European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 12, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse The roasting of gourmet Smith is hardly frugally Irene sax new Day _ will the real Jeff Smith stand up is he tvs lovable frug one part Julia child one part or. Rogers and one part Santa Claus or is he a arrogant a the author of books that Are a Sloppy superficial and condescending a with a a Droit de Seigneur attitude to using other Peoples recipes not since Martha Stewart arrived preaching the Good life has a cooking figure inspired such angry comments by food colleagues As Smith the 53-year-old methodist minister who is better known As the Star of the frugal gourmet. In a Cluster of interviews with journalists and Cookbook authors few had anything Good to say about Smith or his work and fewer still would speak on the record. One of the kindest was William Rice food and wine columnist for the Chicago Tribune. A a in be tried to Cook his stuff and lets say it was hit or miss. Some things worked and others did no to he said. A but As with anyone on to he a really an entertainer and its not fair to hold him to standards of More typical was Nahum Waxman owner of Kitchen arts and letters Bookstore in Manhattan a among people who work seriously in this Field and do meticulous research there a a sense of outrage about his or free Lance food writer Suzanne Hamlin who said a food people done to take him seriously. He a pretty Light on research and gives a lot of it could be jealousy. That show Smith sees it. A some people Are so anxious for you to screw up that its tragic a he said in a Telephone interview from Seattle. A i never claimed to have chefs training in a a Good Cook but in a not a chef. But i bet in be done More study of history than they have. And i bet they wish they sold As Many books As i do. Jealousy is not a kind there a a lot to be jealous of because fans love Smiths Toothy Grin and Fluffy White Goatee. They warm to his ministerial Good will and Trust his brisk cheery if i can do it so can you attitude. They be made him Rich. When the frugal gourmet s whole family Cookbook William Morrow and co comes out in May Smith will have seven books in not Jeff Smith on the frugal gourmet print with sales Topping 5 million copies. All have been on the new York times Best seller list and the frugal gourmet and the frugal gourmet Cooks with wine were nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously. When his new pcs series airs stateside this month Smith will have been a television cooking Star for 20 years. Because his past series play All the time he has an estimated audience of 15 million viewers a week making the frugal gourmet the most popular ranking show on television and the fourth most popular show of any kind on pcs. Are All those fans wrong they Are and they Arentt. Turn the cameras on Smith and As surely As Marilyn Monroe projected sex he projects trustworthiness. And that a 90 percent of what it takes to be a Success on television said Rinker Buck editorial director of and week a marketing week. A when you talk about who will Appeal on to its not expertise that counts but having a personality that makes people Trust you a Buck said. A a in a a licensed Pilot and i know weather. Willard Scott does no to know anything about weather and i would never take advice from him. But i love Willard Scott and i watch him every who is this Man and what is it about him that enchants fans and enrages colleagues he a neither As Good As his fans think nor As bad As his detractors say. Smiths strength is his ability to take the mystery and snobbery out of cooking. When we watch him Cook we think a a he a like me. Sometimes the recipes work out and sometimes they done to and when they done the does no to get upset but that can be misleading. In a program on bread in his new series he a so eager for us to bake bread that he shows Bagel making without a water Bath turns out too Many kinds of loaves for anyone to follow and gives the impression that bread does no to take very Long to make. What of the accusations that he a condescending and deals in ethnic stereotypes a if i was id hear about it from the communities i write about a Smith said. A if i make jokes its by cause in a having fun and because i feel that in a part of their culture. In a the first to make fun of norwegian Smith whose Mother was norwegian laughs at the whiteness of norwegian Lut Fisk with boiled potatoes in Cream sauce saying that anyone who adds Parsley for color is recognized As an outsider. The Appeal of the books reflects his Appeal As a television performer. The writing sounds just like Smiths voice on television. Head Libs the shows taping them without a script but with careful plans for food production the recipes themselves have improved since 1986, when Smith took on a Collaborator Craig Wollam who has professional chefs training. No longer do you get recipes such As the one for pasta Carbonara in the frugal gourmet which tells you to Cook Bacon in butter add hot milk and vinegar and Cook them for 15 minutes. If you tried it in your Kitchen you a wind up with a curdled mess. What of the rumours that his recipes Arentt original that in some cases such As the american Indian Salmon soup and whipped Raspberry soup in the frugal gourmet Cooks american they re almost identical to recipes in other cookbooks Smith brushes that aside saying he a a food historian and does no to claim to be a creative Cook. Some of his recipes come from readers. Some come from interviews with real people. And some come from other cookbooks. A sure i mooch off other Cooks every Good teacher is a thief. But i always try to give credit when i do children to reach to. In Lon Donby Rick do brow los Angeles times to or not to. Over there the ratings should go through the roof when foxes Raunchy married. With children starring de of Neill Heads for London for a three part season finale that airs May 3,10 and 17. The plot ingredients seem perfect for tvs popular Slob family which wins a Surprise vacation with first class accommodations and then runs into a 500 year old curse that could wipe them All out. Not a bad Way to end the reign of these louts. Anyway the action All takes place during the May ratings sweeps As if you did no to know. Act of Faith what a significant about Katie Cour ices new Long term Deal As co Anchor of Abc s today show is that the struggling network is publicly expressing Confidence in its own future by issuing a five year contract. As for Couric she has surely helped revive today a no doubt about that. Home grown movie stars done to mean much in weekly television series a never have. The medium creates its own headliners and if you have any doubt Check out the leading men of three Abc series that end stateside april 25 with one hour specials growing pains who a the Boss and macgyver. Alan Thicke who survived a late hour series called Thicke of the night which was so bad that he fainted watching one episode at Home became a top to Star in growing pains. Tony Danza previously in tvs taxi skyrocketed in who a the Boss and Richard Dean Anderson a former soap opera actor made it big in macgyver. The three series ran on Abc for a combined total of 22 seasons adding up to a whopping 503 episodes that also Are Long term naturals for the syndicated rerun Market. By the Way tvs original who s the Boss ran on Abc in 1954. It was a quiz show in which panellists tried to identify famous personalities by questioning their secretaries. Mike Wallace was one of the hosts. Promises promises we Are in receipt of a press release that says that a current affair will a vastly expand its news gathering news gathering capabilities what was the name of that show again thought for the Day a the Bottom line Quot said former Abc Boss Pat Weaver a is that there is a responsibility in Toad unfortunately it is a matter of personal leadership. Those at the top have to take the responsibility for letting a great medium that can enrich and inspire and elevate people turn into a Boob tube in the Comer of the room to keep the kids being there a a you be got some Beautiful place a Peter Falk in Columbo. Say Good night Gracie. April 12, 1992 sunday a Page 11
