Two prominent cookbook authors have leveled serious allegations against TikTok influencer Brooke Bellamy, asserting that she has copied recipes from their works in her bestselling cookbook "Bake with Brooki." Nagi Maehashi, who runs the widely read food website RecipeTin Eats, claimed that Bellamy's recipe for a caramel slice and a baklava bear striking resemblances to her own creations.
Bellamy, owner of the flourishing Brooki Bakehouse chain established just last year, has refuted these accusations, insisting that her cookbook comprises "100 recipes I have created over many years," with some variations dating back before Maehashi's publications. This controversy escalated when US author Sally McKenney also accused Bellamy of plagiarizing her well-known vanilla cake recipe.
Maehashi noted that a reader alerted her to the “remarkable similarities” in the recipes, prompting her to conduct a side-by-side review. She now finds herself facing legal hurdles after contacting Penguin Random House Australia, the publisher of Bellamy's book, which led to what she described as “legal intimidation.”
Frustrated by the perceived exploitation of her intellectual property, Maehashi stated, “To see them plagiarised and used in a book for profit, without permission or credit, doesn’t just feel unfair.” Both she and McKenney have taken legal measures to address the situation, while Bellamy and her publisher assert that all recipes in the cookbook are authentic and entirely Bellamy's creation.
After selling an impressive A$4.6m (£2.1m) worth of her book since its release in October 2024, Bellamy did express willingness to eliminate the contested recipes from any future printings as a gesture to ease tensions, stating her admiration for Maehashi. In her Instagram responses, she emphasized, “Recipe development today draws inspiration from many sources,” underscoring the collaborative nature of cooking.
As the culinary world watches intently, both Maehashi's and Bellamy's cookbooks have been acknowledged for nominations at this year's Australian Book Industry Awards, demonstrating the industry's continuing evolution amidst challenges of originality and credit.
