Sandra Lee Reveals She Got In A ‘Huge Argument’ With Food Network Over Her Former Show 'Semi-Homemade'
While you probably used to watch Sandra Lee's hit Food Network Series Semi-Homemade Cooking, you might not know that it almost never became a show to begin with. Or at least, it wouldn't have made it to air if the decision was entirely up to Sandra herself.
During a recent visit to the Delish Kitchen Studios, the legendary television chef revealed the ultimate Semi-Homemade lore: She never wanted it to be a television show in the first place.
"I never wanted to do Semi-Homemade as a TV show and no one knows that," she said. "So we negotiated for nine months."
And while, obviously, the show eventually made it to air, Lee says that there was a lot of contention between her and Food Network—particularly around the show's cocktail hour.
"I was the first one that did cocktails on national television, especially on cable, and that was a huge argument when we were negotiating the show," she says. "We negotiated for nine months, and they said, 'No cocktail time on the show.' And I said, 'No cocktail time? Why?'"
The network argued that "nobody" would enjoy the drinks segment, but Lee had a different take: "You don’t know Colleen Schmidt from Fredonia, Wisconsin. It’s Sunday, she’s watching the Packers, she’s having a Bloody Mary. We’ve gotta make some cocktails."
Fans confirmed what Sandra knew all along: The cocktail segment was and always will be iconic. "Sandra Lee needs a new cocktail time TikTok series," one fan commented on our TikTok. "A Sandra Lee cocktail series would slay TikTok," another added.
As for her own cocktail policy and whether you should measure ingredients, Lee says, "It depends. It depends on how many cocktails you've had. If you want to want measure ingredients, that's great. If you don't want to measure ingredients, that's also great."
"And by the way, that's why the one part, two part plays in, because if you're making cocktails for five people it's many more shots than two shots of vodka," she continues, referencing her viral meme. "And you have to do one part to two part."
"They could never make me measure, Aunt Sandy," a commenter joked.
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