Meet Sandy Lee

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sandy Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sandy, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I was living in Berlin, Germany back in 2009 when I discovered the most amazing holiday treat: a gingerbread-like confection known as Lebkuchen. Nürnberger Lebkuchen is the finest and most premium variety, containing the highest percentage of nuts like almonds and hazelnuts. You could find it at every Christmas market and also in many specialty shops during the holiday season.  It was absolutely delicious and unlike anything I’d ever tasted. While Lebkuchen had the classic warming spices like cinnamon and clove that are typically found in holiday desserts, it had a rich, nutty base that gave it a distinctive taste. I was surprised that something so delicious wasn’t more well-known in the States. I became obsessed with Lebkuchen, eating as many different types as I could find and learning as much about it as possible. I traveled to Nuremberg several times and even sought out an apprenticeship to learn how it was made.

When I started to think about moving back to the States, it occurred to me that I might be able to do something with all of this knowledge I’d acquired about Lebkuchen. In addition to the taste, another thing I was drawn to about Lebkuchen was its traditional packaging in decorative tins. In the early to mid 20th century, Nürnberger Lebkuchen typically came in stunning tins, works of art compared to today’s modern packaging. I really loved the idea of giving Lebkuchen as gifts in beautiful tins that one would want to keep after the Lebkuchen was eaten. It was just such a contrast to today’s disposable culture. As I started to think it through, I believed bringing this idea to the U.S. actually had some potential. And besides that, I was just eager to have a source for Lebkuchen in America!

What should our readers know about your business?
Leckerlee is the only company specializing in making authentic Nuremberg-style Lebkuchen in the U.S. We make it in small batches and are dedicated to using the highest quality ingredients and time-honored techniques. Since our launch in 2011, Leckerlee Lebkuchen has been praised in Martha Stewart Living, Saveur magazine, Vogue, 5280, and in dozens of holiday gift guides.

We were very lucky early on with getting amazing press, and that helped get the business off the ground for sure. But apart from that, I wouldn’t say it was particularly easy getting to where we are today. When I started the business, I was not a baker, and I’d hardly ever baked anything before in my life. Leckerlee was an entirely new career path and totally out of my zones of comfort and competence. So, there was a big learning curve as well as many operational difficulties along the way. Also, I wasn’t prepared for how inherently challenging running a seasonal business would be.

These challenges were mitigated by the fact that I continued to work my full-time corporate job while running Leckerlee. My lack of experience in the food industry and the seasonal nature of Lebkuchen made me approach the business conservatively. This ended up being a smart decision, as there were a few years where the business would not have survived if I hadn’t had another source of income. In hindsight, having another source of income also meant I would never be forced to make any compromises on our product or anything else during hard times.

It’s now been several years since I finally left my corporate job, but Leckerlee is still dedicated to making the highest quality Lebkuchen around. Even after 13 years, I’m still surprised and grateful every day to be doing this for a living.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In the planning stages of the visit, we would’ve surely checked the concert schedule at Red Rocks, which is a must-see venue worth planning a trip around.

I’d let my friend acclimate with an Open Space walk or a nearby hike like the Flatiron Loop Trail, and maybe we’d grab a meal at the Chautauqua Dining Hall or head to the Dushanbe Tea House for afternoon tea.

Of course, a visit wouldn’t be complete without a day up at Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park.

For a change of pace, maybe on a hot day, I might suggest doing a factory tour (I do love factory tours!). There are so many good ones in the area: in Boulder, you can see the craftsmanship that goes into making the wooden jigsaw puzzles that Liberty Puzzles is famous for, or you can see how Boulder got its start as the epicenter of the natural foods industry by visiting tea pioneer Celestial Seasonings. And then in Denver, you have the Coors Brewery and the Hammond’s Candy tours.

I’m based in Longmont, so for food, we’d hit up the following for provisions: the Boulder County farmer’s market on Saturdays, Babette’s for the best bread anywhere, Cafe Fritz for coffee and pastries, the Mountain Fountain for sandwiches and gluten-free desserts, Urban Field for Detroit-style pizza, and Community Supper Club (in Lafayette) for a lovely meal of shared plates.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my parents, who immigrated from Taiwan to the United States in the 1960s. They did not fit the mold of stereotypical Asian parents at all, and they encouraged and supported my idiosyncratic pursuits from a young age. So when I had the idea to start an alternative music fanzine when I was in high school, or a niche handmade greeting card company in my twenties, and eventually a seasonal German gingerbread cookie company in my thirties, I never considered NOT doing these things. I credit my confidence in this regard to their early and unwavering support.

Website: https://leckerlee.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leckerlee/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leckerleenyc/ 

Image Credits
Rebecca Stumpf