Sandra Lee couldn’t be happier to be back on TV with a new cooking competition series.
“It feels like getting back to me again,” Lee, 57, exclusively told Us Weekly about her role as cohost on The Roku Channel’s Dinner Budget Showdown. “And that’s what’s important. I want to do what I do best, and that is serve the everyday homemaker that is just trying to get everything done in the short time that she has to get it done in a little moment to relax.”
Dinner Budget Showdown, which premieres on Friday, May 3, sees home cooks go head-to-head to create “the best, least-expensive dish,” per Lee’s description.
“What I love about this is it’s not speaking down to the audience. We are making this very elevated dish, a very expensive dish that doesn’t require any budget whatsoever,” Lee, who cohosts alongside Jordan Andino, added. “The guest judges — that are also the chefs — come in and they make this over-the-top fantastic dish. And then three different contestants try to remake that for the least amount of money.”
Although celebrities such as Selena Gomez and Florence Pugh have made a name for themselves in the acting world — they also proved that they can create a unique performance in the kitchen. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the former Disney star chose to sharpen her skills alongside professional chefs and her loved ones. “People who […]
Creating delicious and cost-efficient meals is something Lee has plenty of expertise in, having famously hosted Food Network’s Semi-Homemade Cooking from 2003 to 2011 and Sandra’s Money Saving Meals from 2009 to 2012.
Lee told Us she was previously unaware of the “cultural impact” her shows have had on younger generations of home cooks and chefs. “Those are the kids that are having their own children and starting their own families and buying their first homes and looking for all of these great shortcuts again,” she shared. “And so, it’s a privilege and it’s also an honor to kind of be recognized for that and to have been able to train people to do that.”
“Dinner Budget Showdown” Roku Channel/YouTube
Lee continued: “It’s fun to hear, ‘When I was growing up, you were the one that I always watched.’ And it kind of is that Samantha Stevens Bewitched moment for me because I was such a big fan of that show, and so, that I could be that type of person in the kitchen for these generations was such a pleasure.”
Not long after her Food Network shows came to an end in the early 2010s, Lee was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. She became cancer-free after undergoing a double mastectomy and an additional surgery later that year and went on to have a hysterectomy in 2022.
Many celebrities have spoken out about their personal battles with breast cancer over the years. Julia Louis-Dreyfus went public with her breast cancer diagnosis in September 2017 via Instagram. Nearly one year later, she had successfully beaten the illness and returned to work on Veep. “It sounds kind of corny, but there’s something about after […]
“My health is good,” Lee told Us of her current health status. “I’ve been working, working, working, so I’m a little tired today, but that’ll change tomorrow after a good two nights of fabulous sleep.”
The TV personality was also recently honored alongside Martha Stewart, Queen Latifah, Billie Jean King and more as a part of QVC Q50’s Age of Possibility initiative, which aims to champion women over the age of 50 to live their most fulfilling lives. (She recently attended an event for the initiative alongside Stewart, 82, and Dinner Budget Showdown guest judge Carla Hall.)
“Dinner Budget Showdown” Roku Channel/YouTube
For now, Lee is focusing on “looking at fantastic meals and recipes for what I can provide people” heading into the summer months. “Everybody’s got the kids at home now coming up. What can they do that’s quick and affordable? And so that’s what I’m putting together today,” she shared.
Dinner Budget Showdown is now streaming for free on The Roku Channel.
With reporting by Travis Cronin
