The Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith, is dead.

Cafe Society
21

It’s also a shame that he quite possibly did sexually prey on many, many boys.

While we cannot know the truth, the following snippet presents another dimension of the controversy. If it’s true, I’m glad he was bounced from TV.
"In most sexual abuse cases, it’s one person’s word against another’s. In the Frugal Gourmet’s case, it was his word against 20 or more.

"Four days before he was to face trial in Tacoma, Wash., Jeff Smith, host of the popular PBS cooking show, agreed July 1 [1998] to pay an undisclosed sum to seven young men who had accused him variously of groping, kissing and raping them when they were teenagers.

“Based on my interviews with a lot of the principals involved, I think it would have been pretty ugly,” says Deborah Holton, a Portland Oregonian reporter who has followed the story closely. Court TV had asked to cover the trial, and it could have featured testimony against Smith from more than a dozen people who didn’t sue him, as well as the seven who did. The plaintiffs’ lawyer was also attempting to force testimony by Smith’s wife and partner Patti, who has lived apart from him for years; Judge Fred Fleming had told her to testify, though Smith was appealing that ruling.

One plaintiff, Chris Thomas of San Diego, told USA Today he stuck with the job at Smith’s deli even though he was fending off advances by the boss. “It was one of those dirty little secrets–in a big way.”

"Heitman had been deeply ashamed of what happened. “I felt very trapped, and very confused,” he told the Seattle Times. “My parents were happy that I was working. I wasn’t a real high achiever at school. It was a total nightmare.”
The plaintiffs tried to place some responsibility on Patti Smith, the chef’s wife and business partner, for not stopping the abuses, and Holton, the Oregonian reporter, who has done volunteer work in social services, believes other members of the larger community may also have erred by not investigating rumors about Jeff Smith.

*“In the course of talking with people around Tacoma, I found this was an open secret in Tacoma,” says Holton. “This community had heard about this and known about it for years. … I think part of the reason people don’t want to believe it is that it means they had turned their back on it.” *

http://www.current.org/people/peop813s.html

22

:smack:

23

My favorite cooking tip came from Jeff Smith:

He was a talented man, regardless of the controversy which forced his show off of the air. My heart goes out to his family.

24

I used to love “The Frugal Gourmet” when I was younger. Justin Wilson never did anything for me but Jeff Smith always held my attention for some reason, even when he had Elmo on helping him.

I’ve been reading one of his cookbooks over the past few days. Even though I don’t really know how to cook, I shall make one of his easier recipes to toast him.

Rest in peace.

25

Ya know, I never could bring myself to believe the sexual allegations. The Fruge always struck me as one of those touchy-feely-huggy-kissy types, and in some cultrues (like much of America) that sort of thing just isn’t accepted, especially when two men/man and boy are involved.

Anyhoo, I learned to cook, I mean, really cook, not just apply heat and make it edible, by watching the Fruge.

I will miss him.

26

It was Smith’s show and books that started me cooking in a serious way. The books still sit proudly on my cookbook shelf, and his Pride of Deer Camp Barbecue Sauce is a staple in my kitchen.

The reason I could never quite believe the sexual abuse allegations was this–if he really had done those things to so many people, would every single one of them agree to shut up about it for money? I would think that some of them would be more concerned with seeing him brought to justice, or to get the allegations out in the open. I would never accept a deal in which he admitted no wrongdoing, regardless of the money involved.

27

It was past the statue of limitations, so they could only bring a civil suit, not criminal charges. And how do you know they didn’t do it just to get it into the open? Also, as I said on another board, why would seeking money for damages in court make someone less of a victim?

As for admitting no wrongdoing, hardly anyone does. Just ask one the Dopers around here who works in the prison system. (Quodop? I know I spelled that wrong…) You’d be surprised at how many “innocent” people are in jail- there must be thousands of them!

28

From what do you conclude that "every single one of them agree[d] to shut up about it for money? It’s possible that far more men (boys at the time) had decided not to step forward at all, knowing the expected media circus, invasion of privacy, and associated stigma. As my link indicated, more than a dozen alleged victims chose not to sue him, but had agreed to testify against him. Moreover, the judge was nudging Smith’s ex-wife into testifying against Smith, suggesting she possessed possibly damning information. Naturally, a sexual molester will refuse to admit wrongdoing. In such a case, how would you compel him to admit his guilt and what other options have you other than settlement?

29

But he can’t be a sexual predator!
He taught people how to cook!

:rolleyes:

30

He always impressed me as something of a jerk.

I always hated the way he would criticize dried herbs. It would have been fine if he had encouraged us to find fresh herbs, and entice us with how much better our dishes would be with them. But no. It was his style to tell us that our dishes were crap and we might as well just let our cat pee in the bowl if we use dried herbs. Well, sorry, Jeff. Some of us have lives outside of our kitchen. We aren’t all paid to take a camera crew to Pikes Place to buy cilantro.

Then my suspicions were verified.

A friend of mine worked for a company that manufactured a high end charcoal grill/smoker. The show asked and was given (free) two $500. grills for use on a show devoted to barbecueing. Mr Smith stated on the show that they were the best he had ever used or something of the sort. When they posted the quote in their retail store, he came in and made a big stink, because they weren’t paying him for his endorsement. Forget the fact that they never paid for the equipment, and that he was not misquoted.

No, in my opinion, neither a great TV personality nor a great human being.

31

Wasn’t he also a minister?

32

I think it’s a chrome-dome thing.

33

I used to like his show too. It was a bit of a shock about hearign about the supposed doings and I did lose quite a bit of respect for him after that.

I ran into him quite a bit at Pike Street Market in Seattle. Seems every time I went there he was around on his little motorized scooter. He’s sign autographs most days for people and alot of tourists would stop him to ask for one or say hi. He seemed pretty friendly overall.

34

Does anyone know what happened to his sidekick from the later shows? Craig something, and I think he was a chef in a Seattle restaurant. He just kind of disappeared when Smith went off the air.

I had a huge crush on the little cutie (he looked tiny short next to Jeff Smith).

35

That’s too bad. Whatever his shortcomings were, the man inspired my love of cooking, and of the history and meaning of food. My first (and probably second, third, and fourth) cookbooks were his, and I used to watch his show and try out recipes before I even left high school.

I think of the “hot pan, cold oil” adage every time I use my cast iron too, and there are probably many more cooking habits that I picked up from him. My favorite San Fransisco restaurant came from one of his shows too.

36

As I brought up the sexual abuse allegations, let me underscore that nothing was proven in court. Nothing.

However, when some 20 men step forward–most with no financial agenda whatsoever and do so away from the media glare–and disclose similar stories that go waaaaay beyond some fun-luvin’, huggy-feely older man, and also when a reporter does a lot of digging and unearths some creepy circumstantial evidence, it does give me pause. If the abuse allegations had involved the abuse of girls, I think some people would have been a little more reluctant in giving him the benefit of the doubt after, say, the tenth allegation. Again, though, nothing was demonstrated in court, as if such a thing could be demonstrated many years after the fact, which is the maddening thing about abuse.

BTW, someone mentioned his assistant, Craig.

I haven’t seen him since–not one solitary peep. I hate to think he was sullied by the scandal, but then he didn’t have the Fruge’s showmanship.

37

He was already having health problems when the scandal broke. I used to see him around the Market at the time in his scooter. He was unable to stand for long, so I think that was the major reason he gave up the show.

I always said “Hi” to him whenever I saw him down there. He always said “Hi” back and never seemed to mind people stopping him for pictures and autographs. The last time I saw him, about three months ago, he stopped to chat with me. I got all tongue-tangled so we didn’t chat for long. I wish now that it had gone better.

What I loved most about his show was his enthusiasm and exuberant love for life he radiated. I’ve always thought that if someone could make Christianity appealing to me, it would be him. I wish I could have seen him on the pulpit.

Dispite what may or may not have happened, I’ll miss him. I’ll probably still look for him for a while when I’m at the Pike Place Market.