The Frugal Gourmet
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The Frugal Gourmet was a cooking show that aired on PBS from 1988 to 1997. Each show focused on different regional American, immigrant American, or world cuisine. The show was noted for devoting the opening segment to the history of the cuisine and dishes to be presented in the episode.
The host of this show was Jeff Smith, a United Methodist minister, and author of a dozen cookbooks. Known affectionately as "The Frug", he asserted that "frugal" gourmet cooking does not mean "cheap", but choosing your ingredients and using your resources efficiently.
He graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 1962 and from Drew University in New Jersey in 1965.
His show became the highest-rated cooking show ever produced.
The Philly Soft Pretzel incident
Smith did a show focusing on Philadelphia foods, like scrapple and cheese steaks, and demonstrated a Philly soft pretzel to his own embarrassment. A Philly soft pretzel is NOT the familiar pretzel shape, but rather loaf-like, and vendors buy loaves of 20 to break one off for sale. He also showed a cheese steak on a round kaiser roll. Some people stopped watching him altogether, and some PBS channels dumped him.
End of the Show
His public career came to an end when two of his male assistant chefs brought charges of sexual harassment against him. Shortly after, several men alleged that Smith assaulted them as teenagers in the 1970s when they worked for him at his restaurant in Tacoma. Although he was never charged with a crime and he settled the cases through monetary means, his reputation suffered and his show came off the air.
Jeff Smith retired to his hometown of Seattle, Washington. He died of heart disease on July 7, 2004.