Customer Reviews

"What a phenomenal documentary! This story was told in such a balanced way. For anyone who remembers him as The Frugal Gourmet, this series gives the full story and all perspectives on it. Exceptional! Well done!"

Lauren R

"The series was really well made, I'd recommend it. I actually met him once when he was out promoting one of his earlier books. As for getting to know him, who is to say how we would have reacted when one aspect of our personality was internationally celebrated, while society repressed another major major aspect? A case could have been made that that repression contributed to his behavior. If he had been born ten or twenty years later, there might have been no story."

Steve Thompson

"The producer spent extraordinary effort gathering material for a very thorough, objective view of Jeff Smith. We appreciated hearing from those who described him as a saint, others as a monster, and some as both. In my view, more scrupuous editing would have kept the story moving forward. All in all, a thumbs-up for this portrait of a complex and brilliant individual."

William Borden

"It was well made and researched, but much too long & repetitive. You could have gotten the story in two episodes. Make another one because you're good documentarians, just cut it down."

Richard

"Unbelievable that people knew what he was doing and facilitated his behaviour on "teens". He should have been stopped way before he was. Shocking. We watched his show and bought his cookbooks. A damn shame."

Thomas L Wettengel

"Excellent documentary. I was a fan of Jeff Smith and I even had a couple of his cookbooks. I remember when the news came out about what he was accused of doing and I was so surprised to read that. Didn’t realized what a complex man he was. Documentary did a great job telling the story."

Mary

"I think it was well done.But it was one episode too long. My ex husband and I watched the frugal gourmet beginning in the eighties, and we were very disappointed to hear the charges against him. I'm disappointed that he wasn't actually punished, and that nobody tried to help him with his alcoholism."

Melissa

"I was born in 1986, and I remember Jeff Smith being on TV on PBS with Elmo, and my mother had kept a cook book of his, and my father said “Ah yes, the frugal gourmet… he had kind of a neat thing going on…until the allegations….” And then months layered this very well done documentary came out. I’m shocked no streaming service wanted it!!!"

Flannery

"Excellent documentary. Just a bit repetitive b. Could use a lil editing. But good information. Very well done"

Barbara Marcotte

"I just watched the series for the second time and highly recommend it. The content was well-researched and presented in a visually pleasing way. I appreciate how the victims of Jeff Smith spoke so candidly about their experiences and am puzzled by those who deny Smith’s pedophilia."

JBart

"Poorly edited. Two episodes would have been more than enough. Needed to be much tighter."

Andy

"The Frugal Gourmet sparked my love of cooking. I was in high school when it was being filmed in Chicago. I bought every book. I watched every episode. The Frugal Gourmet was a part of my life, my memories. I eventually made my way to cooking school because of its impact on my life. I never truly understood what happened to Mr. Smith. There were rumors and then he was gone. I'm glad I purchased these videos. All these years later, it helped me to understand what happened, the effect it had on those around Mr. Smith, and those who were so wronged by him."

Daydreamer