He always gave me the creeps. Like that kitchen set was actually inside a van parked outside the middle school type creeps.
One of the things I miss most about my childhood was thinking adults were good, and honest with us and themselves. As I became aware of my sexual orientation, I fortunately learned quickly to be dishonest with them but honest with myself.
I loved this piece so much and your perceptive writing. I watched Jeff Smith urgently as a kid. I'm not sure why but I know that his books on China and Italy really spoke to me, kind of opened me up to the world. And then he was gone, and I was young and from a small town where we had 3 channels and no one even brought up gayness ever, unless it was derogatory, and only later did I hear what happened with Smith and boys. It felt to me like this scourge that no one wanted to talk about because before Batali, food, i think, was more about happy happy kumbaya and somehow tackling issues around gayness AND preditory behavior with kids seemed like too much for food writers. Does that sound right, John? I can't wait to read your book. I know it's going to be great.
Thanks so much, Kim! Yes, I think there were several layers of concealment and denial, especially in a time of extreme AIDS stigma. Reading accounts from then, it seems clear that there were several people who had a pretty good idea about what was going on, or knew, but chose to remain silent; and especially after the allegations came to light, to protect themselves from appearing complicit. I think part of the Bourdain revolution in 2000, with Kitchen Confidential, was allowing the possibility addiction, depression, and workplace abuse (though it wasn't framed as that) in food media.
I watched him on PBS during the 90s. I was in my 40s, with 2 small kids, one of them special needs. He was kind of a bright spot for me at that time; I was a caretaker & homeschooler, and I wasn't so much interested in what he cooked, but the history of the foods, how they were used, the people he interacted with, etc. I saw 'kind of' the person he was -an odd, kind of mean guy who'd found a niche, and could take me away from little kid concerns and chatter for 30 minutes a couple times a week. I was very sorry when I heard about his past, felt bad for his family & his victims.
Toxicity isn't and never has been solely the province of straight white christian un-artistic men, despite how badly some out there want us to believe that. Holding members of any minority group, even our own, to a higher standard than those who check the boxes for the majority is an exercise in futility. And some of those who are toxic... maybe even many of those who are toxic... are going to produce art, music, books, television, movies... whatever... that we enjoy. It is possible to separate the creator from their work, and still do so.
Thank you for writing this. I remember watching Jeff Smith back then; couldn’t help being weirded out by the dynamic between him and his young assistant, Craig. Jeff gave me a Dirty Vicar vibe. It’s just awful how many people he hurt along the way.
I’d never heard of or seen Jeff Smith before reading this and as a certified lover of hating, I was amused at the beginning of reading this and horrified by the gravity of what he did by the end of it. I don’t understand how people can say “yeah what he did sucks, but I learned so much from him!”, as if the horrors he inflicted on MINORS can be overlooked by the knowledge they gained. He is both an abuser and someone who (apparently) had a big impact on the cooking world, and no amount of “buts” will erase what he did or the harm he caused. It’s always difficult when someone from your already marginalized community does something heinous, but it’s important for us to name it when we see it because the perceptions of the majority is not more important than doing what we can to stop the harm.
no one has said that what he did was 'ok' I related where in time I was when I watched him; I didn't know that he was a criminal-wouldn't have watched him.
I wasn’t talking about you, referring to you, nor did I mention you specifically. In fact, I just scrolled through and it looks like you left a comment here AFTER I left my comment. I don’t know why you feel like you need to explain yourself to me, but sure.
Liking him as a chef, but hating what he stood for, are 2 different things. While his rape and molestation culture is repugnant, he also helped many of us become better cooks. I think I only have 3 of his books left, when I owned them all, in hard and soft cover. Some stained so much from use that I knew most of the recipes by heart. When his story first became known, it was sad. As in, he fooled me all of this time, type of sad. And in the morality sense as well. But the truly sad part is that the community hasn’t changed. It still occurs, but thankfully more people speak up now.
Jeff Smith was always fun to watch. I am grateful for his freeing me from peeling carrots. I only peel them for guests. I have extended this to not peeling beets or potatoes. So thanks Jeff. As for his awful behavior, it did not surprise me as his male assistants were obviously selected for their good looks. My heart goes out to his victims. The trauma of such behavior never ends.
Unlike the author, Smith wasn’t interested in “queer food.” His leaning toward European food was more of a function of his audience, and that was clear when he reached out toward the diversity of food cultures in US America & around the world. Roshat should read the cookbooks as carefully as the tabloids.
p.s. I’ve used Smith’s recipes since I was a kid, and they continue to impress the foodies who admire my cooking. Would the author post images of his cooking, assuming there are any?
I’d read about Smith’s crimes earlier. Still, it was sad to reread it with your added thoughts. With no love of cooking or food on my home as I grew up, he was the one who first connected food to culture and traditions. The recipes I followed were simple enough for a fledgling home cook like me to produce very pleasing dishes.
The timing of learning details of a person is so important. For me and some others, he was an inspirational gatherer of recipes who was an abusive and destructive man. For others, who was an abused and destructive man who happened to have a knack for taking about food in TV.
Maybe it’s petty to write about this incident so many years later, especially in light of the really terrible things he did, but I took one of his earliest Chinese cooking classes held in his home. I was still in high school and traded babysitting his two sons for cooking classes. Often this was after the class and I would wash all the dirty dishes he’d accumulated.
At the end of the summer, after babysitting and doing the dishes, he told me I still owed him money for the class.
Thanks for your post. I worked at a PBS station in the 90s. Those of us who knew Smith thought he was mean and generally unlikeable.
He always gave me the creeps. Like that kitchen set was actually inside a van parked outside the middle school type creeps.
One of the things I miss most about my childhood was thinking adults were good, and honest with us and themselves. As I became aware of my sexual orientation, I fortunately learned quickly to be dishonest with them but honest with myself.
Thanks for the post.
Great article! I remember watching that guy as a kid on PBS, but I was always more into Mary Ann Esposito haha
Preach! She is a kitchen queen.
I had no clue about who the man was - either his name didn’t float across the Atlantic or he was canceled after the trials.
Excellent article and reflection
I loved this piece so much and your perceptive writing. I watched Jeff Smith urgently as a kid. I'm not sure why but I know that his books on China and Italy really spoke to me, kind of opened me up to the world. And then he was gone, and I was young and from a small town where we had 3 channels and no one even brought up gayness ever, unless it was derogatory, and only later did I hear what happened with Smith and boys. It felt to me like this scourge that no one wanted to talk about because before Batali, food, i think, was more about happy happy kumbaya and somehow tackling issues around gayness AND preditory behavior with kids seemed like too much for food writers. Does that sound right, John? I can't wait to read your book. I know it's going to be great.
Thanks so much, Kim! Yes, I think there were several layers of concealment and denial, especially in a time of extreme AIDS stigma. Reading accounts from then, it seems clear that there were several people who had a pretty good idea about what was going on, or knew, but chose to remain silent; and especially after the allegations came to light, to protect themselves from appearing complicit. I think part of the Bourdain revolution in 2000, with Kitchen Confidential, was allowing the possibility addiction, depression, and workplace abuse (though it wasn't framed as that) in food media.
I watched him on PBS during the 90s. I was in my 40s, with 2 small kids, one of them special needs. He was kind of a bright spot for me at that time; I was a caretaker & homeschooler, and I wasn't so much interested in what he cooked, but the history of the foods, how they were used, the people he interacted with, etc. I saw 'kind of' the person he was -an odd, kind of mean guy who'd found a niche, and could take me away from little kid concerns and chatter for 30 minutes a couple times a week. I was very sorry when I heard about his past, felt bad for his family & his victims.
Toxicity isn't and never has been solely the province of straight white christian un-artistic men, despite how badly some out there want us to believe that. Holding members of any minority group, even our own, to a higher standard than those who check the boxes for the majority is an exercise in futility. And some of those who are toxic... maybe even many of those who are toxic... are going to produce art, music, books, television, movies... whatever... that we enjoy. It is possible to separate the creator from their work, and still do so.
Thank you for writing this. I remember watching Jeff Smith back then; couldn’t help being weirded out by the dynamic between him and his young assistant, Craig. Jeff gave me a Dirty Vicar vibe. It’s just awful how many people he hurt along the way.
I’d never heard of or seen Jeff Smith before reading this and as a certified lover of hating, I was amused at the beginning of reading this and horrified by the gravity of what he did by the end of it. I don’t understand how people can say “yeah what he did sucks, but I learned so much from him!”, as if the horrors he inflicted on MINORS can be overlooked by the knowledge they gained. He is both an abuser and someone who (apparently) had a big impact on the cooking world, and no amount of “buts” will erase what he did or the harm he caused. It’s always difficult when someone from your already marginalized community does something heinous, but it’s important for us to name it when we see it because the perceptions of the majority is not more important than doing what we can to stop the harm.
no one has said that what he did was 'ok' I related where in time I was when I watched him; I didn't know that he was a criminal-wouldn't have watched him.
I wasn’t talking about you, referring to you, nor did I mention you specifically. In fact, I just scrolled through and it looks like you left a comment here AFTER I left my comment. I don’t know why you feel like you need to explain yourself to me, but sure.
Liking him as a chef, but hating what he stood for, are 2 different things. While his rape and molestation culture is repugnant, he also helped many of us become better cooks. I think I only have 3 of his books left, when I owned them all, in hard and soft cover. Some stained so much from use that I knew most of the recipes by heart. When his story first became known, it was sad. As in, he fooled me all of this time, type of sad. And in the morality sense as well. But the truly sad part is that the community hasn’t changed. It still occurs, but thankfully more people speak up now.
Jeff Smith was always fun to watch. I am grateful for his freeing me from peeling carrots. I only peel them for guests. I have extended this to not peeling beets or potatoes. So thanks Jeff. As for his awful behavior, it did not surprise me as his male assistants were obviously selected for their good looks. My heart goes out to his victims. The trauma of such behavior never ends.
Unlike the author, Smith wasn’t interested in “queer food.” His leaning toward European food was more of a function of his audience, and that was clear when he reached out toward the diversity of food cultures in US America & around the world. Roshat should read the cookbooks as carefully as the tabloids.
p.s. I’ve used Smith’s recipes since I was a kid, and they continue to impress the foodies who admire my cooking. Would the author post images of his cooking, assuming there are any?
I’d read about Smith’s crimes earlier. Still, it was sad to reread it with your added thoughts. With no love of cooking or food on my home as I grew up, he was the one who first connected food to culture and traditions. The recipes I followed were simple enough for a fledgling home cook like me to produce very pleasing dishes.
The timing of learning details of a person is so important. For me and some others, he was an inspirational gatherer of recipes who was an abusive and destructive man. For others, who was an abused and destructive man who happened to have a knack for taking about food in TV.
I've hated him ever since he brought my friend Lizzie to tears in a Seattle cheese shop in the early 90s.
Maybe it’s petty to write about this incident so many years later, especially in light of the really terrible things he did, but I took one of his earliest Chinese cooking classes held in his home. I was still in high school and traded babysitting his two sons for cooking classes. Often this was after the class and I would wash all the dirty dishes he’d accumulated.
At the end of the summer, after babysitting and doing the dishes, he told me I still owed him money for the class.
Very sad to watch the sustained decline of journalistic and historic reporting integrity on NPR/PBS. Ken Burns perspective for decades! Yuk!