Sandra Lee reveals she gained 10lbs while judging her new baking show: ‘We had to eat everything’

Sandra Lee took her job as a judge on a new baking show seriously and as a result her clothes were fitting a bit more snugly at the end of production. 

The former Food Network star, 58, is hosting the Blue Ribbon Baking Championship on Netflix with former American Pie star Jason Biggs, 46.

The concept is to find the best bakers from state fairs across the US and have them compete for the ultimate blue ribbon, and $100,000. 

‘We had to eat everything, we had to taste absolutely everything,’ Lee  told Page Six.

 ‘It was four weeks of a sugar high. And it’s not just tasting the dessert,’ she explained.

‘You also have to break it down and taste the cakes separately or the crust separately, different from the filling or from the icing. And sometimes you have to eat more than one portion. I easily gained 10lbs,’ she claimed. 

‘But honestly, the desserts were so good. It was a pleasure to eat. It’s a well-earned 10 pounds,’ Lee stated.

‘Every precious mouthful, those desserts. Reminds you that life is not worth living without sweet sweet things, and these desserts were unbelievable,’ the former Semi-Homemade Cooking star said.

‘These are the best bakers in the world doing amazing American desserts. When you watch the show, you will learn a lot, but you will also see riveting television and epic disasters.’

Lee is a producer on the show, which is already streaming on Netflix, and gets help from her fellow judges – award winning artist and baker Bryan Ford and former White House pastry chef Bill Yossis. 

The Emmy winner is no stranger to competition.

She told Salon in a recent interview the blue ribbon she won at the Los Angeles County Fair 32 years ago is one of her prized possessions. 

‘That ribbon is 48 inches long. The head on that ribbon is 16 inches,’ adding ‘That ribbon is like the Kentucky Derby or the Westminster Dog Show’ to her.

‘We had to eat everything, we had to taste absolutely everything,’ Lee told Page Six. I easily gained 10 lbs’ the former Food Network star said, seen here with fellow judges; former White House pastry chef Bill Yossis (L) and award winning  artist and baker Bryan Ford (R)

Lee hosts the show with American Pie star Jason Biggs and serves as an executive producer 

Lee has returned to television after an eight year hiatus in which she has been focusing on her health. 

In 2015 she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, a condition that can lead to breast cancer and had a bilateral mastectomy, an experience she shared in the HBO documentary Early Detection, A Cancer Journey with Sandra Lee.

Two years ago, she had a complete hysterectomy, due to the rise in risk of developing ovarian cancer for patients with a history of breast cancer.

 In addition to Blue Ribbon Baking Championship, Lee hosted Dinner Budget Showdown, which debuted on Roku in May. In that contest, home cooks are challenged to create a ‘five star meal on a two star price tag.’