Culinary Controversy: Influencer Accused of Recipe Theft

Australian influencer Brooke Bellamy faces allegations from authors Nagi Maehashi and Sally McKenney, who claim her cookbook features recipes that closely resemble their own. While Bellamy defends her creations, the dispute highlights growing concerns about originality and credit in the recipe development landscape.

Two prominent food authors have accused TikTok influencer Brooke Bellamy of copying their recipes in her recently published cookbook, igniting a debate over originality in culinary content. Nagi Maehashi, the Australian founder of the well-regarded food website RecipeTin Eats, claims that Bellamy's Bake with Brooki contains recipes that bear "word-for-word similarities" to her own, including a caramel slice and baklava recipe.

Despite the allegations, Bellamy, who operates the popular Brooki Bakehouse in Queensland, vehemently denies any wrongdoing, stating that her book features "100 recipes I have created over many years." She contends that one of the contested recipes predates Maehashi’s publication. The conflict escalated further when U.S. author Sally McKenney joined the fray, asserting that Bellamy's cookbook also copied her vanilla cake recipe.

Maehashi, who has authored two cookbooks and amassed a monthly readership of 45 million on her website, expressed deep concern over the situation, stating she felt "blatantly exploited." After reaching out to Bellamy's publisher, Penguin Random House Australia, she recounted feeling pressured as the publisher invoked legal measures. In her plea, she called for recognition of her work, emphasizing the unfairness of having her recipes used for profit without consent or acknowledgment.

In response to the accusations, Penguin and Bellamy stated that all recipes in the cookbook are originally written by Bellamy. Although Bellamy maintains her innocence, she offered to remove the questioned recipes in future editions to ease tensions. "I have great respect for Nagi," she said in a series of Instagram stories while defending her creative process.

Both Maehashi’s and Bellamy’s works are currently in contention for the Australian Book Industry Awards, and their authors are navigating the murky waters of culinary creativity and attribution as conversations around inspiration and originality continue to unfold in the food world. Meanwhile, McKenney emphasizes the importance of crediting original recipe creators who invest time and effort in developing culinary content deserving recognition.