Mohamed Ameen Dabhelia – 2017/11/29

Can we talk for a minute? About an issue that seems to have many people in the food blogging and food loving community up in arms lately?

Recipe Theft – Yes, that dreaded topic.

And no, not stealing Aunty Rashida’s Lemon Meringue recipe, which her family kept hidden in a jar of chana-dhal for the past 15 generations.

This goes deeper… Radio Islam’s Ml Sulaimaan Ravat posed this question to listeners this morning on Sabaahul Muslim: “Recipe theft, the seed to so many grudges in society. With the exception of those running businesses, should recipes be kept a secret in the first place? Tell us why.”

First of all, what is ‘recipe theft’?

‘Recipe theft constitutes to someone stealing a recipe, or even a piece of work and passing it off as his or her own.’

The only time it is ok to use, post or sell someone else’s work, is if the creator gave instructions to do so.

No other reason would be justified.

However, with most recipes coming from established cookbooks and chefs… Is using a recipe published in a cookbook for a business venture a form of plagiarism?

Yes and no.

If someone has published a recipe, you are perfectly within your rights to follow this recipe, make the dish, and then sell the product.

Things get bad when no credit is given, and you are claiming the recipe as your own.

If no kitchen could sell any food product that came from a recipe they did not develop themselves, we would all be in big trouble.

But, recipe theft forces many people not to want to share their info in fear of it being stolen from them.

Some listeners also weighed in on the issue, even though some comments might just stir the pot:

You can have the best recipe in the world but if you dont have the workmanship to compliment it then the recipe is useless

— ShahedOsman (@shahedosman) November 29, 2017

While debatable amongst legal circles, technically when a recipe is “created” (whether published or not) it is arguably protected by copyright laws.

Now, whether someone can sue you for stealing or using their recipes in order to make a profit- is a different question, implicating trade secrets and perhaps even patent laws. (We would recommend you consult a lawyer for this one).

(Edited by Ml Yusuf Omar)