Nagi Maehashi accuses Brooke Bellamy of copying recipes in Bake with Brooki cookbook

Bellamy responded late last night, denying she had plagiarised.

She said she had offered to remove the recipes in question — for caramel slice and baklava — from future reprints and that she’d been making the slice years before Maehashi published her recipe online.

Both creators have more than a million followers on social media, RecipeTin Eats boasts more than 30 million visitors to its website a month and Brooki Bakehouse in central Brisbane often has long queues down the street.

Maehashi said she’d made “copyright infringement allegations” against the book’s publisher, Penguin Random House Australia, claiming it plagiarised two of her recipes, but she had not launched legal proceedings against either the author or publisher.

“To me, the similarities between the recipes in question are far too specific and detailed to be dismissed as coincidence,” she said.

“Penguin has denied the allegations. I have received no response from Brooke Bellamy, the author.

“I’m speaking up because staying silent protects this kind of behaviour. Profiting from plagiarised recipes is unethical – even if it is not copyright infringement – and undermines the integrity of the entire book.

“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.”

The Sydneysider said the similarities were brought to her attention by a reader in November and she posted comparison photos.

She described the inclusion of the recipes in the book, which Maehashi claims has sold more than 90,000 copies, or $4.6 million in sales, in six months as “disrespectful” and a “kick in the guts”.

“I put a huge amount of time and effort into testing recipes, whether it’s an original creation or one adapted from another source. It is what I am known for – the press have called me ‘obsessive’ about testing on more than one occasion,” she wrote.

“And I share them freely on my website for anyone to enjoy.

“To see them plagiarised (in my view) and used in a book for profit, without permission, and without credit, doesn’t just feel unfair. It feels like a blatant exploitation of my work.”

Bellamy responded last night on her Instagram Stories, saying she had “great respect” for Maehashi.

“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,” she said.

“In 2016, I opened my first bakery. I have been creating my recipes and selling them commercially since October 2016 – as shown in the next slide and as was communicated at the first point of contact I received.

“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.”

Bellamy said recipe development was “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,” she said.

“I stand by my love for baking, my recipes, and the joy this book has brought so many home bakers around the world eager to try recreating my recipes from inside their homes.”

Penguin Random House Australia has been contacted for comment by 9News.com.au.

In her blog post, Maehashi said the publisher lawyers told her, “Our client respectfully rejects your clients’ allegations and confirms that the recipes in the BWB Book were written by Brooke Bellamy”.