name="Kopaczewski">Template:Cite news</ref> which provided for expanded breast cancer screening and removed insurance co-pays for mammograms.<ref name="Luscombe"/> She subsequently advocated that other states pass their own versions of the "No Excuses" law.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lee was a keynote speaker at the Susan G. Komen Advocacy Summit for breast cancer awareness in Washington, D.C., in May 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She also became an ambassador for Stand Up to Cancer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and produced the documentary Rx: Early Detection – A Cancer Journey With Sandra Lee.<ref name="Watson"/>

Bibliography

Cookbooks

• Semi-Homemade - Cooking, Fast and Fabulous (2001)
• Semi-Homemade Cooking: Quick, Marvelous Meals and Nothing is Made from Scratch (2002)
• Semi-Homemade Desserts (2003)
• Semi-Homemade Cooking 2 (2005)
• Semi-Homemade 20-Minute Meals (2006)
• Semi-Homemade Grilling (2006)
• Semi-Homemade Gatherings (2006)
• Semi-Homemade Slow Cooker Recipes (2006)
• Semi-Homemade Cool Kids' Cooking (2006)
• Semi-Homemade Cooking Made Light (2006)
• Semi Homemade 20-Minute Meals 2 (2006)
• Semi-Homemade Slow Cooker Recipes 2 (2007)
• Semi-Homemade Cooking 3 (2007)
• Semi-Homemade Fast-Fix Family Favorites (2008)
• Semi-Homemade Desserts 2 (2008)
• Semi-Homemade Money Saving Meals (2008)
• Semi-Homemade Grilling 2 (2008)
• Semi-Homemade Cocktail Time (2009)
• Semi-Homemade Weeknight Wonders: 139 Easy Fast Fix Dishes (2009)
• Semi-Homemade Money-Saving Slow-Cooking (2009)
• Semi-Homemade: The Complete Cookbook (2010)
• Semi-Homemade Comfort Food (2010)
• Money Saving Meals and Round 2 Recipes (2011)
• Easy Entertaining at Home: Cocktails, Finger Foods, and Creative Ideas for Year-Round Celebrations (2011)
• Bake Sale Cookbook (2011)
• Every Dish Delivers: 365 Days of Fast, Fresh, Affordable Meals (2013)

Other

• Made From Scratch: A Memoir (2007)
• The Recipe Box, a novel (2013)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2012	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Host	Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee	Template:Won	<ref name=":0" />
2013	Gracie Award	Outstanding Host – Lifestyle Program	Sandra's Restaurant Remakes	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lee has received the President's Volunteer Service Award,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Eleanor Roosevelt Medal of Honor,<ref name="Dreher"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and, in 2009, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="DeSantis"/> In 2018, the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment presented Lee with the Made in NY Award at the Gotham Independent Film Awards.<ref name="Feinberg">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Luscombe"/>

External links

• Template:Official website
• Sandra Lee's Food Network Page