Sandra Lee: The Semi-Homemade Kitchen

CBN.com BORN TO COOK           

Sandra Lee has scaled the heights of success in business and in life. Her best-selling books appeal to the busy homemaker; her TV show displays the elegance and ease with which these busy homemakers can have a fulfilling life for themselves and their families.

Her show debuted in 2003 as one of the highest rated show launches in the Food Network’s history and remains one of its top three programs. Her semi-homemade philosophy combines the convenience of using store bought food items with the nurturing home cooking aspect of food preparation. But looking back at Sandra’s early years one could hardly have predicted this level of success.            

Sandra’s parents were high school sweethearts when Vicky became pregnant at 15 and they married. Two years later they filed for divorce and soon after, Sandra and sister Cindy were dropped off at Grandma Lorraine’s house in Santa Monica, her dad Wayne’s mom. It was years before they saw Vicky again, but Grandma Lorraine showered them with love and became a pivotal person in their lives. Grandma was God-fearing, loved to cook, and celebrated them with miniature individual birthday cakes and other tokens of love.

This ideal changed drastically when Vicky remarried and moved the girls to Washington state, later having three other children. Sadly, Vicky was not prepared for the responsibility of rearing a growing family and fell into emotional despair and depression as another marriage crumbled. Sandra was nine-years-old when she was thrust into the role of basically rearing her siblings as Vicky languished in the house.

Vicky was verbally and physically abusive. As a miniature caretaker, Sandra shopped for family meals once the food stamps arrived, being careful to plan so their food lasted for the month. She cooked, she washed, attended school, etc.  She rode her bike to the grocery store for other items Vicky wanted, and the Lord help her if she missed something. 

The years with Grandma Lorraine paid off as she grappled with her responsibilities. To earn money, Sandra cleaned people’s houses while Cindy cared for the other kids. She raked leaves, did laundry, took out garbage, picked berries, etc. Good at crafts, she created and sold knickknacks, a talent she learned from Grandma Lorraine. Sandra thought things were getting better, but Vicky got more depressed.  

At 13 Sandra rescued her mom after Vicky swallowed a bottle of pills in a suicide attempt, dialing 9-1-1. Sandra could only imagine what the neighbors thought of her family. She and the kids were alone in the house for three days while Vicky was hospitalized. No one came to check on them. During all the years of her parents’ aggression and neglect, Sandra never fought back when she and her siblings were hit, because Grandma Lorraine taught them to respect their parents. Sandra was 16-years-old when she had to leave her home after a fairly innocuous exchange with Vicky who then flew into a rage and beat her black and blue. Sandra moved out with her then teenage boyfriend’s family.  Sandra contacted Grandma Lorraine who suggested she move in with her father Wayne and his girlfriend Patty who lived in Wisconsin, which she did. 

NEW BEGINNINGS

Though she missed her siblings horribly, Sandra felt a new freedom, getting a job and becoming a good student.  But this living arrangement was interrupted when in her senior year Wayne was accused and convicted of second-degree sexual assault. Sandra, with Grandma Lorraine’s help, moved into her own apartment and began life anew on her own. She went to college and worked, making new friends and living the college life. Having audited a business class, she left college in her junior year and moved to CA in 1987. She lived with relatives and found a job with an import/export company that, working in trade shows, launched her into a thriving business of her own selling home window treatments she created called Kurtain Kraft. 

Adept at economizing, Sandra created a high-end look for an affordable price – $19.99 to $39.99. They became a household name, sold out on QVC, and flew off the shelves elsewhere. Sandra plowed the profits back into the business and became a millionaire by age 25. Alas, this blazing streak didn’t last. Due to a product control snafu with QVC, Sandra went through a humbling financial failure and was forced to shut down the business and start over by age 28. Ironically, QVC helped her build her new crafts and lifestyle business. It was during this period that Sandra’s new success allowed her to take her beloved Grandma on an Alaskan Cruise in 1998 where she was dealt the most devastating blow – Grandma Lorraine said she was dying of stomach cancer. Recovering from this death took a lot out of Sandra, but it also drew her immediate family more tightly together. 

SEMI-HOMEMADE

Continuing her entrepreneurial pursuits and meeting many movers and shakers, Sandra embraced a jet-set lifestyle, traveling extensively between New York and LA, in the States and internationally. When she ate in the most exclusive restaurants, she thought of ways that the busy homemaker could enjoy such wonderful meals without having many hours of cooking time. They could use creativity and many products that are readily available in the grocery store. 

Thus, her Semi-Homemade Cooking brand began. Her demographic was women she called semi-homemakers who are between the ages of 35-54 and are generally running their households. She probably has kids and goes to church. She is the new traditionalist, a working or stay-at-home woman who does not want to do anything halfway for her family. Among her first supporters were the founders of Miramax Studios, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who became her business partners. Though the rarified cooking world didn’t think much of her idea – saying it wasn’t real cooking - the busy book-buying public flocked to it. By now Sandra was married to a business leader, a powerful man with wide-ranging business interests. Sandra took part in philanthropic projects with good friends, ET’s Mary Hart, and others. Her best-selling books and TV appearances on major shows such as The View paved the way for her own popular TV show on the Food Network. 

Sandra’s career trajectory impacted many aspects of her life, but true to pattern she worked hard and succeeded.  When she learned that for business reasons Miramax and Disney were parting ways, she labored long in tedious negotiations. And though it cost her a huge sum, she bought the Semi-Homemade brand outright by Christmas 2004, and had a new publishing deal in place. She has stayed close to her siblings and several of them work with her. Unfortunately her marriage did not survive, and she divorced in 2005.

DO NOT JUDGE 

Sandra has received many honors and awards but it was a special speaking invitation that changed her view of her role in life. She was being honored in New York by Step Up Women’s Network, a nonprofit mentoring organization that helps disadvantaged girls at risk. While preparing her remarks, Sandra realized that she didn’t want to recite an empty formula, but share something meaningful to encourage them. They needed to know that if she could do it, they could do it; all they had to do was dream big and work hard to achieve their goals. Facing an audience filled with media and industry leaders, Sandra shared her story, going back to the tough years of her childhood. It was an eye-opener for this glitterati crowd who knew only her high-profile life, but all of her friends stood with her, including Mary Hart. 

Around this time Sandra went through a cancer scare, but when the tests came back negative, “I left the doctor’s office and went straight to St. Monica’s church. I prayed and thanked God for all of His generosity and for all the blessings that he has always given me.” 

While waiting for her test results that weekend, Sandra found a letter from her mother Vicky received in 1997. In it Vicky apologized for her failings as a young mother so many years before, recounting many incidents. 

“Vicky’s letter was an attempt to extend an olive branch and make peace,” Sandra says. “I forgive her. As the Bible says, ‘Judge not lest you be judged.' ” 

In the midst of a very busy life, Sandra remains close to her siblings and their kids. For the holidays she says it is important to remember others, because people can feel lonely at these times. Stay positive and help others. Don‘t get over-extended in the “work” of Christmas and the holidays. Know what’s most important. For that reason, Sandra says the children in her family get three gifts only. 

“That way they don’t tear through them and forget about them,” she says.

They routinely clean out old toys and donate them to church bazaars, etc. This is a way to help many people. Many years ago Sandra says she used to shop in such places. 

Sandra will demonstrate some of her favorite dishes on The 700 Club:  Prosciutto Wrapped Figs, Provencal Turkey Breast, Haricots Vert w/ Shaved Parmesan, and Super Moist Chocolate Cake w/ Chocolate-Cinnamon Mousse.

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