There’s been some drama in the baking world recently. Bake with Brooki — you know, the popular baking brand started by Brooke Bellamy — is getting called out by food blogger Nagi Maehashi from RecipeTin Eats. Nagi says some of her original recipes were copied and ended up in Brooki’s cookbook without any credit. It’s causing quite a stir.
Who Is Bake with Brooki?
Bake with Brooki blew up mostly because of Brooke’s cookie recipes on TikTok and Instagram. She’s got this bakery in Brisbane called Brooki Bakehouse that lots of people love. In late 2024, Brooke published her first cookbook with Penguin Random House, and it sold really well — over 92,000 copies in just six months. So yeah, she’s pretty popular right now.
What’s Brooki Being Accused Of?
Nagi noticed some “remarkable similarities” between her recipes and ones in Brooki’s book. She says it’s not just one recipe but several, like her Caramel Slice and Baklava, plus others she can’t talk about because of legal reasons. The whole thing came out after a reader told Nagi about it last November. Then Nagi checked carefully and shared side-by-side pictures on Instagram to show how close they are.
Nagi says this isn’t just about one recipe — it feels like her creative work was taken without any credit. That’s a pretty serious claim.
What Did the Publisher Say
Penguin Random House, who published Brooki’s cookbook, denied the plagiarism claims. They said the recipes were written by Brooke herself. Nagi asked them to either credit her, take out the copied recipes, or give the profits to charity. Instead of agreeing, Nagi says she got legal letters from the publisher. So it’s not really settled.
Has Brooki Said Anything
So far, Brooke hasn’t said a word about all this. Nagi says she tried reaching out but got no reply, either publicly or privately. On Instagram, Brooke even turned off comments on her recent posts, probably because lots of people were calling her out. Older posts still have fans accusing her of copying recipes. But the bakery itself hasn’t made any official statements either.
What’s Changed in the Cookbook?
Nagi noticed that in newer versions of the cookbook, the Caramel Slice recipe is different now. But the other recipes she mentioned are still the same. She told people it’s really disappointing to see her work still being used without credit.
Why Did Nagi Wait to Speak Up?
Nagi explained in an Instagram post that she waited months before going public because:
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She wanted to be sure about the legal side of things
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She needed time to deal with the whole situation emotionally
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She didn’t want to create unnecessary drama online
But in the end, she felt she had to stand up and speak out for her work.
Where Things Stand Now
Bake with Brooki is still popular and selling, and the Brisbane bakery is open as usual. No public court case has been filed yet, but the whole food creator community is watching closely. Fans of RecipeTin Eats are backing Nagi, while Brooki’s followers are waiting for her to respond.
What Does This Mean?
This whole thing shines a light on a bigger question: When it comes to food blogging and cookbooks, what really counts as copying? And who owns a recipe? It’s a tricky topic and one that’s been debated a lot before.
For now, the story is still unfolding, and people are waiting to see what happens next.
