‘Frugal Gourmet’ Faces Another Suit

Six more men filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing TV cooking show star Jeff Smith of sexually assaulting them as teenagers, including one who alleges he was raped by the “Frugal Gourmet” five years ago.

Two other men filed lawsuits earlier this year in which they accused Smith of sexually abusing them in the 1970s when they were teenagers.

Smith, 58, denied the new allegations through his attorney, as he has in the earlier cases. His public television program, the Frugal Gourmet, is the most-watched TV cooking show in history. No criminal charges have ever been filed against Smith and the statute of limitations has expired on the alleged incidents.

The new suit was filed in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma and seeks unspecified damages.