Kidsday talks with Food Network's Sandra Lee
Photo credit: Newsday Photo / Pat Mullooly | Food Network host Sandra Lee with Kidsday reporters: Julia Brimeyer, Haily MacDonald, Hunter Reiher, Sydney Welch and Lily Spellman.
When we arrived at Chelsea Market in Manhattan, we were all so excited to meet Sandra Lee, the famous Food Network TV star and author.
The Food Network Studios and Test Kitchens are located above the shops and restaurants at Chelsea Market. We headed upstairs on an elevator to the test kitchens. This kitchen was really big. Before we knew it, it was time to meet Sandra Lee. When she came into the test kitchen to meet us, she shook each of our hands and gave us each special compliments.
She made everyone feel welcome. Then, we each washed our hands and got to work to make French toast with her. The recipe was a new one called French Toast with banana molasses syrup. Everyone got to help, and Sandra gave us some good cooking tips and safety tips.
The French toast turned out so yummy! She really surprised us when she said we could have some vanilla bean ice cream on top. Yum!
As we were eating, we asked her questions about her career.
When did you first become interested in cooking?
I have always been interested in cooking. When I lived with my grandma, she used to be an amazing cake decorator. I would be in the kitchen with her, and she would be decorating the cakes for church bake sale and for weddings that were happening in her church. I started baking, not cooking. I cooked later, but baking is actually more difficult than cooking. So when you learn how to cook, bake first because baking is really like a science. Cooking is more of a feeling, but baking you have to be absolutely accurate.
How long have you been cooking on your show?
My show "Semi-Homemade," this is its sixth year, and my new show "Money Savings Meals" launched on Mother's Day.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Plan what I will do when I am working. That is the truth. I am a semi-homemade mommy. I have two girls that are twins that are 14 years old, and I have an 11 year old. Sometimes, we go to the mall; sometimes, we come up with new recipes; sometimes, we just lay in bed all afternoon and watch TV.
Did you ever fight with your siblings?
Constantly. No, because I was so much older; I was more like the big sister, like the mom at home. I didn't really fight because I didn't have to; they just did what I said. It's easy that way. The twins fight, and the twins fight with their younger sister, so I understand. And it is no fun for your parents, so you have to promise and name a pact with them not to do it on Mother's Day. That could be your gift.
Did you cook with your mother?
I cooked with my grandma.
Would you have had this career if you childhood was better?
Probably not. Because I wouldn't know as much information as I know, and I probably wouldn't be as driven as I am. Driven means, you know when you have to get the best grade. Or you want to do the one thing or earn the most money to go on a field trip, you want to win the prize. That is what driven is. It is ambition. It is 'you want your goal.' That is how I have been able to build my career and my company up. That and good people who work with me.
What is the funniest thing that has happened while taping the show?
That is easy. When I tape my show, I don't have a script. I just talk, like I am talking to you right now. So I am making this chocolate tart, which has almonds on the bottom. I did it in a springform pan. It is a pan when you release the lock on the side, the pan expands and the bottom comes out, so if you make a cheesecake, the sides of your cake are always perfect. So I use this springform pan to make this tart. But while I was talking to the camera, I had taken the tart out of the oven and placed it over here. And while I was talking to the camera, I released the tart, and the bottom fell on the floor and shattered. I was so stunned, I just stared at it because I didn't know what I was going to do, and then I just started laughing because there was nothing I could really do. But so far this season, nothing!
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