Sandra Lee (chef)

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Sandra Lee
Sandra Lee 2012 Shankbone.JPG
Lee in 2012
Born
Sandra Lee Waldroop

(1966-07-03) July 3, 1966 (age 55)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Television chef
  • author
  • documentary producer
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2001; div. 2005)​
Partner(s)Andrew Cuomo (2005–2019)
First Lady of New York
In role
De facto
January 1, 2011 – September 25, 2019
GovernorAndrew Cuomo
Preceded byMichelle Paige Paterson
Succeeded byWilliam J. Hochul Jr. (First Gentleman)
Websitesandralee.com

Sandra Lee Christiansen (née Waldroop; born July 3, 1966),[1][2] 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 pre-packaged products and 30 percent fresh items.[3] She received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Show Host in 2012 for her work and her show. As the partner of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, she served as New York's de facto First Lady from 2011 to 2019, when the couple ended their relationship.

Early life[]

Lee was born in Santa Monica, California,[2] in 1966, the daughter of Vicky Svitak and Wayne Waldroop,[4] 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.[5][6] 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,[7][8] Richie, and John Paul.[9] Due to her mother's illness and the absence of her and her siblings' fathers, Lee effectively raised her four younger siblings.[9][10][4] 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.[10][11]

Lee graduated from Onalaska High School, in Onalaska, Wisconsin,[12] and attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.[5][13][14] Lee claims her family is Catholic.[15] She was initially raised as a Seventh-day Adventist, but her family later became Jehovah's Witness.[16]

In December of her junior year, she left college to live near family in Malibu, California.[5] She later attended a two-week recreational course at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[17]

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.[17] In her first 18 months, Lee sold $20 million worth of merchandise.[18] 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.[19]

Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee premiered on the Food Network in 2003. The show ran for 15 seasons[20] and was in the top three new weekend shows on the network for its first five years.[21] 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.[9] She refers to these as "tablescapes", a term she coined.[22] Lee's second Food Network series, Sandra's Money Saving Meals, began airing on May 10, 2009, [23] in response to the Great Recession. 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".[10] As of 2019, her shows have aired in 63 countries.[20] She has authored 27 books,[24] including Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade: Cool Kids Cooking (October 2006) and a memoir, Made From Scratch, which was released in November 2007.[23] Her book Semi-Homemade Cooking appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. [25]A magazine based on her show, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, was released in 2009.[26] In late 2009, Lee hosted Sandra Lee Celebrates, a series of four one-hour specials that aired on HGTV.[27][28]

In 2012, Lee won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Host for Semi-Homemade Cooking.[29]

Also in 2012, she started a monthly lifestyle magazine, Sandra Lee, in partnership with TV Guide.[30] She is also starring in two new shows: Sandra's Restaurant Remakes and Sandra Lee's Taverns, Lounges & Clubs.[31] People magazine has included her in its list of "Most Beautiful" people multiple times.[32][33][34][35]

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.[36][37][38] An April 2020 New York Times article authored by Jessica Bennett called Lee "the queen of making something out of nothing".[11] In late 2020, Lee hosted a series of holiday segments, "It's a Wonderful Lifetime", on Lifetime.[24]

Critical response[]

Hsiao-Ching Chou of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote a review of Lee's cookbook Semi-Homemade Cooking that criticized both her recipes and her "semi-homemade" concept.[39] 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 side, 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."[40]

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".[10]

Amanda Hesser, in a 2003 review of Semi-Homemade Cooking in The New York Times, wrote that Lee's recipes, in their use of prepackaged 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."[41]

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, both Jessica Bennett in New York Times[11] 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."[42]

Kwanzaa cake[]

Much of the criticism of Lee has 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.[43]

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".[44][45][46] The cake was called "scary" by the Houston Chronicle,[47] and "the most ghastly-sounding dish in Lee's culinary repertoire" by Tulsa World.[48] Salon.com wrote that the video "takes pride of place in the pantheon of hilarious culinary disaster videos".[49]

Cookbook author Denise Vivaldo, who claims to have ghostwritten recipes for many celebrity chefs, wrote a humorous post in The Huffington Post in December 2010 stating that she was responsible for the recipe (though she said that the candles were Lee's idea), and apologizing for it. She also wrote that Lee "has incredibly bad food taste".[50] A week later, the post was removed after Lee's lawyer threatened legal action.[4] 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 dictating the show's content at the time.[4]

Personal life[]

From 2001 to 2005, she was married to then-KB Home CEO and philanthropist Bruce Karatz,[51] for whom she converted to Judaism.[52][16] In the fall of 2005, Lee entered into a relationship with Andrew Cuomo, who became Governor of New York in 2011.[14][10][53] The two lived in a home owned by Lee in Chappaqua.[54][55] On September 25, 2019, the couple announced that they had ended their relationship.[56]

Cancer[]

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.[57] Lee announced that she is cancer free in late 2015.[58]

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 Won [29]
2013 Gracie Award Outstanding Host – Lifestyle Program Sandra's Restaurant Remakes Won [59]

References[]

  1. ^ Payne, Patti (May 11, 2007). "Food Network star Sandra Lee peeled onions as a youth at the Puyallup Fair". Puget Sound Business Journal. Seattle, WA: American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on August 6, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sandra Lee Biography: Chef, Writer, Television Personality profile". Biography.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  3. ^ "Sandra Lee: The Woman in White". Vogue. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Wallace, Benjamin (March 27, 2011). "The Ravenous and Resourceful Sandra Lee". New York.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Excerpt: 'Made From Scratch'". Good Morning America. ABC. October 31, 2007. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  6. ^ "Lee, Sandra". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  7. ^ Oglethorpe, Alice (6 February 2019). "How Surviving Breast Cancer Inspired Sandra Lee to Make it Easier for Women to Get Mammograms". Prevention. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  8. ^ Sporkin, Elizabeth (12 May 2015). "Sandra Lee Breast Cancer: Sister Kimber and Love Andrew Cuomo Provide Support". People. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c Stein, Joshua David (3 April 2011). "The Semi Homemade World of Sandra Lee". Out. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Soller, Kurt (August 6, 2009). "Sandra Lee: The Anti-Julia". Newsweek. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c Bennett, Jessica (10 April 2020). "Sandra Lee Has Her Own Message for America". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Onalaska High School Alumni Association – Sandra Lee". Onalaska High School Alumni Association.
  13. ^ Lee, Sandra (November 1, 2007). "Recipe for Success". Family Circle. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Karni, Annie (December 3, 2009). "Sandra Lee and Andrew Cuomo: A Love Story". Page Six Magazine. New York: New York Post. Archived from the original on August 2, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  15. ^ "Sandra Lee's Homemade Faith". Beliefnet. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b Hoffman, Allison (April 5, 2011). "Semi-Homemade, Totally Jewish - Turns out Sandra Lee converted a decade ago". The Tablet.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Wells, Gully (February 22, 2011). "Sandra Lee: The Woman in White". Vogue. Archived from the original on December 23, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  18. ^ Rochlin, Margy (September 2003). "Good-bye To All That". Gourmet.
  19. ^ Sinn, Holley (22 September 2008). "Sandra Lee". WTSP. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b DeSantis, Rachel (26 September 2019). "What to Know About Sandra Lee and Her Career and Cancer Journey amid Gov. Cuomo Split". People. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  21. ^ Luscombe, Belinda (14 February 2019). "Chef Sandra Lee Rose to Fame on Charm and Cool Whip. Now She's Taking on Cancer". Time. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  22. ^ Griffin, Mackensie (5 May 2015). "The Strange, Creative, and Occasionally Tacky History of Table Settings—Excuse Me, Tablescapes". Slate. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sandra Lee". Hosts & Chefs. Food Network. 2010. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b Malkin, Marc (19 October 2020). "Sandra Lee to Host During Lifetime's Holiday Programming (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  25. ^ Hesser, Amanda (1 October 2003). "Test Kitchen – Homemade Or Semi? A Bake-Off". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Television Star and Best-Selling Author Sandra Lee and Hoffman Media, Launches New Magazine Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Today" (Press release). Hoffman Media. Reuters.com. February 17, 2009. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  27. ^ Huff, Richard (24 November 2009). "Home guru gets into the Christmas spirit with HGTV's 'Sandra Lee Celebrates'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  28. ^ Marine, Jaime E. (5 December 2009). "Upper Pittsgrove family appears on HGTV's 'Sandra Lee Celebrates'". South Jersey Times. NJ.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b Moore, Frazier (June 23, 2012). "Daytime Emmys 2012 Winners Revealed". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  30. ^ Merwin, Hugh (26 September 2012). "Sandra Lee and TV Guide Join Forces". Grub Street. New York Magazine. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  31. ^ Shain, Michael. "Sandra Lee expands empire". New York Post. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  32. ^ Braun Davison, Candice (25 July 2016). "13 Things You Didn't Know About Sandra Lee". Delish. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  33. ^ Natale, Nicol (28 April 2020). "Sandra Lee Says She Was "Borderline Underweight" After She Had a Double Mastectomy". Prevention. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  34. ^ Holohan, Meghan (27 April 2020). "'Our bodies are a gift': Sandra Lee on her intentional weight gain". TODAY.com. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  35. ^ "Sandra Lee Is One of People's 'World's Most Beautiful'". Extra. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  36. ^ "Sandra Lee's Top Shelf Recipes Using Store-Bought Pantry Ingredients". People. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  37. ^ "Sandra Lee makes applejack pancakes, applesauce granola crisp, sangria". today.com. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  38. ^ "Sandra Lee". today.com. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  39. ^ Chou, Hsiao-Ching (October 23, 2002). "On Food: 'Semi-Homemade' is a halfhearted view of cooking". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, WA: Hearst Seattle Media. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  40. ^ Chou, Hsiao-Ching (November 13, 2002). "On Food: Column on Sandra Lee really stirred the pot". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, WA: Hearst Seattle Media. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  41. ^ Hesser, Amanda (2003-10-01). "Test Kitchen; Homemade Or Semi? A Bake-Off (Published 2003)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  42. ^ Saxena, Jaya (19 May 2020). "It Took Quarantine to Validate Sandra Lee's 'Semi-Homemade Cooking'". Eater. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  43. ^ Gillette, Amelie (March 16, 2009). "This Cake Will Make Your Eyeballs Burst Into Flames". The Onion AV Club. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  44. ^ Balingit, Moriah (June 17, 2010). "Eat this, Anthony Bourdain!". McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Washington.
  45. ^ Bancroft, Colette (July 7, 2010). "Ripping Rant on Food and Restaurant Business; Surly celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain spouts off about his likes, and mostly passionate dislikes, in the eminently entertaining Medium Raw". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. p. E2.
  46. ^ Bourdain, Anthony. Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook. Ecco. ISBN 978-0-06-171894-6.
  47. ^ Vuong, Mary (May 17, 2006). "Celebrity Chefs/Foodies with groupies". Houston Chronicle. Texas. p. 1.
  48. ^ Allen, Charlotte (December 5, 2010). "Perhaps Democrats should taste Sandra Lee's cooking". Tulsa World. Oklahoma. p. G.3.
  49. ^ Lam, Francis (December 26, 2010). "Just how offensive is Sandra Lee's crazy Kwanzaa cake?". Salon.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  50. ^ Eurpublisher (December 16, 2010). "Woman behind 'Sandra Lee Kwanzaa Cake' Explains Debacle". Lee Bailey's EURweb. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011.
  51. ^ Barbaro, Michael (May 14, 2010). "A TV Cook's Next Serving? Cuomo Family Style". Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  52. ^ Wallace, Benjamin (March 27, 2011). "The Ravenous and Resourceful Sandra Lee". New York Magazine. By 1999, Lee had become a spokesperson for KB Home, as well as romantically involved with its CEO, Bruce Karatz, who was 21 years her senior. Karatz's marriage subsequently dissolved, and by 2001, Lee had converted to Judaism and married Karatz at Ron Burkle's estate in Beverly Hills.
  53. ^ Roche, Darrage (18 February 2021). "How Long Has Andrew Cuomo Been New York Governor and When Is He Up For Re-election?". Newsweek. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  54. ^ Kaplan, Thomas (23 April 2011). "Cuomo's Home? The Address Says One Thing, the Map Another". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  55. ^ Valeris, Monique (28 February 2020). "See Inside Sandra Lee's Charming Westchester Home". Town & Country. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  56. ^ McKinley, Jesse (25 September 2019). "Governor Cuomo and Sandra Lee Have Split Up". The New York Times.
  57. ^ "TV Personality Sandra Lee Battling Breast Cancer, Urges Women to Be Screened". Good Morning America. May 12, 2015. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  58. ^ Kindelan, Katie (22 September 2015). "Sandra Lee Reveals She Is Cancer Free". ABC News.
  59. ^ "2013 Gracies Winners". Alliance for Women in Media. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

External links[]

Honorary titles
Preceded by
Michelle Paige Paterson 		First Lady of New York
De facto
2011–2019 		Succeeded by
William J. Hochul Jr.
(as First Gentleman)
Retrieved from ""