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 Jeff
Smith was the author of a dozen best-selling cookbooks and the host
of The Frugal Gourmet, a popular American cooking show that began in
Tacoma, Washington and aired on PBS from 1988 to 1997. He started
off as a United Methodist minister whose first food-related venture
was the Chaplain's Pantry, a deli and kitchen supply store near
downtown Tacoma, where he offered cooking classes to the public.
Soon after launching the show in Tacoma he received a cooking show
on a local PBS member station in Seattle. With an appearance on the
Phil Donahue show and a move to Chicago, his career took off.
His public career came to an end when two of his male assistant
chefs brought charges of sexual harassment against him. Shortly
thereafter, in 1998, several men alleged that he had sexually
assaulted them in the 1970s, when they worked for him. Smith denied
the accusations. He was taken off the air shortly afterward. Though
he was never charged with a crime, the stigma associated with the
accusations (including an undisclosed settlement with the plaintiffs
three days before trial) kept him from returning to the airwaves.
According to The Seattle Times obituary Smith was known in the
industry as a "food genius." Kathy Casey, the Times's food columnist
said that "he knew more about food and culture than anybody I know
in the food world." She also mentioned that Smith had been a
generous philanthropist - donating both money and time to charitable
causes and helping individuals get started in the food industry,
even after the abuse allegations short-circuited his career.
He died in his sleep of heart disease. |
