Episode 37

who the hell owns a recipe?

Listen: ON SPOTIFY

Watch: ON YOUTUBE

DISCLAIMER: Before we dive in—this episode isn't about pointing fingers or verifying claims. We’re not here to pass judgment. We're just chewing the fat on a topic that’s been stirring the pot: intellectual property in the food world.

This one starts the way all good stories should—with a bottle of Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir. The kind of wine that feels less like a tasting note and more like a warm hug in a cold paddock. As we pour a glass and lean into the conversation, things take a turn from velvety tannins to the murky waters of recipe ownership.

Here’s the gist: A well-known Aussie baker recently landed in hot water, accused of lifting recipes—caramel slice, baklava, and a vanilla sponge—from established food blogs. She denied it, but offered to remove the disputed recipes from future editions of her book. And just like that, the internet lit up.

We ask the big question: Who really owns a recipe? Is a list of ingredients and method sacred? Or is it more like campfire cooking—shared, passed down, tweaked along the way?

Between bites of memory and sips of wine, we get into it. From chefs defending their marinades like family secrets, to AI scraping the web for the "best" chocolate chip cookie.

From a photographer who made millions shooting cowboy ads, to winemakers slapped with cease-and-desists over label colours. It’s a tangle of stories where originality, homage, and theft blur together and form the unforgiving grey area.

At the heart of it, we wrestle with a question that touches every creative industry: If you didn’t do it first, but you did it well—does that still count for something?

Let us know your take – drop us a line here. Is imitation flattery? Or just theft with better PR?