Queen of the Anticooks

Published on Monday, April 14, 2008, by Kara Zuaro / Edit Post

Does Sandra Lee make cooking seem accessible—or unnecessary? That’s one of the questions that came up in the comments after a recent Serious Eats post about her Chefography special on the Food Network. Whether or not Lee should have been considered for a Chefography has already been discussed on Serious Eats, but I’d like to know if anyone else thinks that the Semi-Homemade phenomenon could be making serious home cooks look like out-of-the-loop losers.

Now, obviously, Lee is a beacon for those who wouldn’t have the time (or interest) to bake their kids cookies if cookies didn’t come in a ready-to-bake roll. And that’s not a bad thing—every kid deserves a warm chocolate cookie now and then, even if it was processed by Pillsbury, right? But the dark side of the Sandra Lee phenomenon is that it leaves some people feeling guilty about eating real food that someone actually took the time to cook. All too often, one of the Semi-Homemade fans in my family says to me, “I feel so bad eating this, after you’ve spent so much time cooking it.”

And the even darker side is that—though it probably wasn’t Lee’s original intention—some of her militant Semi-Homemade disciples think that Totally Homemade food is for suckers. For example, when I bring a moderately elaborate dish to a family function, it is sometimes met with snide remarks like, “Wow, you must have a lot of time on your hands!”

Is it fair to blame these reactions on a certain blonde bombshell and bubbly brunette whose quick-fix cooking shows make spending time in the kitchen seem uncool?

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POST A COMMENT |5 Comments

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  • Too funny.
    I have never had someone say they feel bad about eating my made from scratch food dishes. Rather, my guests generally verbablize (frankly, I think insincere) remorse at eating everyone else's second helpings.
    If anyone feels bad it's me occasionally -- cooking w/ care and time to have everything devoured in 5 minutes. My only consolation then is very positive feedback.
    Cooking real...+READ

    Too funny.
    I have never had someone say they feel bad about eating my made from scratch food dishes. Rather, my guests generally verbablize (frankly, I think insincere) remorse at eating everyone else's second helpings.
    If anyone feels bad it's me occasionally -- cooking w/ care and time to have everything devoured in 5 minutes. My only consolation then is very positive feedback.
    Cooking real meals unfortunately has made some people feel uncomfortable about inviting me over for dinner. I should suggest: hey! how about semi-homemade!-COLLAPSE

  • Sandra Lee is the devil, but I don't think it's fair to lump Rachael Ray, annoying as she is, because she actually cooks for real with real ingredients, as opposed to Sandra Lee. She cooks with processed stuff at least half of the time.

  • No, I get what the author and DougRisk are saying, although I've never had anyone complain about eating the results of my culinary labors.

    I think it's true that there are poor unfortunate miserable people who will nitpick and snipe no matter what, and they are to be pitied.

    If someone says something as underhanded and mean as "You must have a lot of time on your hands", the only response,...+READ

    No, I get what the author and DougRisk are saying, although I've never had anyone complain about eating the results of my culinary labors.

    I think it's true that there are poor unfortunate miserable people who will nitpick and snipe no matter what, and they are to be pitied.

    If someone says something as underhanded and mean as "You must have a lot of time on your hands", the only response, IMHO, is to say something like "You know, I think what they say is true - the busiest people always seem to get the most done!"

    :-D

    Bettina-COLLAPSE

  • “I feel so bad eating this, after you’ve spent so much time cooking it.”

    This makes no sense. Why would you feel bad eating it? Isn't that the whole point? In what way would it be better to not eat it?

    I would understand the opposite -- if for some reason I had to refuse something someone had spent time making, then I'd feel guilty. But if you don't eat something, it just goes to waste,...+READ

    “I feel so bad eating this, after you’ve spent so much time cooking it.”

    This makes no sense. Why would you feel bad eating it? Isn't that the whole point? In what way would it be better to not eat it?

    I would understand the opposite -- if for some reason I had to refuse something someone had spent time making, then I'd feel guilty. But if you don't eat something, it just goes to waste, wasting all that time and effort. Right?-COLLAPSE

  • “I feel so bad eating this, after you’ve spent so much time cooking it.”

    I have never in my life met anyone who actually felt bad about eating real food.

    And, are you sure that this person was a "militant Semi-Homemade disciple"?

    Some people, regardless of their religion, immediately go on the attack when they feel like someone else has done something intrinsically better.