Customer Reviews

"I thought the series was informative and answered some of the questions I had about why Jeff Smith’s legacy and reputation was tarnished. I watched his show as a teen and young adult since I’ve always had an interest in cooking and history. The docuseries accomplished what it set out to do and was worth the money and watch."

"This documentary has needed to be made for a very long time. I cannot overstate the impact that The Frugal Gourmet television series had on me. I own all of Jeff Smith’s cookbooks, and his approach to cooking was a significant influence in my life. It is disturbing and disheartening to learn the details surrounding Smith’s fall from grace, and even more troubling to consider the harm he allegedly caused to young men and boys. It raises difficult questions about how we reconcile an artist’s work with their personal conduct. What do we do? We must separate the art from the artist. We can acknowledge and condemn harmful actions while also recognizing the value and influence of the work itself. The nearly five hour mini-series version is the better watch; however, I can understand how, if you've only had a passing, peripheral interest in The Frugal Gourmet, the feature length doc is better for you."

"This was a great documentary. It treated a controversial subject with depth and understanding. I was always a fan of the show and this answered many questions. A sad commentary on a tragic figure who could have had a lasting legacy. I pray that the victims achieve peace."

"Wonderful and well done documentary. Very much worth the low cost. My husband and I really enjoyed watching this even if it was sad/tragic at times. We appreciate that the producers showed the good and the bad fairly/evenly about Jeff Smith."

"Very informative. I had all his books and watched every episode. I still have his measuring spoons. I would have liked to hear more about Craig, but I’m assuming he chose not to be a part of this project."

"I was living in Chicago at the time of Jeff’s soaring success, I also remember a gay friends’ dinner dates with The Frugal Gourmet….hmmmm….he wasn’t so careful eh? The documentary proved all those additional rumors to b true….excellent job"

"I just finished the film Being born in ‘79, I landed on PBS cooking shows just in time for Jeff Smith to teach me tons of wonderful things about food. My first childhood recipe was one of his, simply adding green chilies to brownie mix. It weirded everyone else in my family out, so I enjoyed the whole pan, and I was hooked on culinary creativity forever. I’ve been a culinary professional for over 30 years, and it’s significantly his fault. But today I learned that he is one of MANY heroes of my youth, especially celebrity chefs, that I’m glad as an adult to have never met. Some I have. A lot of them are terrible men. This was a very well done documentary. Thank you all for your efforts!"

"I grew up watching Jeff Smith (and eating his recipes!) and also lived around Seattle for a while. This series complicates both in some amazing ways. Filmmakers: for God’s sake, replace the AI voicing of interstitials in this film with a live human. The AI is damaging to the esthetic flow of the project, and made me question whether the entire work had involved humans at all. As with any complex human story, this one should not be told by people, not machines."

"I enjoyed this series. I grew up watching the FG but was too young to understand the downfall. I like the way the film was designed, the interviews with past people who had contact with him brought him to life, you got to know him. The film didn’t appear to “take sides”, you had to make up your own mind at the end. All and all I think the series was well done and would pay for it again. Thanks for making this, I always wondered what happened. And one final thought……before the men started coming forward with their allegations, I watched the show when Craig was on it. I always thought their relationship was “suspicious” like something weird was going on. I wanted to see more about that relationship because I had a feeling something was “wrong” when I watched the show. Just saying. Thanks for the work done on this! Great job!"

"Excellent. Fair and well balanced. Changed my view on Jeff Smith. I think someone said something to the effect in the docuseries, the cookbooks aren't personal but the show was. I won't (consciously cannot) watch the shows, but the cookbooks I could."

"It was pretty bland but as I was very interested in the subject I watched the whole thing."

"Very well done! I'm the Queen of documentaries and this one was great."