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Brooke Bellamy has returned to social media. Here's what she had to say to her critics.

Chances are you know Nagi Maehashi (aka RecipeTin Eats), or at least recognise her face. She's the recipe queen with millions of fans who love her for simple, delicious meals.

You've probably even tried one (or many) before.

But recently, Nagi's hasn't been making headlines for a new tasty delight. It's because there's been a feud brewing — and the allegations are big.

Enter: Brooke Bellamy, or Brooki Bakehouse as you probably know her.

She's the Brisbane-based baker behind the delectable Brooki chunky cookies and viral behind-the-scenes bakery vlogs on everyone's feed.

Listen: Who Owns The Making Of A Meal on The Quicky. Post continues below.

Brooke has her own three million followers across Instagram and TikTok, and released a cookbook last year titled Bake With Brooki. It promises "iconic recipes from the internet's favourite bakery — Brooki Bakehouse."

So far, it's been a hit and received rave reviews, with an average 4.4 star rating on Amazon.

RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi MaehashiRecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi. Image: Instagram/recipe_tin.

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But then, controversial plagiarism allegations arose.

On Tuesday April 29, Nagi put out a post on her website and social media pages, alleging that Brooke plagiarised her recipes. And not just hers — she claims Brooke took from other authors, too.

The recipes specifically called out are for her Caramel Slice and Baklava, which Nagi alleges were plucked straight from her website.

Here's a full timeline of everything that's happened since she first posted that controversial allegation.

May 25: Brooke returns to social media and addresses the controversy.

After weeks of silence, Brooke Bellamy made her return to social media and officially addressed the plagiarism scandal.

In what appears to be her final statement on the matter, Brooke again attempted to defend herself against accusations from prominent food writers, including Nagi, and has asked to move on with her life.

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"Since opening my bakery three years ago and sharing my life online, I've never had such a long break between videos, but I've also never experienced something like I have over the last few weeks," she shared on Instagram.

Brooke went on to explain that her cookbook was intended to showcase cherished recipes from various sources, including those handwritten and passed down through generations, shared by friends and family, and adapted for commercial bakery use.

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"While all of these recipes are personal to me, I cannot say that I have invented the cookies, cupcakes, brownies or cakes in the recipe book. They are all inspired from somewhere and someone before me. I never subscribe to be a part of a narrative that pits two women against each other, especially in the same industry. I think there's room for everyone, especially more women in business," she said.

Brooke went on to say that this was all she had to say about the situation, and that she would like to go back to focusing on her business and her love for baking.

Thus far, the online responses to her statement have been mixed.

"Unfortunately you made a mistake. Saying sorry and taking accountability would give you so much more credibility. It can't be just swept under the carpet. Just do the right thing. It's not that hard," one user commented.

Another praised Brooke for the way she handled herself throughout the controversy.

"That is very well said Brooke. You have taken the high road. I came from a café background and ran into a similar problem and the high road is the best road to take and you have done that well," they wrote.

Whether her statement will be enough to repair her damaged reputation in the competitive world of food influencers remains to be seen, as the baking community continues to debate the fine line between inspiration and plagiarism.

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May 7: The cookbooks go to battle for top spot.

Awkwardly, the two chefs just went head-to-head at the Australian Book Industry Awards on May 7.

Nagi and Brooke were both nominated for the Illustrated Book of the Year, which Nagi won for her cookbook, RecipeTin Eats: Tonight, marking her second consecutive win in the category.

She thanked her team for their support in an Instagram post. "This one's for you. For the whole team. I am proud to call you my publisher. Success and integrity. WE DID IT!!

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Brooke did not attend the awards night as she was reportedly overseas for a pop-up bakery event in the United Arab Emirates.

May 2: Nagi shares a surprising social media statement.

Three days after posting her allegations to social media, Nagi once again posted on her social media, but this time with a statement none of us expected.

The recipe queen has released a video on Instagram imploring people to stop making "personal attacks" against Brooke.

Her statement began with four powerful words which highlighted how she really feels about the situation.

"Please stop the trolling," Nagi urged viewers.

"Now, I know I've made serious allegations, but this does not justify the personal attacks that I've seen online against Brooke Bellamy. I do not support it, and I'm asking you to stop."

The chef clarified that she knew these trolls were a "very small percentage of people online".

"I know the majority of people are good, fun, normal people," she said.

"Share your opinions. Have heated debates. Support Brookie. Support me. Disagree with both of us. Think we're pathetic. Whatever you want. But just keep it respectful, no trolling, no hateful comments."

Nagi finished her statement by reminding viewers that this is a "business dispute" and should be treated as such.

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"These are legal allegations that I have made against Penguin, a corporate, allegations made by my company," she said. "So, we've got to be respectful about this. You know, it's the RecipeTin way."

In the caption of the video, Nagi remarked how "swift and vicious" social media had been in the wake of the scandal.

"I made the statement knowing that it would come with a barrage of hate against me, and social media did not let me down," she wrote.

"But I'm asking you to stop the personal attacks against Brooke Bellamy. That's not the way to speak your mind and that's not the kind of support I want. Please keep it respectful - N x."

May 1: Another author comes forward.

A few days after the allegations broke, another author has come out with a similar accusation.

Food blogger Sally McKenney (aka SallysBakeBlog) claims her recipe, The Best Vanilla Cake I've Ever Had, from 2019, was plagiarised in the book and features on Brooke's YouTube channel.

"Original recipe creators who put in the work to develop and test recipes deserve credit — especially in a best-selling cookbook," she wrote on Instagram.

The ingredients are similar. There's a 3g difference in the amount of flour used and 1tsp of salt between the recipes. Brooke's also uses one extra egg and caster sugar instead of granulated, but the two can generally be interchanged in baking.

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They both feature the wording "yes, a tablespoon!" following the vanilla extract.

April 29: Brooke speaks out.

In a statement on Instagram, Brooke swiftly shut down the allegations, saying she has been creating recipes and selling them commercially since October 2016.

"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," she wrote.

"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."

Brooke claims she offered to remove both recipes from future reprints to avoid further conflict and that this was communicated this to Nagi.

"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," she 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 to try recreating my recipes from inside their homes."

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RecipeTin Eats has accused Brooki Bakehouse of plagiarising recipes. Brooki Bakehouse has denied the allegations.Brooke says she's been making and selling her caramel slice recipe for years. Image: Instagram/brookibakehouse.

On April 30, Brooke again denied copying 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 in a statement to media via her lawyers.

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"It has been deeply distressing for my colleagues and my young family.

"I do not copy other people's recipes. 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.

"While baking has leeway for creativity, much of it is a precise science and is necessarily formulaic.

"Many recipes are bound to share common steps and measures: if they don't, they simply don't work.

"My priority right now is to ensure the welfare of the fantastic team at Brooki Bakehouse and that of my family."

April 27: Nagi goes public with the allegations on social media.

Nagi claims the saga started with a reader email in November. They noticed "remarkable similarities" between Nagi and Brooke's recipes.

"I'm no stranger to seeing my recipes being copied online," Nagi 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 — it has sold over $4.6 million worth of sales in under six months."

Nagi says she is aware recipes can resemble one another. Because let's be real here, there are only so many ways some recipes can actually be made. But her issue is with the precision and details of the similarities.

"To me, the similarities between the recipes in question are far too specific and detailed to be dismissed as coincidence," Nagi alleged. "It's a slap in the face to every author who puts in the hard work to create original content rather than cutting corners."

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Nagi says it took several attempts to finesse her caramel slice — and she even remembers the exact life moment that inspired it, along with all the versions she trialled before landing on "the one."

Nagi said she contacted the publisher, Penguin Random House, who she alleges resorted to 'legal intimidation'. She claims Penguin has denied the allegations, and she received no response from Brooke.

A side-by-side comparison of the caramel slice recipes. Image: RecipeTin Eats.

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A side-by-side comparison of the caramel slice recipes. Image: RecipeTin Eats.

So... who actually owns a recipe?

Here's where it gets tricky. When it comes to copyright law, recipes are surprisingly slippery.

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In Australia, the idea of a recipe — say, chocolate chip cookies made with brown butter and sea salt — isn't protected by copyright. You can't own a list of ingredients or a basic method.

What can be copyrighted is the creative expression around the recipe: things like detailed instructions written in a distinctive voice, accompanying stories, photos, or videos.

If your instructions are written with enough literary flair, they might be considered original enough to qualify.

In Australia, copyright is automatic once an original work is created — but again, it only applies to the unique way something is written, not the concept itself.

So, unless someone copies word-for-word instructions or lifts large chunks of text, it's unlikely to count as legal plagiarism.

Ethically? That's a whole other story — especially in the food blogging world, where recipe creation is often someone's livelihood.

We will keep this post updated as further news comes out.

This article was first published on April 30, 2025 and has since been updated.

Feature Image: RecipeTin Eats/Brooki Bakehouse

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