Sandra Lee on ‘Dinner Budget Showdown’ & Getting Cheesesteaks From Bradley Cooper

After almost a decade Sandra Lee is back on our TV screens for one of her own shows in Dinner Budget Showdown. The queen of Semi-Homemade Cooking joins her co-host and fellow lead judge Jordan Andino as they challenge home cooks to create five-star dishes on a two-star budget. During each of the six episodes of the season, they’ll welcome an all-star state of guests who’ll show their culinary mastery by serving up a plate without having to worry about the cost.

Then it’s up to the competitors to use what they see as inspiration for their own, only by picking ingredients from the grocery store keeping budget in mind. The guest will also be the third judge in deciding who gave them the best, least expensive dish. Only one from each show will walk away with groceries for a year. This project signals a triumphant return for the Emmy-winner, who took a step back from the world of television in 2015 as she battled breast cancer and dedicated a lot of her time to take up the cause.

“I hadn’t realized what an impact Semi-Homemade Cooking and Money Saving Meals have had on an entire nation. Over those 20 seasons total, we changed the way people view food and the grocery store,” she said. “It was an incredible learning tool. What I wanted to do is entertain and share recipes and what I learned. I showed people hacks for having such a better life. I’m incredibly honored to have that platform and moment in the world to be able to contribute that way.”

Here Lee talks about her return to form for The Roku Channel series and why you’ll see more of her.

It has been almost a decade since you had your own show like this. Why was Dinner Budget Showdown the right project for a comeback? 

Sandra Lee; I’m not normally a huge fan of competition shows. However, this particular show that I’m lucky enough to executive produce as well as cohost and judge was a hybrid content creation where it used everything I’ve done in the past and combined the popularity of the competition. It’s a show driven by a lot of not only high stakes and drama but also information that at-home viewers are going to be able to use in their everyday lives. That is always going to be important to me when I’m creating anything.

Given how expensive a trip to the grocery store is these days, it seems like the perfect time for a show like this. 

Definitely. Back in the day, and nobody realized this, but I was taught to be on television by QVC. I am part of this QVC Age of Possibility platform for women over 50. What we are doing, the 50 of us in the Q50 collective, is thinking about how we lean into and we support not only one another but the next generation. It’s not about a shoppable moment, but a sharing of what we’ve learned and how we’ve learned it and making the world a better place for each other and the people who come after us. That is a very timely initiative and in teaching me to be on television, QVC has really taught me to look at the world from the viewer’s standpoint. It’s different than what most retailers do, so it’s important I give them their due because if it wasn’t for them, I would have never had the perspective I have and bring that to a show like this.

Sandra Lee, Jordan Andino and Carla Hall (The Roku Channel)

How was it working with a chef and restauranteur like Jordan? 

He is fun. He is dynamic. He always has great ideas. When we’re doing the football show, he is throwing the football. By the way, I can throw a mean football and catch one too. Speaking of football, a lot of what the contestants are doing too is essentially blocking and tackling. The three contestants will have their own point-of-view of a dish they are recreating. Jordan is a real high-level chef to also have as a judge.

We have a different co-judge for each episode.  They make an extraordinary, fantastic, high-end meal. So if you’re a connoisseur of Michelin stars, you’re going to see a great dish. Then if you’re the everyday homemaker trying to elevate your meals at home, you’re going to make that inspired dish on a budget. The best, least expensive dish will have the competitor win free groceries for a year. That is a big deal. It has never been something someone has ever won. It’s fun to see their reactions because they didn’t know. Now the word is out there and people know what they could win, everyone will now want to do this show.

It’s pretty unique that it’s 50 percent budget and 50 percent quality of the food that plays into who wins. I’m such a huge Supermarket Sweep fan, so it’s fun to see that element. 

You also see their takes. Everyone has a different take. Some of them are really incredible. There is a woman who has a ton of kids and works at a gas station for an hourly wage. So for her to win free groceries for a year, and I’m not saying she won, but for her to come on set and understand what she is going to compete for, it can be life-changing for them. It allows them to get ahead in their lives. To know they don’t have to worry about putting food on the table. They are going to get food on the table for a year, so they can focus on either paying off debts or on whatever they want to do. Sometimes it’s just a weekend vacation. Everyone needs a little time out.

You mentioned football earlier, which is in reference to the Derrell Smith episode. He is along with so many other great guests you have this season. I also think of another part of that QVC initiative in Carla Hall. They each brought something to the table. 

I remember she did this high kick during her stage presentation at the QVC event in front of these women. She will be 60, and I thought I had to get my tushy to the gym. She is doing it all. We’ve been friends for a long time. Having Carla as my first guest, I hadn’t seen her since pre-COVID. I hadn’t seen her since 2017. So when you see us reconnect, that’s us reconnecting after five years. You’re seeing it in real-time. Others I haven’t met before. Claudia Sandoval, what a dream. If there was anyone coming in hot, it was her with her raven hair, fresh perspective and fantastic food, and personality. Every guest judge also brings their own perspective on how you can make what you see at home. The takeaways from this content are unlike any competition show.

Carla Hall, Sandra Lee and Bradley Cooper (Sandra Lee/Facebook

There is a photo on social media you posted of you and Carla being served cheesesteak by Bradley Cooper. What’s the story behind that? 

That was the QVC summit. He was one of our only invited men. It was Bradley Cooper and a man named Mike Fitzharris (QVC president). If it had not been for Mike and this wonderful woman Annette Dunleavy (QVC vice president of brand marketing), we would have never gotten together. They created that entire impressive event and platform in less than three months. Mike invited Bradley Cooper and Bradley said yes and came and made us Philly cheesesteaks. QVC is in Philly, Bradley is in Philly and his mom is a huge fan of the platform. He showed up and none of us knew. It was Mike’s surprise to us.

What’s next with this initiative? 

We’re working on a lot of content together. We’re working on a lot of new things that are coming. I’m not at liberty to say, but I can tell you that these women will be out there. I know there is a huge tour set for the summer with our women’s initiative on location around the country. That will be incredible. When the tour is formally announced and you see who the headliners are, it will be incredibly impressive.

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Are there any other shows you are cooking up? 

I’m working on a lot of content right now.

How does it feel to get back in the swing of things after all this time? 

It has been wonderful. When you go away for so long, you don’t know how you’re going to be received when you come back because the media moves so fast. I’m lucky enough to have made a big enough impact in the world that I’m being welcomed back. I’ve been through so much in the last nine years that it’s nice to just be me again and be productive. With the Q50 I’m able to work with my other sisters and bring them up and give them opportunities they wouldn’t have had otherwise. We are a small number but a mighty number. My goal now is to get my sisters where they want to be.

Dinner Budget Showdown streams on The Roku Channel for free starting May 3