Jeff Smith (chef)

Jeff Smith
Born	January 22, 1939 Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Died	July 7, 2004(2004-07-07) (aged 65) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Education	Cooking
Spouse	Patricia "Patty" Smith (1966–2004)
Culinary career
Cooking style	Gourmet
Previous restaurant(s) The Chaplain's Pantry (1972-1983)
Television show(s) Cooking Fish Creatively (1973-1977) The Frugal Gourmet (1983–1995)

Jeffrey L. Smith (January 22, 1939 – July 7, 2004) was the author of several best-selling cookbooks, and the host of The Frugal Gourmet, a popular American cooking show, which began as a local program in Tacoma, Washington in 1973, and the show was originally called Cooking Fish Creatively. The show moved to WTTW in Chicago in 1983, and then, by KQED in San Francisco, and A La Carte Communications in 1990, where the show aired nationally on PBS from 1983 to 1995. From 1972 to 1983, Jeff Smith owned and operated the Chaplain's Pantry. In 1983, Jeff Smith appeared on The Phil Donahue Show, to promote his paperback cookbook. From 1989 to 1997, reruns of The Frugal Gourmet aired on Lifetime. Smith hosted The Frugal Gourmet Keeps the Feast for the Odyssey Network in 1995, and retired from television in 1997. He appeared with Rick James and Phyllis Diller in the music video for Cake's "Love You Madly" in 2001. In 1991, Smith appeared in the music video for "Monster in the Mirror" on Sesame Street, and appeared in the movie Grumpier Old Men in 1995.

Early career

Jeff Smith was born in Tacoma, Washington on January 22, 1939. He grew up in a close family with his friends, and began cooking when he was 12, He attended the University of Puget Sound in 1962, and Drew University Theological School in New Jersey in 1965, which ordained him as a minister in the United Methodist Church. In 1965, Smith began teaching cooking classes to his students, where Smith taught a cooking class called "Food as Sacrament and Celebration". Smith returned to the University of Puget Sound in 1966, where he became the chaplain of Aldergate Methodist Church. In 1966, Smith married his wife Patricia "Patty" Smith, and had two sons, named Channing and Jason. Their marriage lasted until Smith's death on July 7, 2004. In 1972, Smith opened and ran a restaurant and gourmet shop in Tacoma, which is called the Chaplain's Pantry, where Smith and his students also offered cooking classes to the public. In 1977, Smith published his first cookbook; Recipes from the Frugal Gourmet. In 1981, Smith had heart valve surgery. He was forced to sell the Chaplain's Pantry to pay huge medical costs. Smith reminded his audience that "frugal" doesn't mean cheap, it means that you don't waste anything, and "gourmet" means that you love food and wine.

Television career

Smith began his television career at KTPS in Tacoma, Washington in 1973, and the show was called Cooking Fish Creatively. The first six episodes of Cooking Fish Creatively were broadcast in black and white, and then, the station got federal grant for color cameras, because Smith was asked to design a new cooking show, Smith called it The Frugal Gourmet. Following a move to WTTW in Chicago in 1983, he launched his own TV show; The Frugal Gourmet, and gained national recognition. In 1989, during the "Three Ancient Cuisines" run, Smith was joined by assistant chef and co-author Craig Wollam. In 1989, Lifetime began airing reruns of The Frugal Gourmet, which lasted until 1997, when Smith retired from television. In 1990, Smith took The Frugal Gourmet to PBS affiliate; KQED in San Francisco, and Natan Katzman's production company; A La Carte Communications. The company also created Julia Child's later series. In 1991, GNT began airing a Brazilian Portuguese dubbed version of the show entitled Frugal Gourmet. The theme music used for his show is George Frederick Handel's Water Music, which is called the Bourree movement. During each half-hour episode, Jeff Smith prepares delicious meals with an international flavor. He tells food-related stories, and goes to different places to show food from many different cultures, cooperating with the episode's theme. At the end of each episode, Smith was known for saying something akin to "Until i see you again, this is the Frugal Gourmet, i bid you peace, bye-bye".

Smith with his long-time assistant and co-author Craig Wollam at Fante's Kitchen Shop (1992)

Over the course of his career, Jeff Smith published 11 cookbooks, including Recipes from the Frugal Gourmet (1977), The Frugal Gourmet (1984), The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine (1986), The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American (1987), The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome (1989), The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother (1990), The Frugal Gourmet's Culinary Handbook: An Updated Version of an American Classic on Food and Cooking (1991), The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas (1991), The Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook: Recipes and Reflections for Contemporary Living (1992), The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian: Recipes from the New and Old World, Simplified for the American Kitchen (1993), and The Frugal Gourmet Keeps the Feast: Past, Present, and Future (1995). Smith was the spokesman for Columbia Crest winery in TV commercials from 1990 to 1995. In 1995, Smith hosted The Frugal Gourmet Keeps the Feast for the Odyssey Network, and then, in 1997, Smith retired from television. In 1995, Smith appeared in the movie Grumpier Old Men, In 2001, about a year before his death, Smith appeared in the music video for Cake's "Love You Madly", along with Rick James, and Phyllis Diller.

Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode with Smith in 1986

Smith was regarded as a "genius" by some, and a "tyrant" by others. Kathy Casey, a Seattle Times food columnist and longtime friend of Smith's, described him as a knowledgeable and generous man who "...knew more about food and culture than anybody I know in the food world." She said he donated both money and time to charitable causes and helped individuals get started in the food industry, even after his retirement.

Smith also had his share of detractors. Irena Chalmers, a faculty member at the Culinary Institute of America and president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, once described him as "the Frugal Gourmet, who is neither". Chicago Tribune food and wine columnist William Rice wrote, "I've tried to cook his stuff, and let's say it was hit or miss. Some things worked and others didn't." Newsweek writer Laura Shapiro criticized him as "a prime example of prominent cooks who may compromise their integrity by being paid to recommend food products and kitchen ware." She cited The Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook as "...especially shocking ... the cookbook as infomercial". In a 1992 Harper's Magazine article, Barbara Grizzuti Harrison ridiculed him as "...a purveyor of patronizing poppycock ... conveyed with the kind of mock anger that is always a mask for real anger." Smith brushed aside such criticism: "Not many people read Harper's," he said. "That's a very small audience." He continued, "People criticize me for enjoying good food when I use the word frugal. Frugal doesn't mean cheap. It means you don't waste your money. They haven't read my books. They don't know the meaning of the word."

Sexual abuse allegations

In 1997, after Smith retired from television, seven men filed a civil lawsuit against Smith, charging him with sexual abuse. Six alleged that they were molested as teenagers in the 1970s, while working at the Chaplain's Pantry in Tacoma; the seventh claimed that he was assaulted in 1992, at age 14, after Smith picked him up as a hitchhiker. Smith denied the allegations, and no criminal charges were filed, but he and his insurers settled the cases for an undisclosed amount in 1998. The litigation ended his television career, though he continued his writing and charitable work.

Death

On July 7, 2004, Jeff Smith died in his sleep of heart disease at his home in Seattle, Washington at the age of 65. He was survived by his wife Patricia, and sons Channing and Jason, as well as daughters-in-law Yuki and Lisa.

Bibliography

• Recipes from the Frugal Gourmet (1977)
• The Frugal Gourmet (1984)
• The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine (1986)
• The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American (1987)
• The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome (1989)
• The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother (1990)
• The Frugal Gourmet's Culinary Handbook: An Updated Version of an American Classic on Food and Cooking (1991)
• The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas (1991)
• The Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook: Recipes and Reflections for Contemporary Living (1992)
• The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian: Recipes from the New and Old Worlds, Simplified for the American Kitchen (1993)
• The Frugal Gourmet Keeps the Feast: Past, Present, and Future (1995)

Further reading

• Collins, Glenn (February 10, 1988). "'Frugal Gourmet': A Minister Makes Food His Mission". The New York Times. p. C1.

External links

• Jeff Smith bio at the Internet Movie Database
• The Frugal Gourmet at the Internet Movie Database