Sandra Lee (chef)
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Sandra Lee, (born July 3, 1966 in Sumner, Washington as Sandra Lee Christiansen[1]), is an American television chef and author. Lee is best-known for her "Semi-Homemade" cooking concept. She describes the philosophy as "70% store-bought/ready-made products accompanied by 30% fresh and creative touches, allowing you to take 100% of the credit."
Early life
Sandra Lee's Food Network Chefography aired March 20, 2007.[citation needed] The program states that Lee was born in 1966, to teenage parents, who divorced in 1972. Her biological mother Vicky later remarried, only to divorce again, which caused her to become depressed, ill, and bedridden for years until her death.
After the death of her mother, at age 10[2] Lee became a surrogate mother to her four younger siblings; her responsibilities included buying groceries, preparing the meals, and handling the family finances.
After her mother's first divorce, Lee lived with her grandmother Lorraine. Lee took care of her family until she was 16, when her remarried stepfather came back to take back his children (Lee's half-siblings) leaving her alone.
After completing high school, she attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse for three years, after which she moved back to Los Angeles. Lee studied cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa, Canada. Lee says in an interview that she felt "...the lessons were a waste of time" and that she could prepare better dishes on her own.
Career
In the early 1990s, Lee created a product called "Kurtain Kraft", a home decorating tool using a wire rack and sheets or other fabric samples to create the appearance of decorative drapery. The product was sold on infomercials and cable shopping networks.
Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee premiered on the Food Network in 2003. The program is taped in a custom-built studio in Brooklyn, New York. Each episode contains an arts and crafts element, in which Lee decorates the table setting in accordance with the theme of the meal that she just prepared. She refers to these as "tablescapes".
Lee's first cookbooks, Semi-Homemade Cooking and Semi-Homemade Desserts, were originally printed by Talk Miramax, but are now distributed by Meredith Corporation. She has also released Semi-Homemade Cooking 2, along with revised editions of her first two cookbooks.
In 2006, Lee released four new cookbooks: Semi-Homemade 20-Minute Meals, Semi-Homemade Slow Cooker Recipes, Semi-Homemade Great Gatherings, and Semi-Homemade Cool Kids Cooking. Another, Semi-Homemade Light and Healthy Cookbook, was released in January 2007.[3] Three new cookbooks, Semi-Homemade Cooking 3, 20-Minute Meals 2, and Slow Cooker 2 were released in November 2007.[4] Her memoir, Made From Scratch, was released November 6, 2007.
Critical reaction
Lee's cooking style, like other television cooks, has not always been well received.
Amanda Hesser in The New York Times writes, Lee "...seems more intent on encouraging people to create excuses for not cooking than on encouraging them to cook wholesome simple foods," concluding that "...she has produced two books in which she encourages a dislike for cooking, and gives people an excuse for feeding themselves and their families mediocre food filled with preservatives."[5]