Latest news with #BakewithBrooki
Scoop
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Thieves In The Kitchen: The Stealing Of Recipes
Recipe author Nagi Maehashi, unmoved by her own numbing banality, is peeved. Her target: Penguin books and author Brooke Bellamy. Her accusation: the apparent copying of recipes for caramel slice and baklava from Maehashi's RecipeTin Eats website, released in Bellamy's Bake with Brooki, published in October last year. 'Profiting from plagiarised recipes is unethical,' she huffed, 'even if it is not copyright infringement – and undermines the integrity of the entire book.' Rather indulgently, Maehashi goes on to decry this as a 'slap in the face to every author who puts in the hard work to create original content rather than cutting corners.' The question left begging is whether this is ever possible for a cookbook. Bellamy, who has the combined weight of 3 million followers on TikTok and Instagram, has flatly denied the accusation. 'I did not plagiarise any recipes in my book which consists of 100 recipes I have created over many years,' she claims on Instagram. 'In 2016, I opened my first bakery. I have been creating my recipes and selling them commercially since October 2016.' The social media figure is candid in admitting that she did not invent any of the recipes listed in her book dealing with cookies, cupcakes, brownies or cakes. On the issue of the caramel slice, Bellamy merely observes that the RecipeTin Eats recipe, published in March 2020, 'uses the same ingredients as my recipe, which I have been making and selling since four years prior.' Evidently not a pugilist, Bellamy has even offered to remove the caramel slice and baklava recipes from any future reprints of her book, a point 'communicated to Nagi swiftly through discussions'. Another author from cookbook land, Adam Liaw, abandons his kitchen implements briefly to explain the finer points of intellectual property in light of this dispute. As an intellectual property lawyer in his previous non-cooking life, he suggests that the copyright 'doesn't protect the recipe itself. It protects the publication of the exact same written form of that recipe. None of the recipes written in the world would reach the standards necessary to obtain patent protection.' A closer look at the claim is one of plagiarism. This is an interesting point, given the multitude of borrowings, replications and, along the way, adjustments, that come along with the use of recipes. Professor John Swinson from the University of Queensland adds insult to injury to Maehashi's case by simply stating that the steps involved in making the recipe were 'not very expressive'. When looking at a comparison between the two recipes in question, one is left with a similar impression. 'You can't protect a cake or cookie,' Swinson clarifies. 'You can only protect how it\s expressed, not the end result, and most recipes are just factual instructions'. A sticking point here is the issue of attribution. Under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), there are various described moral rights, as distinct from economic rights. These include the right of attribution (that the author be identified and named as the author of that work); the right against false attribution (the right of the author to prevent someone else from being credited as the author of their work; and the right of integrity (the right of an author to ensure that the work is not subjected to derogatory treatment harmful to the author's honour or reputation). Historically speaking, the publication of recipes drawn from the vast archive of cookery is more than standard. We find Isabella Beeton in October 1861, a co-editor of the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine pillaging at will any number of recipes for The Book of Household Management. As food boffin and author Helana Brigman points out, this book of revelation for Victorian readers, one that allayed fears about 'how much should a family of five spend on groceries', had nothing that was her own. In writing her book, Beeton made generous use of readers' submissions. The fact remains that, however murky one might assume the laws on copyright were on the subject, neither US nor British copyright laws (ditto Australia's equivalent) protect a listing of ingredients, even those found in formulas, compounds, or prescriptions. Broadly speaking, claiming some ownership over a dish is much like asserting control over the air and its vapours. An iconoclastic Jonathan Meades takes the torch to such proprietary assertions in his The Plagiarist in the Kitchen: A Lifetime of Culinary Thefts. His work eschews 'culinary originality', being an 'anti-cookbook' favouring 'the daylight robbery of recipes, to hijacking techniques and methods, to the notion that in the kitchen there is nothing new and nor can there be anything new.' Meades rightly notes that the pathology of originality arises from the emergence of the cult chef, the God creator in the kitchen. In an interview, he notes how it began 'in upscale restaurants in Spain and then in Britain with Heston Blumenthal.' The entire grievance on Maehashi's part has given Bellamy even more oxygen for her enterprise, with the latter preferring to repair back to the bakery. Two new stores are set to open in Queensland in July. An international pop-up store in the United Arab Emirates is planned to open by the end of the year, adding to existing ones in the Middle East. If Bellamy was ever a thief in the kitchen, the enterprise is doing quite nicely.
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Brooke Bellamy reveals new business move after admitting she didn't 'invent' her recipes in comeback message to rival who claimed her ideas were stolen
An embattled baker who was accused of plagiarising her recipes has revealed she is expecting her second child and that she will be opening two new locations. Brooke Bellamy revealed her plans for expansion on Sunday while celebrating the three year anniversary of running Brooki Bakehouse. The bakehouse already has three locations and is 'about to open their fourth and fifth locations'. 'It's kind of crazy how much has happened over the past three years,' Ms Bellamy said in an Instagram video. 'And if you haven't heard the news already I'm excited to say that a second baby Brooki is on the way.' The baking influencer returned to social media on Saturday following a brief hiatus after two high-profile chefs argued her bestselling cookbook Bake with Brooki contained their recipes. Bellamy admitted in her comeback post she did not 'invent' the recipes in her cookbook, clarifying she had been 'inspired from somewhere and someone'. 'Since opening my bakery three years ago and sharing my life online, I've never had such a long break between videos,' she said in the video. 'But I've also never experienced something like I have over the last few weeks.' RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi sparked an internet frenzy in April when she went public on her world famous blog with claims her caramel slice and Baklava recipes had been stolen for use in the book. The video posted on Saturday showed Bellamy as she returned to her Fortitude Valley bakery in Brisbane's inner-city before dawn and slipped on her iconic pink 'Brooki' apron. The high-profile baker admitted that while each of the 100 recipes in the book were 'personal' to her, they each drew on existing recipes in some way for inspiration. 'While all of these recipes are personal to me, I cannot say that I have invented the cookies, cupcakes, brownies or cakes in the recipe book. They are all inspired from somewhere and someone before me,' she said. Bellamy said she had been influenced by creators across the world but said her mother remained her main inspiration. 'I have been so inspired by bakeries and bakers the world over but the biggest inspiration in my life is my mum because I learnt to cook and bake with her in the kitchen growing up,' she said. Penguin Australia and Bellamy have denied the allegations since Bellamy first tackled Maehashi's claims head-on on April 29. Bake With Brooki was published by Penguin in October last year and retails for $49.99. 'I did not plagiarise any recipes in my book, which consists of 100 recipes I have created over many years, since falling in love with baking as a child and growing up baking with my mum in our home,' she wrote. 'On March 2020, RecipeTin Eats published a recipe for caramel slice. It uses the same ingredients as my recipe, which I have been making and selling since four years prior.' The following day, on April 30, Bellamy again denied copying the recipes but suggested all baker's share common methods. 'I do not copy other people's recipes. 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,' she said. '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.' Maehashi is not the only baker to have levelled plagiarism claims against Bellamy. Hours after Maehashi went public with her claims, American baker and author Sally McKenny claimed her own vanilla cake recipe had also been stolen for use in the cookbook as well as on Bellamy's YouTube channel. 'Original recipe creators who put in the work to develop and test recipes deserve credit - especially in a best-selling cookbook,' McKenny wrote.
Courier-Mail
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Courier-Mail
Brooke Bellamy breaks silence over copycat allegations
Don't miss out on the headlines from Books. Followed categories will be added to My News. Embattled celeb baker Brooke Bellamy has made her return to social media after her recipe controversy, addressing her critics in a video filmed at her bakery, Brooki Bakehouse. Last month, fellow celeb chef and RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi publicly accused Bellamy of copying her recipes for her popular new cookbook, Bake with Brooki. Maehashi later also accused Bellamy of copying recipes from other renowned foodies, including late Aussie chef Bill Granger. As the claims against her mounted, Bellamy – usually a prolific user of social media – went to ground. In a new post to her Instagram account yesterday – the first posted to her grid since April 28, the day the scandal broke – Bellamy addressed her extended absence. 'Since opening my bakery three years ago and sharing my life online, I've never had such a long break between videos but I've also never experienced something like I have over the last few weeks,' she began. Aussie baker Brooke Bellamy returns to social media. Bellamy said opening her own bakery had been her lifelong dream, and came after she travelled the world 'in search of the best bakeries'. She cited her mother as the biggest inspiration in her cooking, as she 'learned to cook and bake with her in the kitchen growing up.' 'When I was invited to write a cookbook I was really excited to share all of the recipes that I've been making since I was small. These recipes have been written down on paper, been handed to me by friends and family, they get passed down through generations, they gets scaled up and scaled down in the bakery setting,' Bellamy said. 'While all of these recipes are personal to me, I cannot say that I have invented the cookies, cupcakes, brownies or cakes in the recipe book. They are all inspired from somewhere and someone before me. I never subscribe to be a part of a narrative that pits two women against each other, especially in the same industry. I think there's room for everyone, especially more women in business,' she said. Bellamy finished by saying that this public statement was 'all [she'd] say about it, and that she was keen to refocus on her business and her love of baking. Chef Nagi Maehashi levelled allegations against Bellamy. Bellamy kept a low profile for several weeks as outrage grew. Picture: Steve Pohlner Those recipe copying allegations might have momentarily gripped Australia a few weeks back, but it seems not everyone was following the controversy – even among Bellamy's own fanbase. 'I'm confused. Did Brooke get accused of something?' reads the top-rated comment under the post. Fellow author and cook Maehashi accused Bellamy of plagiarising several recipes in her best-selling book, Bake with Brooki. As public outrage grew, Maehashi later called on social media trolls to stop personal attacks towards Bellamy. 'Now I know I've made serious allegations. But this does not justify the personal attacks that I've seen online against Brooke Bellamy. I do not support it and I'm asking you to stop,' she said. Bellamy's back in the bakery and keen to put the controversy behind her. Bellamy had shared a statement with in the days following the allegations being aired, saying the backlash she had faced since the accusations first emerged had been 'deeply distressing' both for her and her family. 'The past 24 hours have been extremely overwhelming,' she said/ 'I have had media outside my home and business, and have been attacked online. It has been deeply distressing for my colleagues and my young family.' Bellamy went on to insist that she has never copied another baker's recipe, and instead has only ever 'drawn inspiration' for her own creations. 'I do not copy other people's recipes. 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.' Originally published as Brooke Bellamy breaks silence over copycat allegations
1News
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 1News
Book prize follows copycat claims against Brisbane cupcake queen
Recipe book writer Nagi Maehashi has beaten cupcake queen Brooke Bellamy at the Australian publishing industry's annual awards, after Maehashi and other authors accused Bellamy of plagiarism. Maehashi won the illustrated book of the year prize for a second time at the Australian Book Industry Awards in Melbourne yesterday for her most recent book RecipeTin Eats: Tonight. In April the prize-winning author accused Bellamy, who runs the popular Brooki Bakehouse in Brisbane, of copying her caramel slice and baklava recipes in her bestselling book, Bake with Brooki. Another author, US-based Sally McKenney from the blog Sally's Baking Addiction, has alleged Bellamy copied her Best Vanilla Cake recipe. Bellamy denied the allegations, which she has described online as "deeply distressing". She did not attend the awards night and she was understood to be attending a pop-up bakery venture in the United Arab Emirates. The Brisbane baker and online influencer has previously said she offered to remove the recipes that were the subject of Maehashi's allegations from any reprints "to prevent further aggravation". Maehashi beat five finalists including Bellamy to take out the prestigious industry prize, with her second cookbook Tonight selling more than 78,000 copies in its first week on shelves, breaking Australian records for first week non-fiction title sales. Bake with Brooki was published in October by Penguin Random House Australia, which was awarded a gong for publisher of the year and has been contacted for comment. The awards were not only about authors but the whole publishing industry, according to Australian Publishers Association chief executive Patrizia Di Biase-Dyson. "The industry judges cast their eagle eyes over the whole process of bringing books to consumers – from editing the manuscript through to the sales, marketing and publicity," she said.
West Australian
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Sweet victory: RecipeTin Eats' Nagi Maehashi beats rival Brooke Bellamy at Australian Book Industry Awards
RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi has claimed victory over rival Brooke Bellamy at the Australian Book Industry Awards in the latest chapter of the celebrity cook showdown. The adored author from Sydney's Northern Beaches took home the prestigious prize for Illustrated Book of the Year on Wednesday night for her most recent book, RecipeTin Eats: Tonight. Brisbane baker and social media sensation Bellamy was nominated in the same category for her controversial cookbook Bake with Brooki, which Maehashi claims contains several plagiarised recipes. Other authors have also accused Bellamy of stealing recipes, including US-based baker Sally McKenny. Bellamy has denied all accusations and did not attend the award ceremony. Maehashi beat five finalists including Bellamy to take home the award, with the cookbook selling more than 78,000 copies in its first week on shelves. The cookbook writer appeared unfazed by the feud that has captured global attention, as she took to social media this morning to celebrate her monumental win and thank her team. 'Thank you @abia_awards for the honour.' 'To my team - thank you for your support for all those months I disappeared into the book making black-hole (and all that Moroccan lamb and seafood pie you taste tested🤣),' she wrote on Instagram. Bellamy is yet to comment on the loss.
