RecipeTin Eat's Nagi Maehashi accuses baker Brooke Bellamy of copying famous baker's recipe
Ms Maehashi sparked a firestorm this week when she alleged the former travel blogger-turned-baker copied two of her recipes for caramel slice, and baklava in her book Bake with Brooki.
Ms Bellamy strenuously denied the allegations and made a statement via her lawyers.
'I do not copy other people's recipes,' she said.
'Like many bakers, I draw inspiration from the classics, but the creations you see at Brooki Bakehouse reflect my own experience, taste and passion for baking, born of countless hours of my childhood spent in my home kitchen with Mum.'
Speaking with Good Food, Ms Maehashi confirmed social media rumours that Bake with Brooki may have copied a Portuguese tart recipe from Granger's book Every Day, which was published in 2006.
'It is so blatant to me that the wording in the method part of the recipe is copied almost exactly. To me, it is the biggest and strongest example of plagiarism that I have seen by this author,' Ms Maehashi said.
'I was so shocked when I saw it. Bill is an icon of the Australian food scene. When I became aware of it, I knew that including it in my statement would make it stronger, but I left it out at the request of Bill's family.'
Publishing director of Murdoch Books Jane Morrow released a statement that read: 'We are aware of the allegations of plagiarism involving the uncredited use of a recipe by Bill Granger. We take any suggestion that his work has been reproduced without acknowledgement seriously. We are currently reviewing the concerns raised.'
American-based baker Sally McKenney also alleged that Ms Bellamy used her vanilla cake recipe after Ms Maehashi told her about the scandal.
Ms Maehashi said she went public with the allegations because she wanted people 'to take responsibility for their actions and to remind influencers and publishers that stealing work is not okay'.
But she still sympathised with Ms Bellamy after the swell of criticism she'd received online.
Ms Maehashi said on Instagram on Thursday: 'I made the statement knowing that it would come with a barrage of hate against me, and social media did not let me down. I'm asking you to stop the personal attacks against Brooke Bellamy. That's not the way to speak your mind and that's not the kind of support I want.'
Ms Maehashi told Penguin Books months ago about the resemblances between two of her recipes, along with Granger's, in Bake with Brooki.
Penguin denied the allegations, saying via their lawyers: 'Our client respectfully rejects your client's allegations and confirms that the recipes in [Bake with Brooki] were written by Brooke Bellamy', according to Maehashi.
It's hard to prove recipe plagiarism, particularly when recipes like baklava, caramel slice and Portuguese custard tarts are varieties of recipes that have been tweaked many times over the years.
Award-winning chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan turned the tables and accused RecipeTin Eats of not crediting him properly for one of his dishes.
He said that while Ms Maehashi did provide a footnote credit to him for a butter chicken recipe she had used online and in her book, she should have got in touch to say she was using it, and added a link to his website.
'I couldn't say off the top of my head whether she did reach out and ask permission or not, but I would have thought, in general, you would contact the person whose recipe it was,' he said.
'All of my recipes in my (seven) books are copyrighted, we own them, they are our intellectual property.'
Ms Maehashi's website, RecipeTin Eats, has 1.5million followers on Instagram and she has also authored award-winning cookbooks Dinner and Tonight.
Ms Bellamy quickly became a global sensation after sharing videos on TikTok, which receive millions of views every day.
She is best known for her cookies and has opened pop-up stores in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Ms Maehashi said she wasn't across copyright infringement, but hired a lawyer specialising in intellectual property.
Ms Bellamy said in her statement via her lawyers: 'While baking has leeway for creativity, much of it is a precise science and is necessarily formulaic. Many recipes are bound to share common steps and measures: if they don't, they simply don't work.'
'My priority right now is to ensure the welfare of the fantastic team at Brooki Bakehouse and that of my family,' she said.
The Brisbane-based Brooki Bakehouse owner was due to be announced as an ambassador for the Academy for Enterprising Girls, which is an initiative designed to help students think like an entrepreneur and start their own business one day.
But she was dumped as the ambassador following plagiarism claims.
'Brooke Bellamy was recently engaged to conduct a small number of promotional activities for the Academy for Enterprising Girls program over the coming months,' an academy spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
'While we make no legal assessment on the allegations aired in the media, we have informed Bellamy that we will not move forward with the engagement at this time.'
It is not suggested that the accusations of plagiarism against Bellamy are true, only that they have been made
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Daily Mirror
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Scottish Sun
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I just knew one day people would finally get Nick Drake, says legendary producer Joe Boyd
Drake died aged 26 in 1974 from an overdose of antidepressants, never enjoying commercial success in his lifetime, never knowing how much he would be appreciated. TROUBLED SOUL I just knew one day people would finally get Nick Drake, says legendary producer Joe Boyd Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 'I REMEMBER the moment I first saw Nick. He was very tall – but kind of apologetically tall.' Legendary producer Joe Boyd is casting his mind back to January 1968, to the day 'very good-looking but very self-effacing' Nick Drake dropped a tape off at his London office. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Nick Drake died aged 26 in 1974, never enjoying commercial success in his lifetime Credit: Getty - Contributor 'He stooped a bit, like he was trying not to seem as tall as he was. 'It was wintertime and there were ash stains on his overcoat. He handed me the tape and trundled off. 'My first encounter with Nick's music was, most likely, that same evening or possibly the following one.' Boyd, an American who became a central figure in the late Sixties British folk-rock boom, was 25 at the time. Drake was 19. He cut a striking figure — lanky with dark shoulder-length hair framing his boyish features. Through his company, Witchseason Productions, Boyd came to helm stellar albums by Fairport Convention (with Sandy Denny), John Martyn, Shirley Collins and The Incredible String Band. But there was something indefinably mesmerising about those three songs passed to him by the quiet teenager who studied English Literature at Cambridge University. As Boyd switched on his 'little Wollensak reel-to-reel tape recorder', he was captivated by Drake's soft but sure tones, allied to his intricate fingerpicking guitar. 'I think the songs were I Was Made To Love Magic, Time Has Told Me and The Thoughts Of Mary Jane,' he says. 'From the first intro to the first song, I thought, 'Whoa, this is different'.' I'm speaking to Boyd to mark the release of a beautifully curated box set, The Making Of Five Leaves Left, a treasure trove of demos, outtakes and live recordings. Rounding it off is the finished product, Drake's debut album for Chris Blackwell's fabled Island Records pink label. Bob Dylan biopic is an immaculate portrayal of the grumpy singer's rise to fame - shame his women feel like complete unknowns In 2025, the singer's status as one of Britain's most cherished songwriters is assured. A troubled soul, Drake died aged 26 in 1974 from an overdose of antidepressants, never enjoying commercial success in his lifetime, never knowing how much he would be appreciated. But Boyd, now 83, had no doubts about the rare talent that he first encountered in 1968. He picks up the story again: 'Ashley Hutchings, the Fairport Convention bass player, saw Nick playing at The Roundhouse [in Camden Town, North London] and was very impressed. 'He handed me a slip of paper with a phone number on it and said, 'I think you'd better call this guy, he's special'. 'So I called and Nick picked up the phone. I said, 'Do you have a tape I could hear?'. He said, 'Yes'.' Boyd still didn't hold out too much hope, as he explains: 'I was very much a blues and jazz buff. I also liked Indian music. 'White middle-class guys with guitars were never that interesting to me — Bob Dylan being the exception that proves the rule. 5 John Boyd holding The Making Of Five Leaves Left, a treasure trove of demos, outtakes and live recordings 'But Nick was something else. He wasn't really a folk singer at all.' Boyd describes Drake as a 'chansonnier', a French term for a poet singer who performs their own compositions, often drawing on the themes of love and nature. He says: 'I'm always a bit bemused when I go into a record store — one of the few left — and see Nick filed under folk. He's unclassifiable and that's one of the reasons he endures.' To Boyd, Drake's enduring appeal is also helped 'by the fact that he didn't succeed in the Sixties'. 'He never became part of that decade's soundtrack in the way Donovan or [Pentangle guitarist and solo artist] Bert Jansch did. 'So he was cut loose from the moorings of his era, to be grabbed by succeeding generations.' Drake was born on June 19, 1948, in Rangoon, Burma [now Myanmar], to engineer father Rodney and amateur singer mother Molly. His older sister Gabrielle became a successful screen actress. When Nick was three, the family moved to Far Leys, a house at Tanworth-in-Arden, Warks, and it was there that his parents encouraged him to learn piano and compose songs. I'm always a bit bemused when I go into a record store — one of the few left — and see Nick filed under folk. He's unclassifiable and that's one of the reasons he endures. Joe Boyd Having listened to the home recordings of Molly, Boyd gives her much credit for her son's singular approach. He says: 'When you hear the way she shaped her strange chords on the piano and her sense of harmony, it seems that it was reverberating in Nick's mind.' When Drake gave him those three demos, recorded in his room at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, Boyd 'called the next day and said, 'Come on in, let's talk'.' During the ensuing meeting, Drake said: 'I'd like to make a record.' He was offered a management, publishing and production contract. Just as importantly, he had found a mentor in Joe Boyd. What you hear on the box set is the musical journey leading up to the release of Five Leaves Left in July 1969. The set was sanctioned by the Estate Of Nick Drake, run on behalf of his sister Gabrielle by Cally Callomon, but only after two remarkable tapes were unearthed. His first session with Boyd at Sound Techniques studio in March 1968 — found on a mono listening reel squirrelled away more than 50 years ago by Beverley Martyn, a singer and the late John Martyn's ex-wife. A full reel recorded at Caius College by Drake's Cambridge acquaintance Paul de Rivaz. It had gathered dust in the bottom of a drawer for decades. Boyd says: 'I have never been a big enthusiast for these endless sets of demos and outtakes — so I was highly sceptical about this project. 'But when my wife and I were sent the files a few months ago, we sat down one evening and listened through all four discs. 'I was tremendously moved by Nick. You can picture the scene of him arriving for the first time at Sound Techniques. 'This is what he's been working for. He's got his record deal and here he is in the studio. I was stunned.' 5 Five Leaves Left was released in 1969 In pristine sound quality, the first disc begins with Boyd saying, 'OK, here we go, whatever it is, take one.' Drake then sings the outtake followed by some of his best-loved songs — Time Has Told Me, Saturday Sun, Day Is Done among them. It's just man and guitar, recorded before musicians such as Pentangle's double bass player Danny Thompson and Fairport Convention's guitarist Richard Thompson (no relation) were drafted in. Boyd continues: 'The trigger for those recordings, that first day in the studio, was wanting our wonderful engineer John Wood to get a feel for Nick's sound. 'Nick was wide awake and on it. He was excited about being in a studio and he wanted to impress.' All these years later, one song in particular caught Boyd's attention — Day Is Done. 'He takes it more slowly than the final version. This gives him time to add more nuance and the singing is so good.' Back then, as Five Leaves Left took shape, Boyd witnessed the sophisticated way Drake employed strings, oboe and flute. Inspired by subtle orchestrations on Leonard Cohen's debut album, Boyd had drafted in arranger Richard Hewson but it didn't work out. 'It was nice, but it wasn't Nick,' he affirms. When Drake suggested his Cambridge friend Robert Kirby, a Baroque music scholar, everything fell into place. Boyd says: 'Nick had already been engaging with Robert about using a string quartet but had been hesitant about putting his ideas forward.' SUBTLE ORCHESTRATIONS The producer also recalls being 'fascinated by the lyrics — the work of a literate guy'. 'I don't want to sound elitist but Nick was well educated. British public school [Marlborough College] and he got into Cambridge. 'Gabrielle told me he didn't like the romantic poets much. But you feel that he's very aware of British poetry history.' This is evident in the first lines of the opening song on Five Leaves Left — 'Time has told me/You're a rare, rare find/A troubled cure for a troubled mind.' 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'I agreed to give him a monthly stipend to help him survive. He rented a bedsit in Hampstead — you could do that in those days. 'Nick started smoking a lot of hashish and didn't seem to see many people. I definitely noticed a difference. 'He'd been at Marlborough, he'd been at Cambridge and suddenly he's on his own, smoking dope, practising the guitar, going out for a curry, coming back to the guitar some more. He became more and more isolated and closed off'. Boyd describes how Drake found live performance an almost unbearable challenge. He says: 'He had different tunings for every song, which took a long time. He didn't have jokes. So he'd lose his audience and get discouraged.' 'It still haunts me that I left the UK' For Drake's next album, Bryter Layter, recorded in 1970 and released in 1971, Boyd remained in charge of production. 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It's ironic that it now sells more than his other two.' Then, roughly a year after leaving the UK, Boyd got a worried call from Drake's mum. 'Molly said she had urged Nick to see a psychiatrist because he had been struggling,' he says, with sadness, 'and that he had been prescribed antidepressants. 'I know Nick was hesitant to take them. He felt people would judge him as crazy — a typically British response.' Boyd again uses the word 'haunting' when recalling the transatlantic phone call he made to Drake. 'I said, 'There's nothing shameful about taking medicine when you've got a problem'. I know Nick was hesitant to take them [antidepressants]. He felt people would judge him as crazy — a typically British response Joe Boyd 'But I think antidepressant dosages were way higher in those days than they became. 'Doctors didn't appreciate the rollercoaster effect — how you could get to a peak of elation and freedom, then suddenly plunge back into depression. 'Who knows but it might have contributed to the feeling of despair Nick felt the night he took all those extra pills.' 5 Boyd says of Drake: 'He's unclassifiable and that's one of the reasons he endures' Drake died at home in Warwickshire during the early hours of November 25, 1974. As for Boyd, he made a lasting commitment to the singer who had such a profound effect on him. He says: 'When I left, I gave my company to Chris Blackwell because there were more debts than assets — and he agreed to take on the debts. 'But I said, 'I want it written in the contract that you cannot delete Nick Drake. Those records have to stay. 'I just knew that one day people would get him.'
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
BBC Antiques Road Trip expert halts show as deal spirals into chaos
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