The Frugal Gourmet

[HonkIfYouLoveHonking]

It just occured to me that the scandal involving this show led to it being replaced with America's Test Kitchen.

A much better show IMHO.

[llieske]

@HonkIfYouLoveHonking wow, i never followed any of the scandal. All I know is I grew up watching this guy all the time.. almost completely forgot about this show.

[HonkIfYouLoveHonking]

I always thought this guy was weird.

Turns out he was even weirder than I suspected.

[Dwarrior74]

I have been watching cooking show for over 25 years, and what happened to this man was a tragedy. I grew up with guys like Jeff, James Barber, Graham Kerr, Jacques Pépin, Martin Yan, Justin Wilson, and of course, Julia.

[kallgoren]

i am the 40,000th viewer!

[WeeWeiners]

@kallgoren Actually, if you see the number 40,000 views, you were number 40,001. :)

[BLANKNOTING]

@CookingChannel "The Frugal Gourmet" Now Please!!!

[Gawaine687]

"Here egg." *whistes* "Here egg." God I love this guy! He's knowledgible and has a very open mind about food, but he's also so funny and energetic.

[Elisabeth425]

i really liked this guy to he always made really good food and he seemed so unpretentous now all the chefs are loud and rude. it really is so sad how it all turned out

[rhgreene]

@Elisabeth425

You're absolutely right. The TV chefs nowadays are under pressure from their producers and corporate handlers to sell pots and pans, spoons and spatulas. The Frugal Gourmet was a class act. I learned a great deal about cooking from watching this kind and gentle man.

[jacksorengan]

I LOVE YOU FRUGAL GOURMET!!!!!!!!!!

[mackawack12346]

This man is a god damned communist I tell you!

[steveparok00]

My god... I used to watch this when I was a little toddler at my grandmothers house in the 80s... Jeff Smith was Hilarious! I don't know what it was ... but he makes me laugh! Love it!

[ReggaeMusic3]

JAH RASTAFARI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nichirenx]

Awesome show.

Along with Justin Wilson, Wok with Yan, and Bob Ross were my mainstay shows.

Lighthearted, warm, and calming.

The new stuff just is not my style. I rarely watch TV now except for Law and Order, South Park/Ugly Americans/Futurama , John Stewart/Stephen Colbert, and Comedy Central.

[LarryRickenbacker]

I've never liked cooking shows. I don't even like cooking. But when I saw The Frugal Gourmet back in my LSU days (mid 80s), I became a fan and even began cooking a bit! Great TV show.

[TheBaconEggAndCheese]

I remember Saturday afternoons when I was younger (especially rainy ones) during which I would watch The Frugal Gourmet, and other cooking shows.

[magicjj7]

YOU SEE.

[MRPITHER]

My all time favorite cooking show. Jeff was tbe best.

[doug71720]

yeah the good old days of pbs Ghostwriter  and so many more

[ashleyjolene21]

This and the painter guy that died of cancer used to come on at my nap time as a kid and this is what I would watch had to in order to nap.lol Miss when this was on.

[humbleradio]

@ashleyjolene21 Bob Ross. "and a little squirrel lives riiiight here." 

[danbarker39]

Too bad this show isn't in reruns.

[docthebluesman]

I have been a fan of cooking shows for many years, and it all started with Julia Child, Jeff Smith, and Justin Wilson. I prefer the format of those shows to all of the shows on the Food Network. I detest the competitive cooking shows, I detest Paula Dean, and I detest Semi-Homemade. Shows like the Frugal Gourmet were good natured, entertaining, and very educational. We need a lot more Jeff Smiths and a lot less backstabbing, pompous judges, corner cutting, and butter gluttons.

[yogertlvr]

I loved watching this show, and it brings back so many great and fond memories. First he is from Seattle where I am from, 2nd, he was always showing that he was human, and that he showed his mistakes in cooking, but covered it up perfectly. And I loved his cook books, the history that he told about a recipe was well researched. R.I.P Jeff,

[livetolovesome1]

man i remember watching him and julia when i was a kid

[CuseyCuse]

Frug Dude! If any of Jeff Smith's family is reading this, know that many of us grew up with him and loved watching his show. I learned so much about food and history and food history from this man. And he kept me entertained for so many hours as a kid.

[lavvy2585]

I forgot his voice I really loved his show but he had a questionable past with the boys too bad.

[minneyarthorn]

thank you so much for uploading this, i had forgot all about this guy, i loved his show growing up, brings back so many bittersweet memories of childhood.........well done man!

[thatbethgirl]

Thank you, cbss5000, or posting these clips. I adore Jeff Smith, he foraged my childhood.

[MsJCBurke]

This was the best cooking show ever! My children and I loved to watch him!

[lenamay521]

I used to love this show as a kid! Lol Such great memories!

[BLANKNOTING]

"Cooking Channel"

Classic Cooking..

Coming Soon...

[jfsoller]

The Frug will always be the best!

[MrStonecold64]

i really don`t think he did what thay said he did

[lilcuddlekill]

I LOVE FRUGAL GOURMET!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sregor913]

he's dead but that doesn't mean we can't have fun!!!

[thirdpositionist]

GJNCA = Gay John Nudist for Childporn Aproval

[BigKwell]

Jeff Smith was treated so cruelly... I missed his shows!

[jllro]

I didn't realize 20 years ago just how whacked -out he was..

[ritalin1974]

i love this guy... i miss his show.. too bad about the allegations..

[5tonyvvvv]

@ritalin1974 yeah great show,cool set classic cooking he was a cool guy..to bad he was a gay werido

[pele6922]

@ritalin1974 what allegations?

[ritalin1974]

@pele6922 he was accused of child molestation. i do not recall if he was convicted or if charges were dropped, but his career was ruined by them. he's deceased now.

[HonkIfYouLoveHonking]

@ritalin1974 Yeah. I remember how that kid during the last season or two pretty much acted like he was trying to take over the show.

Maybe the kid had so much dirt on this guy he thought he could do anything.

[mrschukwa]

@ritalin1974>what allegations??



[gnomechomskylives]

@mrschukwa Check his Wikipedia article, but basically he was charged with sexual assault by men who said they were improperly touched/molested by Smith when they were still under age. Hard to say what is true or not. There was an out-of-court settlement and then Smith died.

[WeeWeiners]

@mrschukwa You can look up the details on Wikipedia...its not nice stuff.

[kearyjones]

8:34 - he says raw penis...a Freudian slip perhaps, portending his molestations of young boys.

[CDeanWatcher]

oh please. he clearly says raw peanuts.

[nichirenx]

@CDeanWatcher Raw peanuts. lolz. His pronunciation did rather stretch it a little though especially if your sound is not clear.

[jacksorengan]

@nichirenx raw penis? I dont know.

[Sloppy7ths]

Good call.

What a diddler.

[realswa]

I used to watch this show in the early 90s on cable tv in my native island curacao. I learned alot about cooking delicious food from watching this guy. despite the improper things he might have done, I really feel sad he aint around no more.

[b1rocky]

4:40 So is that how egg drop soup is made

[jsparakov]

Remember the egg he put in was at room temperature.

[b1rocky]

@jsparakov thank you I will take that into account because he didn't say it I'll have to try it soon.

[bkghistorian]

child molestor

[mitrumpetplaya]

they didn't have sufficient evidence to indict him, and the civil case was thrown out.

[rypostu]

I watched this guy along with yan can cook as a kid. The funny thing about this guy is he was always looking at the recipies as he cooked.

[zedrein18]

Yes. And I also observed the he tends to be quite frugal.

[TheCanadianPrairies]

I remember seeing this show when I was younger.

Pretty nice, I thought.

[CapnPicard]

I loved this show when I was growing up.

[Marckymarc71]

Too much sesame oil, Frug!

[C5Rigzz]

lol - I'm glad I'm not the only one hollering that at my monitor. :)

[viketaker]

wow i remember watching this when i was like 10. some 17 years ago.

[SSwims]

OMG! SAME HERE! Same exact time frame too! I miss this show!

[iamafractal]

Jeff Smith taught me so much!

[irongourmet]

God I miss watching this show.

[lovelysnowangels]

Loved watching his show!!

[archivist26]

He was Blessing.

Loved him!!!!!

[luvpeebo]

Loved watching him as a kid! Inspired me to cook as an adult and to try new things. Thanks, Jeff!

[trumbachd]

I am sorry to hear he's passed away, i loved his show.

[theduke4321]

He died in 2004.

[CapnPicard]

He passed away? Ahh that's sad.

[Joseph03743]

It's too bad that his personal life had to interfere with his professional life. He had a good show, I liked it, and yes, I think it was better than anything on Food Network. I hope he's doing well these days.

[foch41]

i am guessing hes dead by now

[jfsoller]

Great show. Better than anything on Food Network.

[BondoFox]

With the possible exception of Alton Brown and "Good Eats". His show parallels Jeff's IMO and is as good as "Frugal Gourmet".

God, I miss this show.

[jfsoller]

Alton Brown is good, too. But I still think the Frug is #1. I like the way the Frug gives the cultural / historical origin of the dish, whereas Alton approaches it from a scientific point of view. To each his own. Thanks for responding to my comment.

[5tonyvvvv]

poor gay fuck. he had a great show.he ruined his whole life. and carreer

[optics05]

Oh! This is a good soup! lol. Great Show.

[trixievixon]

that looks delish, i bet the seseme oil gives it a warm earthy flavor. i love seseme oil. thanks for posting

[BondoFox]

"Delish"? Are you Rachel Ray in disguise?  ;-)

[Cosmoline]

It was very well known in Tacoma that he had a thing for younger men. Whether or not he was forcing employees and interns into bed as a condition of employment, who knows. He may have settled just to quiet rumors he was gay. If so it did not work.

[tigerbeetle1]

Aaah The Frugal Old Gay he liked the young boys and it sunk his career, I like his show though,

[sfxrules]

I loved his show. He did not go to court, he settled. Which is a bit suspicious. Do you have any idea what the accusers in these cases go through? They do not do it for kicks, though I agree maybe some do it for the money. But there were several independent cases against him which makes me believe that in this case there was smoke, indicating a fire. Unless you believe in some kind of conspiracy. Still it is not easy to see someone you liked losing it all that way.

[Ti1301]

sounds like he's saying pee nus.

[westernestates]

I love The Frugal Gourmet and I own three of his books. It's just a shame his show got cancelled because of sexual harassement.

[BuckWilliams17]

This is still just a rumor. It has never been confirmed or denied.

[unitedcitizens]

Yeah, well it's also pretty hard to do a TV show when you're dead.

[metroretrokicks]

One of the best cooking shows I enjoyed watching on PBS every Saturday when I was growing up , miss them soooo much!!!

[iamafractal]

More of the frugal gourmet! please! its impossible to get all this stuff and this is the show that really taught me cooking.

[PeteRoc925]

to bad hes dead

[chbriley2]

thisi is the shit.i saw this when i was a youngster

[n222245]

keep th vids coming

[dhLord64]

I think this guy is more entertaining then anything on food network now. This isnt nostalgia either because i just started watching this guy 2 months ago.

[artisanrox]

My mom had this show on all the time when I was a little kid. So funny finding all this old stuff on YouTube now!

[bapyou]

F Emeril.

[stokepogue]

Here here. I'm sick of today's mafia culture which the mean-spirited media loves, and obviously why that guy has his own show.

[Bluraven79]

I used to enjoy watching this show so much as a kid...always made me so hungry, and also inspired me to learn more about other cultures.

[keiichi424]

I miss this show

[tedmc2]

This guy was great.

[jesslag]

I remember watching this afterschool on PBS when I was a kid. I'm glad I found this.

[wombalrus]

lol. You too? I never understood what was going on back then, but I always really liked Jeff Smith. He seems like he'd be an awesome grandpa.

[jacksorengan]

this guy supposedly liked to 'get things cooking' with underage boys. I don't believe there was strong evidence of this however.

[theBaron0530]

You're correct, there were accusations, but it never went to trial. Smith wanted to go to trial but his attorneys advised him not to.

It did seem suspicious that no one said anything, until he already have 5 books out, had been on TV on PBS for 6 or 7 years, and was getting ready to get another book published and take his show to commercial TV.

I wish it had gone to court, to settle the matter once and for all. Personally, I think he was innocent.

[304fannin]

Young college interns that worked on his show. Not underage boys.

[Germoturk]

A sex scandal ended his career and so basically his show disappeared completely from the scene.

[suburbanboa]

Its a pity he got involved with kids like that. But for their sake its all good.I loved the show though. This guy was a hoot

[dylanzwick]

Thanks for posting this. I've been wondering why there aren't more of his videos on youtube.

[tuffydoodle]

Best...cooking...show...ever.

[eli2plax]

i wish a network would buy the reruns of this show. When i was a kid my mother made a lot of good recipes that she got from this guy.