Elizabeth Haigh, a former Masterchef US contestant and Michelin star chef, has received flak for allegedly plagiarizing recipes and personal anecdotes from a Singaporean chef.
Haigh’s book “Makan,” published in May of this year, has received acclaim from popular figures such as Nigella Lawson. However, New York based Singaporean chef Sharon Wee claimed that the Michelin chef “copied or paraphrased†recipes and anecdotes from her 2012 book “Cooking in a Nonya Kitchenâ€.
Wee claimed that Haigh, who also has a Singaporean Chinese heritage, saved at least 15 recipes and personal stories.
“My book Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen, first published in 2012, is both a cookbook and a memory of recreating my mother’s personalized recipes, interviewing older relatives, researching my Nonya legacy, and telling my family story” said Wee in a statement.
I wrote my book in loving memory of my mother. I owe her and her colleagues to her anecdotes, recipes and cooking tips. This was her story. Here is my statement. pic.twitter.com/yyQAndqmeJ
– Sharon Wee (@nonyaglobal) October 6, 2021
The chef added, “So I was dismayed to discover that Elizabeth Haigh had copied or paraphrased certain recipes and other content from my book in Makan without my consent, and I made the book’s editor, Bloomsbury Absolute, immediately on the matter attentive .
“I am grateful that Bloomsbury responded to my concerns and removed Makan.”
Haigh, on the other hand, has not yet issued an opinion on the matter.
This is how internet users reacted:
I’m so sorry Sharon. That is not acceptable. Horrified at the silence of so many. The words you write are yours. If the publishers haven’t used plagiarism software (I know – it’s more common for academic papers) – if they know – their apology should have been instant and public.
– Asma Khan (@Asma_KhanLDN) October 10, 2021
Plagiarize and benefit from it. I am really happy that the publisher is doing the right thing now.
– CA won â˜€ï¸ (@MelanieWdwrth) October 9, 2021
As a Nonya colleague, thank you for taking the time to do all of the work involved in interviewing and recording stories.
This is invaluable work and I am so sorry someone tried to benefit from your family and their history.– Deb Ong ç¿ è¯— 美 (@nihilistnomya) October 9, 2021
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