A beloved Australian cook has accused a viral cookie influencer of plagiarising recipes in a best-selling cookbook. “This is a story about a multimillion-dollar cookbook by a social media influencer, published by a blue-chip publisher, featuring numerous recipes that, in my opinion, are plagiarised, given the detailed and extensive word-for-word similarities to mine and those of other authors,” RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi said in a detailed summary of the dispute, posted to her website on Tuesday. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi accuses Brooki Bakehouse’s Brooke Bellamy of plagiarism. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Maehashi accused Brooke Bellamy, who founded Brooki Bakehouse, of reproducing recipes from the RecipeTin Eats website and other authors in her bestselling book Bake With Brooki. Bellamy and Penguin Random House Australia, which published the book, have denied the allegations. Bellamy posted a long reply on Tuesday night, including an image of one of her recipes which she says pre-dates Maehashi’s. Maehashi’s own post continued: “Profiting from plagiarised recipes is unethical — even if it is not copyright infringement — and undermines 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.” Maehashi noted similarities between her recipe for caramel slice and the one published in Bake With Brooki, which she said was initially flagged with her by a reader. “I’m no stranger to seeing my recipes being copied online,” Maehashi said. “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.” Maehashi shared a side-by-side comparison of the recipes, saying: “While recipes can resemble one another, because there are only so many ways some recipes can be made, the precision and detail in the similarities in this case are, in my opinion, far too strong to be a coincidence.” Nagi Maehashi noted similarities between her recipe for caramel slice and the one published by Brooke Bellamy. Credit: RecipeTin Eats The RecipeTin Eats founder contacted Penguin Random House Australia in December last year, she said. “Disappointingly, instead of engaging in civil discussions with me, Penguin brought in lawyers and resorted to what felt to me legal intimidation,” she said. Maehashi noted the income from her website helps fund her food bank, RecipeTin Meals, and the “exploitation of my work .... isn’t just legally questionable (but) ethically indefensible”. The alleged theft of recipes is a “kick in the guts of every author who actually puts in the hard yards to create original work”, Maehashi said. “I think it’s disgraceful that a blue-chip publisher such as Penguin continued selling the book after I brought this to its attention way back on December 4, 2024. “My publisher, Pan Macmillan, ran my cookbooks through plagiarism detection software without me even knowing about it. “For any reputable publisher, I would think that using plagiarism software would be a basic step in quality control.” Maehashi asked Penguin to withdraw copies of Bake With Brooki containing the allegedly plagiarised recipes, remove those recipes from future copies, and to make a substantial donation to a charity in lieu of financial compensation. Penguin reportedly responded to Maehashi with a denial of her allegations. “In recent weeks, I understand that a new edition of the book has been quietly released into the market which has a different caramel slice recipe,” she said. “Eventually, this will replace stock in all retailers though I’m sure the original version remains. “The other recipes that have been plagiarised, in my view, that I brought to Penguin’s attention at a later date have not (yet) been changed.” RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi and Brooke Bellamy, who founded Brooki Bakehouse. Credit: RecipeTin Eats/Brooki Bakehouse Bellamy publicly denied the allegations on Tuesday night. “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,” Bellamy said on social media. She shared a 2016 photo of the caramel slice, saying it predated Maehashi’s. While Maehashi had claimed not to hear from Bellamy, the latter said she had “immediately offered to remove both recipes from future reprints to prevent further aggravation”. “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,” Bellamy said. “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. “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.”