Two online food influencers, Nagi Maehashi and Brooke Bellamy, have been caught up in a recipe plagiarism fiasco.
Australian social media fan favourite Brooke Bellamy is known for her scrumptious kitchen creations, having opened her own bakery, Brooki Bakehouse, gained millions of followers online, and has just released a bestselling cookbook, Bake with Brooki.
The TikTok star has, however, rejected claims that she plagiarised two recipes in her cookbook, allegations brought on by fellow Australian cook Nagi Maehashi.
The founder of RecipeTin Eats issued a public statement on her website outlining why she knew bringing this issue to light was the right thing to do.
“I’m no stranger to seeing my recipes being copied online. But seeing what appeared to me to be one of my recipes printed in a book launched with a huge publicity campaign from one of Australia’s biggest publishers was shocking,” said Maehashi.
Bellamy’s cookbook has made over AUD $4.6 million in sales since it was launched in October 2024 according to Maehashi. She said that 92,849 copies had been sold as of 23 April 2025, according to Nielsen BookScan, at a recommended retail price of AUD $49.99.
The first recipe to gain attention for its similarities was for Caramel Slice, the second for Baklava. Maehashi posted parallel screenshots of both recipes on her blog, specifically the ingredients, quantities and instructions.
“My Caramel Slice recipe is special because it is made using caramel as the base (I mean, the name..!) rather than golden syrup, which is the typical recipe (gives it a metallic flavour, I swear!). I can tell you the exact moment in my life that triggered the creation of this recipe – how and why it came to be, and what I tried before deciding that I had figured out The One,” she said in a statement.
She went on further to say that profiting from plagiarised recipes was unethical, and that even if there was no copyright infringement, it still undermined the integrity of the entire book.
“It’s a slap in the face to every author who puts in the hard work to create original content rather than cutting corners.”
Bellamy issued a quick response on her Instagram account, outlining that she did not plagiarise any recipes in her cookbook, which consists of over 100 recipes that she has created herself over many years.
She alleged that the recipe for Caramel Slice published on Maehashi’s RecipieTin Eats website in 2020, was used at her Queensland bakery four years earlier.
“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,” said Bellemy.
“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.”
Maehashi said in her statement that she had engaged lawyers to represent her. Penguin Australia, publishers of Bellamy’s cookbook, said their client respectfully rejects Maehashi’s allegations and confirmed that recipes in Bake with Brooki, were written by Brooke Bellamy.
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