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2009 Celebrity
Chef, Sandra Lee
Semi-Homemade Cooking
on The
Food Network
and
Editor-in-Chief
Sandra Lee
Semi-Homemade magazine
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Go
Eat Los
Angeles 2009 Celebrity Chef
Sandra Lee
Sandra
Lee has
a passion for simple solutions that create dramatic results
in all areas of home life. She is
Editor-in-Chief of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine,
a popular television host and internationally-acclaimed home & food
expert who has revolutionized the way people think about
homemade. With her trademark 70/30 Semi-Homemade® philosophy,
which combines 70% ready-made products with 30% fresh and
creative touches, Sandra is recognized as the foremost advocate
to over-extended people. She created the platform to continually
supply savory tactics that allows anyone to take 100% of
the credit for something that looks, feels and tastes as
if it were completely made from scratch.
Sandra’s
philosophy was born out of necessity and the challenges she
faced throughout her childhood. The oldest of five children,
Sandra was responsible for caring for her four younger siblings
and managing the household finances. Forced to live on welfare and food
stamps, Sandra quickly learned how to turn
budget-friendly packaged foods into delicious and
special meals for her family while stretching every
dollar. These early experiences laid the foundation for
what would eventually become Semi-Homemade®.
In
1989, after attending the University of Wisconsin, Sandra
was faced with her own home decorating dilemma: How to
decorate her home with style and flair on a limited budget?
She invented a quick, easy way to re-create her home from
the inside out. Sandra realized that others could use the
same solutions. She invented
her own line of patented home, garden and craft
products, and launched her first company, Kurtain Kraft.
By 1993 she was taking these products on-air for QVC
Shopping Network-USA. They were so successful that she
was asked to spearhead and anchor the on-air launch of
the craft and home decorating categories for QVC-United
Kingdom and QVC-Germany. This success catapulted Sandra
to produce one of the first DIY home improvement video
series. Released in 1994, her DIY series sold over a
million copies. Her innovative product lines covered
all home categories and garnered numerous industry
awards, including Wallcoverings,
Windows & Interior Fashion’s “Achiever of the Year” and Profitable Craft
Merchandising’s “Home
Decorating Product of the Year.”
Lee
then attended the world's leading culinary art institute, Le
Cordon Bleu.
She learned how to apply her Semi-Homemade® philosophy
and savvy shortcuts towards gourmet recipes so that every over-extended
homemaker could create and savor delicious dishes at home in
less time and at a fraction of the cost. Since
then, Sandra has become a New York Times best-selling
author and has written sixteen cooking and entertaining books. She
has sold more than 2.3 million books since 2005 and has been
awarded the prestigious, International French Gourmand Award
for Best Easy Cookbook.
Semi-Homemade® moved seamlessly from books to
television, radio and the Internet. In 2003, her Food
Network television series, Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, debuted
as one of the highest-rated show launches in the network’s history. Nominated for a Daytime Emmy in
2008, the show remains a consistent top performing
program. Her personal story was documented by Food
Network’s Chefography in 2007 to rave reviews and
high ratings. Her memoir,
Made From Scratch, was
published later that year to become a Barnes & Noble
best-seller soon after its release.
Sandra
Lee’s website, SemiHomemade.com, receives over 55-million hits
annually and is home to a popular online club membership of
Semi-Homemakers. In February 2009,
Sandra will launch Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine as another outlet to take the ordinary into
extraordinary.
In 2008,
Sandra released four books: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade
Grilling 2 (spring 2008); Semi-Homemade Money
Saving Meals, Semi-Homemade Desserts 2, and Semi-Homemade
Fast-Fix Family Favorites (fall/winter 2008.) In
that same year, the Emmy-Nominated program, Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee celebrated its
fifth year on the Food Network and its 200th episode.
Sandra
was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her
involvement with many charitable and philanthropic organizations.
Sandra is the national spokesperson for Share Our Strength
and its annual “Great American Bake Sale.” She is a founding member of the Los Angeles
chapter of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and has served on
the board of trustees for Project Angel Food. Sandra is
a generous supporter of God’s Love We Deliver, the
Central Park Conservancy, and was the celebrity chef for
2008 DineOut LA raising funds for Aid for AIDS. She is
a participant in Harvard Business School’s annual
Woman’s Entrepreneurships Conference.
Sandra’s
passion and enthusiasm is contagious, and her attainable, couture-styled,
culinary approach allows her the privilege of being a frequent
guest expert for many national TV shows including Good Morning
America, Weekend Today, Fox News Channel, The View, Ellen,
and Tyra among others. She is a bankable personality
appearing as the cover celebrity on many national
magazines including Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, TV
Guide and Family Circle.
January
2009 |
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