Bellamy denies ‘Bake with Brooki’ plagiarism claims from Maehashi
RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi has claimed Bake with Brooki (Brooke Bellamy, Penguin) contains plagiarised recipes – an allegation Bellamy has denied, reports the ABC.
In a post to her website, subsequently shared to her Instagram, Maehashi, the author of RecipeTin Eats: Dinner and RecipeTin Eats: Tonight (both Macmillan), alleged that Bake with Brooki contains ‘plagiarised recipes’, including two from Maehashi, and ‘recipes from other authors’, who are not named in the post.
‘To me, the similarities between the recipes in question are far too specific and detailed to be dismissed as coincidence,’ said Maehashi.
‘Profiting from plagiarised recipes is unethical – even if it is not copyright infringement – and undermines the integrity of the entire book,’ she added. ‘And it’s a slap in the face to every author who puts in the hard work to create original content rather than cutting corners.’
Images shared on the post and to Maehashi’s Instagram include cross-comparisons of the book’s caramel slice and baklava recipes with those available earlier on RecipeTin Eats.
Bellamy responded via an Instagram story, denying the allegations. ‘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 kitchen.’
Later in the statement, Bellamy added: ‘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.’
Maehashi stated that she had contacted Penguin on 4 December 2024 with the allegations and that she received correspondence from Penguin via their lawyers stating, ‘Our client respectfully rejects your client’s allegations and confirms that the recipes in [Bake with Brooki] were written by Brooke Bellamy.’
In response, Bellamy said: ‘I immediately offered to remove both recipes from future reprints to prevent further aggravation, which was communicated to Nagi swiftly through discussions.’
Bellamy added that she shared an image of a caramel slice posted to social media from 2016 in support of her claim, which ‘was communicated at the first point of contact’.
In the hours following Maehashi’s post, several publications picked up news of a second recipe author supporting Maehashi’s claims. As reported by the Courier Mail, US baker Sally McKenney shared an Instagram story referencing the allegations.
Addressing her post to Maehashi, McKenney said: ‘I’m so grateful you let me know months ago that one of my recipes (The Best Vanilla Cake I’ve Ever Had, published by me in 2019) was also plagiarised in this book […] Original recipe creators who put in the work to develop and test recipes deserve credit – especially in a best-selling cookbook.’
Books+Publishing approached the authors’ publishers for comment, but was yet to receive a response from Penguin at the time of publication.
Macmillan’s statement to Books+Publishing read: ‘Pan Macmillan has no comment. Nagi Maehashi has advised Pan Macmillan that her public statement of 29 April is final, and she does not intend to comment further. All relevant information may be found on Nagi’s social media and website.’
Category: Local news
