Sandra Lee

Sandra Lee is an internationally-acclaimed Life & Style expert who has revolutionized the way people think about creating from scratch. With her trademark 70/30 philosophy, which combines 70% ready-made products with 30% fresh and creative touches -- Sandra has become the advocate for the over-extended homemaker. She creates the foundation and supplies the information that allows anyone and everyone (from students to parents to working professionals) to take 100% of the credit for something that looks, feels or tastes as if it were made completely 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 helping her mother manage the household finances as well as the care taking of her four siblings. With her family living on welfare and food stamps, Sandra quickly learned how to turn budget-friendly packaged foods into delicious and specials meals for the family. These experiences also taught Sandra the value of hard work and the art of multitasking – tools that she applies to everything she does in life.

As she grew up, Sandra continued to apply her semi-homemade philosophy to things beyond food. 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. Accepting the challenge, she invented a quick, easy way to re-create her own home from the inside out. Sandra realized that others could use the same solutions and decided to establish her own line of patented home, garden and craft products. After founding her business in 1992, she took her products on-air for QVC Shopping Network. Her innovative product lines have earned her numerous industry awards.

Sandra soon realized that her can-do attitude and how-to “semi-homemade” philosophy could also translate to food. She has since authored many successful cookbooks (see below), and an autobiography--Made from Scratch (below). Sandra’s Semi-Homemade® concept continued to expand from print to television to the Internet. Her Food Network series Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee debuted in the Fall of 2003 as one of the highest-rated show launches in the network’s history and remains one of its top three programs. Semi-Homemade.com receives more than 34 million hits annually and is home to the popular Semi-Homemakers® Club and the Semi-Homemade® web magazine -- online destinations providing simple solutions, recipes, resources and products based on Sandra’s 70/30 philosophy.