Australia’s ‘favourite cook’ beats rival in plagiarism feud
Australia’s ‘favourite cook’ Nagi Maehashi has beaten the viral celebrity baker she has accused of plagiarising recipes in a rival multimillion-dollar cookbook.
Maehashi took first place for her bestselling RecipeTin Eats: Tonight cookbook at the Australian Book Industry Awards in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The prize-winning author was up against Brisbane baker Brooke Bellamy, creator of the “internet’s favourite cookies” and the competing cookbook Bake with Brooki.
Maehashi and other authors have accused Bellamy of stealing their recipes — in particular Maehashi’s caramel slice and baklava.
In an online post in April, Maehashi made the accusations against Bellamy, who runs the popular Brooki Bakehouse in Brisbane.
Another author, US-based Sally McKenney from the blog Sally’s Baking Addiction, alleged Bellamy copied her Best Vanilla Cake recipe.
Maehashi later added that she believed the late Bill Granger’s Portuguese tarts recipe was plagiarised from his 2006 cookbook Every Day, in the “strongest example” of copying.
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Bellamy denies the allegations, which she has described online as “deeply distressing”.
She did not attend the awards night and was understood to be in the United Arab Emirates where she is opening a pop-up bakery.
The Brisbane baker and online influencer has previously said she offered to remove the recipes that are the subject of Maehashi’s allegations from any reprints “to prevent further aggravation”.
Maehashi beat five finalists, including Bellamy, to take out the prestigious industry prize.
Her second cookbook Tonight, sold more than 78,000 copies in its first week on shelves, breaking Australian records for first-week non-fiction title sales.
Bake with Brooki was published in October by Penguin Random House Australia, which was awarded a gong for publisher of the year.
Last month, Bellamy doubled down on her innocence, insisting she did “not copy other people’s recipes”.
“The past 24 hours have been extremely overwhelming. I have had media outside my home and business, and have been attacked online,” she said after the scandal broke.
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“Like many bakers, I draw inspiration from the classics, but the creations you see at Brooki Bakehouse reflect my own experience, taste, and passion for baking, born of countless hours of my childhood spent in my home kitchen with Mum.”
Bellamy became a global sensation after sharing “day in the life” videos on TikTok, which receive millions of views each day.
She is best known for her cookies and has opened pop-up stores in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Bake With Brooki is a bestselling cookbook published by Penguin in October 2024 that retails for $49.99.
Both Penguin and Bellamy deny the allegations.
In Maehashi’s Instagram post, she accused Bellamy of “profiting” from the alleged plagiarised recipes.
She claims she first raised concerns with Penguin in December.
“I put a huge amount of effort into my recipes. And I share them on my website for anyone to use for free,” she said.
“To see them plagiarised (in my view) and used in a book for profit, without credit, doesn’t just feel unfair. It feels like a blatant exploitation of my work.”
Cookbook allegations aside, music legend John Farnham and filmmaker Poppy Stockell were the big winners at the 25th annual awards, winning the overall book of the year Award, audiobook of the year and biography of the year for The Voice Inside.
Journalist Joe Aston’s Qantas exposé The Chairman’s Lounge won general non-fiction book of the year, while 2024 co-Australian of the Year Richard Scolyer won social impact book of the year for Brainstorm, about his fight against brain cancer.
Winners
- Audiobook of the Year: The Voice Inside, John Farnham with Poppy Stockell
- Biography Book of the Year: The Voice Inside, John Farnham with Poppy Stockell
- The John Marsden Book of the Year for Older Children: My Family and Other Suspects, Kate Emery
- Book of the Year for Younger Children: Wurrtoo, Tylissa Elisara, illustrated by Dylan Finney
- Children’s Picture Book of the Year: The Truck Cat, Deborah Frenkel, illustrated by Danny Snell
- General Fiction Book of the Year: What Happened to Nina?, Dervla McTiernan
- General Non-fiction Book of the Year: The Chairman’s Lounge, Joe Aston
- Illustrated Book of the Year: RecipeTin Eats: Tonight, Nagi Maehashi
- Literary Fiction Book of the Year: Dusk, Robbie Arnott
- Social Impact Book of the Year: Brainstorm, Richard Scolyer with Garry Maddox
- The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year: We Are the Stars, Gina Chick
- Publisher of the Year: Penguin Random House Australia
