Of course Julia Child did it better...not only better than Jeff Smith, but any chef since, maybe with the exception of Jacques Pepin. And to quote The Frug, "Frugal doesn't mean cheap. Frugal means that you don't waste anything." I watched his show when it aired back in the 80s and enjoyed it very much. I even bought two of his cookbooks full price at a book store. For me to do that means something, because I am cheap. I've made several of his recipes and they came out very well. His friendly, open personality came thru on his show. Unlike some chefs nowadays, he connected with his viewers. I wish PBS would run his shows again.
5 Reviews
Incredible Cooking Show...perhaps the best in American history
rambleonshon16 June 2017
Such a shame that Jeff was tried and convicted in the court of public opinion. But his work and life's joy was and is contagious.
I would love to buy these episodes. Whoever controls the rights should release them. And forgive this man for whatever he may have done wrong. God knows, so many of us have made mistakes. But his good overwhelmingly outdoes the bad (if it was even true).
Wonderful man. May the god that I don't believe in, bless him.
I would love to buy these episodes. Whoever controls the rights should release them. And forgive this man for whatever he may have done wrong. God knows, so many of us have made mistakes. But his good overwhelmingly outdoes the bad (if it was even true).
Wonderful man. May the god that I don't believe in, bless him.
One of the Top PBS Cooking Shows
dongillette127 July 2016
Right after Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, Jeff Smith stands out as one of the champions of the early PBS cooking shows. Was he frugal? Yes, he was--he didn't waste anything and he was careful and cautious about what he cooked. Was he a gourmet? Yes, he was--he was a connoisseur of fine food and drink. So let's put those little adolescent rants about the title of his show to rest. Now--did he always do it correctly? No, and like Julia Child, he was the first to admit if something didn't turn out well. But as far as showing his audience how to get their hands dirty and actually TRY to cook something other than meatloaf, mashed potatoes from a box, and a can of peas for the family dinner, he was great. And his background/history lessons during the cooking were extremely entertaining even when they weren't 100% on the mark. Back in the 90's, it became fashionable for "critics" to take potshots at Jeff Smith because he was extremely good at what he did and was highly successful... and they were merely critics who couldn't do anything well except criticize. What these critics, most especially Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, succeeded in doing was showing their mean-spirit and pettiness while the Frugal Gourmet continued to be the most-watched cooking show on PBS. Greed finally took the show down in the form of allegations against Jeff Smith by former employees, none of which were proved and none of which resulted in prosecution. Jeff Smith, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Justin Wilson, and Paul Prudhomme taught me and thousands of others to cook and while he wasn't the most proficient of the bunch, he was the most entertaining.
Wonderful Cooking Show
Sandra-durand8025 January 2021
The Show's Title Was A Misnomer
bigverybadtom13 September 2013
I did see the show a few times on PBS, but was never really impressed by it. Why?
The title of the show is "The Frugal Gourmet", which implies that it was about making gourmet food without spending a lot of money. Yet what did the show depict?
The host showed us that for his recipes, you need this piece of expensive exotic equipment and that piece of expensive exotic equipment to get everything right. Huh? I thought the idea was to limit spending money, and buying a gazillion gizmos would hardly serve the purpose. I don't remember any other cooking show which required much in the way of equipment beyond the items you find in any ordinary kitchen.
Julia Child did a much better job.
(For those who wonder what happened to the show, Jeff Smith was accused by a number of young boys of sexually abusing them while he was a youth minister, ending his television career. And these allegations did not prove to be frivolous either. O. J. Simpson was found not guilty of murder in a trial-but few people genuinely believe his innocence.)
The title of the show is "The Frugal Gourmet", which implies that it was about making gourmet food without spending a lot of money. Yet what did the show depict?
The host showed us that for his recipes, you need this piece of expensive exotic equipment and that piece of expensive exotic equipment to get everything right. Huh? I thought the idea was to limit spending money, and buying a gazillion gizmos would hardly serve the purpose. I don't remember any other cooking show which required much in the way of equipment beyond the items you find in any ordinary kitchen.
Julia Child did a much better job.
(For those who wonder what happened to the show, Jeff Smith was accused by a number of young boys of sexually abusing them while he was a youth minister, ending his television career. And these allegations did not prove to be frivolous either. O. J. Simpson was found not guilty of murder in a trial-but few people genuinely believe his innocence.)
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