Jeff Smith -- The Frug -- Dies

[Gifted Gourmet]

People who are sharing positive memories of Jeff Smith are doing so sincerely, in recognition of his *public* life. 

Since eG is primarily focused upon the food aspect, enrevanche, you seem to have gotten things absolutely correct. As usual, cooler heads will prevail. Thanks for the proper analysis of this man's contribution to the food world! Your "perspective" is a blessing to us all.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Enrevanche, well said.

We do need to get back onto the food aspect here. Jeff Smith's troubles have been well debated within this forum before and need not be gone through again.

It is good that we can remember the man for his contributions and ease him into his afterlife with kind words.

Auntdot, many of us know that word -- WHY we sometimes know it is best left private, capiche?

[Pickles]

Today I am looking forward to watching his Colonial Christmas video that I took from the library yesterday. I watched his Marinades video last night as well as the Italian one. I think if one had to sum up the man in one word "exuberant" would do very nicely. Joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic. Yep...that's him all right.

[Gifted Gourmet]

enthusiastic, passionate, excited, exhilarated, high-spirited, vivacious, cheerful, ebullient, effervescent .. all of those were Jeff Smith on his program .. his love of the history and ingredients in the dishes he created were evident .. that is my memory of him ...

[hillvalley]

Hot pot, cold oil, food won't stick

[stephenc]

RIP

[psychobombshell]

I am so sorry to hear about his passing. If it was not for him, I may not have found the wonderment of so many different culture's food.

My glass of wine is for you this evening.

[tennesseespice]

No matter what his personal life may have held, the world of television may never again see a more eloquent teacher than Jeff Smith. Like many here, the Frug was for me an early introduction to food, cooking and culture - I especially loved his food-as-history lessons. Peace, brother Frug, and blessings to your family.

[Barb48]

Spent a number of hours going over the evidence, the guy was a pedophile.

He was also a showman and a cook, and knew how to use those qualities.

And I used to enjoy his show.

I am grateful he was never able to abuse my son, and I will assume the sons of those who wax so elegantly about him.

Any child who is sexually molested carries baggage he can never erase.

This guy who abused little boys is dead.

Good.

He will never abuse another child again.

I agree with you Auntdot...abusing a child is a terrible thing: the trauma is something one never forgets and has to deal with the memories almost everyday of their lives. I should know, for this happened to me...

I agree his show was wonderful and got a lot of us interesting in food, but his abuse against kids overshadows all the good of Mr. Smith, and as it should.

But I hope he has asked for forgiveness and finds some kind of peace now...

[rich]

May you find peace and a better place to cook, Jeff.

With sincere apologies to Julia Child, Jeff Smith's "Frugal Gourmet" was the finest televsion food program ever produced. The history lessons alone set the "Frugal Gourmet" apart from every other show. His was not just a cooking program, but an entertaining seminar on the relationship of food, history and mankind. (The Itzhak Perlman episode may be the best 30 minutes in food television history.) He was able to grasp and portray the fundamental commonality of man (and all beings) - food. Jeff Smith showed us that no matter how different we were, there was always the "binding agent" of food to bring us together.

His shows will probably never return because of his alleged indiscretions and that's a shame. They should be considered a totally separate entity. No show, no television cook (and Jeff would be the first to say he wasn't a chef) before or since had a better understanding of the unifying characteristics of food. People who "break bread" together, cannot remain enemies for long because they are sharing the ultimate life necessity. Thank you Mr. Smith for teaching me that - may you find serenity and joy.

[Gifted Gourmet]

his abuse against kids overshadows all the good of Mr. Smith, and as it should.

Reality check here: never indicted on this charge ... innocent until tried on food messageboards? C'mon folks, let it drop already ... please?

Now back to the food ... thanks, rich, for doing precisely that!

[Squeat Mungry]

Add my name to the list of those whose 'culinary lives' were profoundly enhanced and informed by Jeff Smith's television shows.

Requiescat in Pace.

Squeat

[Pickles]

I watched his Colonial Christmas Show last night on video, and it was very enjoyable. He made a lot sweets like candied peels, Indian Pudding, etc. The dishes didn't seem to be coming out very well, but he was enjoying himself, as usual. He had a good rapport with the kids who were the co-hosts of this show.

[rancho_gordo]

With sincere apologies to Julia Child, Jeff Smith's "Frugal Gourmet" was the finest televsion food program ever produced.

Wow. This is like when Reagan died!

Some of us were cooking and exploring lots of interesting food before Jeff Smith came along. And some of us found him kind of creepy at the time, long before he was accused of inappropiate behavior.

Clearly he was a personal hero to a lot of new cooks here but I think it's easy to blow his importance out of proportion.

[Pickles]

He was part of my TV food experience long before TV Food network was born. So he's not my "hero" per se, but he's part of 80's pop culture for me. I watched his show because I liked his teaching methods, even though they were often slighly flawed. I see Jeff Smith as Cheflebrity and not a classically trained chef..but he's enjoyable, and I think that's all I need sometimes. The true teachers like Pepin, Child etc. know who they are and hopefully so do we.

[rich]

I think it's easy to blow his importance out of proportion.

Actually, it's not. His shows were and still are the highest rated food programs in history. His books and products outsold anything on the market.

If it wasn't for people like him, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, etc. there would be no Food Network. But Jeff's shows were better, not because of his cooking expertise (which was not his strong suit) but because of the history and background.

Edited July 12, 2004 by rich (log)

[rancho_gordo]

If it wasn't for people like him, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, etc. there would be no Food Network. But Jeff's shows were better, not because of his cooking expertise (which was not his strong suit) but because of the history and background.

I don't even know how to answer this, so I won't. If he introuduced you and a lot of other people to cooking, great!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Some of us were cooking and exploring lots of interesting food before Jeff Smith came along. And some of us found him kind of creepy at the time, long before he was accused of inappropiate behavior. ...his importance out of proportion.

In 1974 he got his own program on the local PBS affiliate - "Cooking Fish Creatively." He moved the show to Chicago, and his career took off with an appearance on Phil Donahue's talk show.

"The Frugal Gourmet" became the nation's most-watched cooking program, and a series of accompanying cookbooks broke sales records for the category.

Not so very "out of proportion" ...

[picaman]

I'd like to bid him peace as well. I always enjoyed his shows and especially liked that he spent airtime on related topics, including technique in addition to the oft-mentioned "hot pan, cold oil...." For instance, I learned from him to curve your fingers under when chopping. His love of food shone through on his shows like it does for very few TV chefs.

On occasion, I still pull out my well-thumbed paperback copy of his first cookbook.

Jamie

[rich]

If it wasn't for people like him, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, etc. there would be no Food Network. But Jeff's shows were better, not because of his cooking expertise (which was not his strong suit) but because of the history and background.

I don't even know how to answer this, so I won't. If he introuduced you and a lot of other people to cooking, great!

I may be different then some because I'm somewhat older (53), but Jeff Smith did not introduce me to cooking. He introduced me to the history of food and explained why different cultures prepared and ate specific foods.

I was cooking long before Mr. Smith's "Frugal Gourmet" hit the airwaves, but he made me understand what I was cooking, its origins and the cultural influences.

As an aside, I'm not writing this because Jeff Smith has passed away (as suggested by the Reagan reference). I have said the same things in other Jeff Smith threads over the last two years.

Edited July 12, 2004 by rich (log)

[chefboy2160]

Jeff may you rest in peace.Your shows on cooking real foods just brought out the best in every culture and so simplified them that they were not a scary experience for the home cook to try.You were an inspiration to me and my cooking so thanks and keep cooking Frugal in a better place.........Doug..........

[TatarsHat]

Ditto on all that has been said here.. Huge influence in my life.

Anyone remember his brass peppermill? I bought one after seeing how impressed he was and still use it daily and think of him.

RIP

[Pickles]

Anyone remember his brass peppermill?

I posted about his Turkish Coffee Grinder that he used for pepper...is that what you're referring to?

[Matt270]

He came to my college in 1995 or 96 while he was on the promotion tour for Three Ancient Cuisines. I spent a good portion of the upcoming weekends's beer money for a signed hard cover. After the signing he spoke in one of the lecture halls. Filled the place right up. I remember that he stressed the importance of family recipes, i.e. getting them from your grandmother before it was too late.

I also remember him saying on his show that there could never be enough garlic.

After the news came out I put his cookbooks away, but in the last few years I've taken them back out. The guy taught me how to cook when I was a teenager, and, more importantly, taught me that there was a whole world of food out there that I needed to eat.

[LurkerLoo]

I've read this and other threads about Frug, and I find it quite disturbing that so many people are willing to overlook the allegations by simply using the "innocent until proven guilty" line. He wasn't proven innocent in a court of law; the statute of limitations had run out.

I have several of Frug's books, and I acknowledge his contribution to television cook shows and introducing people to the joy of cooking, but I got a definite creepy feeling when I hauled out some of his books in a fit of nostalgia not too long ago.

Am I the ONLY one who feels this way? (It's the same when I hear Michael Jackson's stuff; IMO his 70s and 80s dance music was among the best. I still listen to it, but not without discomfort.) To me his private life is NOT a separate entity from his public persona, they are part of a single person. The schism strikes me as being a way of covering up something we as a society don't want to see. And, incidentally, it's a known fact that pedophiles (and ephebophiles, no doubt) are adept at maintaining an "upstanding citizen" image in public.

His recipe for Chicago-style deep-dish pizza is the closest version of the real thing I've had, but it's been years since I've made it and if I ever do use one of his recipes again, I know I won't be able to avoid thinking about his victims. That effect on how I now view his cooking is why his criminal activities ARE relevant to a discussion on eGullet.

Let the brickbats fly.

--Linda