OK Magazine
July 10, 2006

Sandra Lee is the gorgeous face behind the Food Network’s hit show Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, and many dub her as being “the next Martha Stewart.” Like Martha, this blonde beauty does it all: interior design, gardening, cooking—there isn’t anything that she can’t do. She’s most famous perhaps for inventing the concept of “semi-homemade,” which is thirty percent store-bought ingredients. Sandra has published numerous cookbooks and has several more coming out this fall. With her publisher and television show based in New York, it’s no wonder she found a gorgeous condo in the heart of the city. And although NYC isn’t known for spacious living, Sandra still loves to entertain and says “that love” and “fun” are the two most important ingredients for a dinner party. Read on for more tips, advice and to see how this semi-homemade queen keeps it all together.

“It’s amazing what you can get done if you’re organized”

The views from your apartment are unbelievable!
Yeah, one side is the East River and the other side is downtown and the Empire State Building. It’s great because this is probably the only building on the Upper East Side that doesn’t have something built right on top of it or next to it. It looks like Christmas every night with the lights. The city is a gorgeous piece of art.

What inspired you to choose this apartment?
I wanted something with a lot of light. New York can be very dark, and I think that’s depressing for people, especially people who come from L.A. I wanted something that not only had a lot of windows but, when you walked in, was very light and reflective.

Tell us about the photo hanging above your bed.
It’s by Richard Misrach. It’s a guy who is floating in the Mediterranean. There are only five of them. It’s gorgeous, and it cost a fortune. But that’s okay; it was my art splurge last year.

Everything in your apartment is labeled and clearly marked. Are you that organized all the time?
I try to be because it is the only way to get everything done. I’m doing a year’s worth of TV shows in six weeks, five books in five months and trying to have a life—it’s amazing what you can get done if you’re organized.

“Just by cooking does not mean you’re the next Martha Stewart”

How do you feel when you are called “the next Martha Stewart”?
It can be flattering. I think the reason for the comparison is because there’s not another personality doing that. And I think that’s why I get that all the time. I’m the only one there that does all the categories. Everyone is compared to her. But that doesn’t mean that it is reality because just by cooking doesn’t mean you’re the next Martha Stewart, that’s for damn sure. You have to have the business acumen, the category history and you have to be driven enough to really do it. Plus, you have to have the consumer awareness and the consumer following.

Did you ever aspire to be the next Martha?
No, I don’t aspire to be anybody but myself. I feel very good about what I have accomplished so far in my life and who I am and what’s important to me and what my values are and how I’m getting there.

Did you spend a lot of time in the kitchen as a kid?
Yeah! I’m the oldest of five, and my mom was really sick when we were growing up; she was bedridden for several years. My father didn’t live in the States so I did the majority of the cooking for five kids. I learned how to make real meals like lasagna, fried chicken, pork chops. My favorite hobby was baking bread. I thought yeast was the coolest thing on the planet [laughs].