RecipeTin Eats makes shock copying claims against Brooke Bellamy’s $5m cookbook
Brooke Bellamy has doubled down on her denial of plagiarism claims and called for privacy, revealing she has been attacked online during an “overwhelming and distressing” 24 hours.
QLD Taste
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Taste. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Brisbane-based cookie queen Brooke Bellamy has again denied claims she copied recipes and pleaded for privacy.
The Brooki’s Bakehouse owner, whose latest book reaped almost $5m in sales and who has sensationally been at the centre of plagiarism claims, released a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
“The past 24 hours have been extremely overwhelming,” the statement read.
“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.”
“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.”
Ms Bellamy stressed that recipes are “formulaic” and that many recipes share similar steps and measures.
“My priority right now is to ensure the welfare of the fantastic team at Brooki Bakehouse and that of my family,” she said.
It came after a second baker joined one of Australia’s top home cooks in making explosive claims about Bellamy’s recipes.
Just hours after RecipeTin Eats’ Nagi Maehashi raised allegations over copyright infringement relating to two recipes in Brooke Bellamy’s hit Bake With Brooki book, US-based baker Sally McKenney posted a story on Instagram, claiming she too had found her recipe “The Best Vanilla Cake I’ve ever Had” had been allegedly copied.
Maehashi said the circumstances came to light in November last year after a reader emailed to say she noticed “remarkable similarities” with two recipes in Brooke Bellamy’s hit Bake With Brooki book.
Bellamy – whose publisher Penguin Random House Australia has denied the allegations to Maehashi – is a social media influencer with almost 4 million followers.
She denied plagiarism in an Instagram post on Tuesday night, saying she has been making the caramel slice recipe since 2016 and referring followers to a photo she posted of the slice at that time.
After contacting Bellamy and her publisher Penguin Random House Australia twice, Maehashi penned a lengthy article on her RecipeTin Eats website on Tuesday which immediately went viral.
The article included side-by-side recipes for her caramel slice and baklava, which it is claimed were remarkably similar to those published in Bake With Brooki.
McKenney, also known as Sally’s Baking Addiction, threw her support behind Maehashi, saying she was grateful that the home cook “let me know that one of my recipes (the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had, published by me in 2019) was also plagiarised in this book and also appears on the author’s YouTube channel”.
“Original recipe creators who put in the work to develop and test recipes deserve credit – especially in a best-selling cookbook.”
Maehashi responded to Ms McKenney’s claims, confirming she had reached out to her.
“Yes Sally is one of the authors I reached out to. I recognised her vanilla cake because I’ve made it and it’s unique (it uses buttermilk),” she wrote.
Maehashi conceded recipes often could be similar, as there were only limited ways to make some things, but in her opinion the similarities were so striking she believed her copyright had been infringed.
“I asked Penguin to withdraw the book containing the (allegedly) plagiarised recipes from sale, either attribute or remove my recipes from future reprints of the book, and to make a substantial donation to a charity in lieu of financial compensation,’’ she wrote in her article.
She said she did not want compensation or even reimbursement for legal fees including from an intellectual property lawyer she consulted which were in the tens of thousands of dollars.
“I also personally wrote a letter to Penguin’s directors and sent two letters to Brooke Bellamy,’’ she stated in her article.
“Penguin have denied my allegations, stating in a letter from their lawyers that ‘our client respectfully rejects your clients’ allegations and confirms that the recipes in the BWB book were written by Brooke Bellamy’.’’
Bellamy posted a statement to Instagram Stories on Tuesday night denying plagiarism, and saying her book consisted of 100 recipes created over many years while growing up baking.
“(In) 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.
“I immediately offered to remove both recipes from future reprints to prevent further aggravation, which was communicated to Nagi swiftly through discussions.
“I have great respect for Nagi and what she has done in recent years for cooks, content creators and cookbooks in Australia – especially as a fellow female entrepreneur.
“Recipe development in today’s world is enveloped in inspiration from other cooks, cookbook authors, food bloggers and content creators.
“This willingness to share recipes and build on what has come before is what I love so much about baking and sharing recipes – the community that surrounds it.”
Just before 7am on Wednesday, the Brisbane bakery owner’s husband Justice Bellamy arrived to the Fortitude Valley storefront.
When questioned, Mr Bellamy said his wife would not be making an appearance at the flagship store.
Mr Bellamy declined any further comment but thanked the community for their support.
Customers on Wednesday morning slowly began lining up waiting for Brooki Bakehouse to open just before 8am.
While some had no idea about the claims against Bellamy, Monique Wisnewski said she had read about it after clocking off from her late shift and believed the alleged plagiarism was “hard to cast aside”.
“I know Brooke has made a lot of money with the cookbook and Nagi depends on website traffic for her RecipeTins charity so yeah I think it does matter,” she said.
“But I know a Brookie has been doing this since 2016 so I can’t say who’s which or who was first.
“I hope they can work it out and maybe do some share profits or something like that to help each other out.”
Seth Vayu was surprised when he learned of the claims this morning.
“(Brooke) has worked very very hard to do this, she doesn’t strike me as someone who would plagiarise anything,” Mr Vayu said.
“It just sounds a little ludicrous you plagiarise a recipe.
In her article, Maehashi said: “Let’s not forget, this is not a small book gathering dust in the dark corner of bookshops.
“This has been a blockbuster launched with a big marketing campaign — $4.6m worth of sales in Australia alone in less than six months.”
“I’ve written two cookbooks. I know what it takes. Every sentence, every photo, every recipe, the sleepless nights, putting your heart and soul into every page,’’ she said.
Maehashi expressed disappointment that a major publisher, Penguin Random House, continued selling the book even after she brought the similarities to their attention on December 4 last year.
She also admitted to using a baklava recipe from another author but said she openly credited the author and also put in a lot of effort to change and test it so it was foolproof.
“I put a huge amount of time and effort into testing recipes, whether it’s an original creation or one adapted from another source,’’ she said.
“It is what I am known for. The press have called me obsessive about testing on more than one occasion.’’
Maehashi said she did not lightly take her actions to write about her claims, revealing she had spent “many sleepless nights fretting over it and many hours writing it’’.
“The easiest and safest path would be to stay silent. I know there’s risk that legal action may be brought against me for speaking out and it’s daunting to take on a major publisher and an influencer with a huge TikTok following,’’ she wrote.
“But I’m going ahead because, in my heart, I know it’s the right thing to do.’’
In 2016, then known as Brooke Saward, she opened Charlie’s Dessert House in Launceston, Tasmania with the menu filled with recipes collected on her travels as a blogger, also publishing a book called ‘World of Wanderlust: How to Live an Adventurous Life’.
“From learning to make macarons in Paris to sampling the best baklava in Turkey, her love for sweets was always a driving force behind her travels,” the cafe’s website still reads.
She sold the business to her parents, Tania and Kent Saward, in 2020 before moving to Brisbane to set up her cookie empire.
The new owners of the dessert house told News Corp on Wednesday they purchased the business from the Sawards 18 months ago, and did not wish to comment on the controversy.
More Coverage
Embattled lawyer’s restaurant, cafe empire revealed
The unexpected hospitality empire of an embattled former Brisbane lawyer can be revealed.
Read more
Fast food empire faces liquidation bid as glam founders tour Australia
The ATO is seeking to wind up a key company in national fast food group, but it hasn’t stopped its glamorous founders from embarking on a national tour to recruit new franchisees.
Read more