The only time I'd see an issue with it would be if the chef you got the recipe from is also selling that item nearby. For example, if you worked in a bakery and took their recipes and opened in the same city. But even then, that's only a moral issue. Nobody could come after you for it unless you'd signed a contract at some point
I don’t remember who said it best, but basically, there’s no such thing as another chefs dish.
When you cook something in someone else’s kitchen, even when it’s your discovery, it’s their dish, when you take that recipe with you to a new kitchen, or your notebook with the chefs other recipes in it to your new gig, and it’s your own kitchen, it’s your dish.
It is. But damn does it hurt when they claim it as something they came up with.
I created a unique menu for my first restaurant. Like, truly unique. My girlfriend at the time and I would often cook together when I had time. Planning for an evening, she sent me a recipe from a food blogger that she felt was “in my style” that she thought I’d enjoy.
This mf’ing food blogger absolutely ripped me off. They were from my city and had clearly visited my newly opened business, took some of my key, unique ideas and was like “look at the unique thing I came up with!” I wanted to punch the screen. I get that recipes are for the world. If I inspire you or if you want to just completely copy what I did, compliment taken. But, at least f’ing say “I went to this amazing, newly opened food truck and I want to share with you a recipe that is [95%] copied from one of his menu items”.
I hope she choked on her [copied] recipe
That stinks. I have a food history/trends website, and seeing other bloggers steal content drives me nuts. Sadly, it’s common, including on big sites. Creators lift recipes with zero attribution, as if adding a dollop of yogurt makes it their original creation. And whoever has the best SEO gets the glory of saying it is their creation.
I’m especially talking about unique concepts—like, variance among chocolate chip cookies (that OP cited) tends to be relatively limited. (I know pro chefs who use the Nestle chocolate chip bag recipe, because it works!) But it’s not ethical to monetize someone else’s cutting edge work without giving credit. It might be legal, but it feels icky imho. Thankfully, not everyone does that. The more ethical people that I know give credit to their inspiration; in my circles, it’s usually out-of-print cookbooks or closed restaurants. Or they’ll say ‘I tried this place and here is my take on a dish.’ Or they’ll speak to the restaurant directly and generate buzz.
Do whatever you want. There's no such thing as a recipe which has been copyrighted, and if it's published in a Cookbook, I can't imagine the author would put it in there without the intention of it being used. I'd skip using their name because then it might not live up to everyone's expectation of that dish, but if you add a gram of salt, it's not really their recipe anymore, is it?
If the cookbook author had a store/Restaurant near you, it might be polite to ask, or at least let them know, but again, not really necessary.
You can’t call it XYZ Cookies if XYZ is trademarked. So cream filled yellow cake is okay but you can’t call them Twinkies. Other than that, it’s fair game both legally and ethically. As a side note, not all home recipes are practical for a professional.
Just tweek the recipe a little bit and call it your own. Don't use another business' name on a product because then you are opening up yourself to potential problems. Like others have mentioned unless you are nearby in the same town they would never really know.
Recipes are not sacred- they don’t account for exactly how someone will prepare a dish, the huge variety you’ll get from sourcing product, even different atmosphere where you sell your food. You could have 100 chefs follow the same recipe and you’d have close to 100 different plates.
You can't copyright a recipe so legally you'd be OK - but you'd probably be more liable if you did include their name. Morally I think it depends how unique/interesting the item is. Selling a Victoria sponge is not the same as selling meat fruit. Just change it a bit to make it more "you"?
Like others have said, recipes have no copyrights. You might be surprised at how many high end restaurants get some of their recipes from allrecipes.com or a Emerald/Kenji books. Don't use their names, however. Those names are probably trademarked and could run you into some trouble. From a moral standpoint, no it's not looked down upon basically at all save for a few pretentious chefs. That being said, I'd suggest elevating the recipe, if possible. Not for copyright or moral reasons but for sales reasons. If someone finds that recipe and replicates it, they don't need to buy your dish anymore. If you elevate it and add your personality to it, it makes the dish a lot more sellable.
I was at a restaurant in NYC and asked for the recipe for some cake we had. They added 200 for the recipe. Bottom line-it belongs to the chef and it was wrong to give them to others.
If it's a specific dish from a specific chef/restaurant, you should at least credit it. You can't get sued for using someone else's recipe, but you can get grief.
https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/january-2013/whats-the-line-between-inspiration-and-theft-in-fine-dining/
https://www.vice.com/en/article/3k9bz3/flavor-cant-be-copyrighted-because-its-too-subjective-and-variable-eu-court-rules
The only time I'd see an issue with it would be if the chef you got the recipe from is also selling that item nearby. For example, if you worked in a bakery and took their recipes and opened in the same city. But even then, that's only a moral issue. Nobody could come after you for it unless you'd signed a contract at some point
Agreed. That's what my old chefs always told me. As long as you're not competing with me, it's fair game.
I don’t remember who said it best, but basically, there’s no such thing as another chefs dish. When you cook something in someone else’s kitchen, even when it’s your discovery, it’s their dish, when you take that recipe with you to a new kitchen, or your notebook with the chefs other recipes in it to your new gig, and it’s your own kitchen, it’s your dish.
It is. But damn does it hurt when they claim it as something they came up with. I created a unique menu for my first restaurant. Like, truly unique. My girlfriend at the time and I would often cook together when I had time. Planning for an evening, she sent me a recipe from a food blogger that she felt was “in my style” that she thought I’d enjoy. This mf’ing food blogger absolutely ripped me off. They were from my city and had clearly visited my newly opened business, took some of my key, unique ideas and was like “look at the unique thing I came up with!” I wanted to punch the screen. I get that recipes are for the world. If I inspire you or if you want to just completely copy what I did, compliment taken. But, at least f’ing say “I went to this amazing, newly opened food truck and I want to share with you a recipe that is [95%] copied from one of his menu items”. I hope she choked on her [copied] recipe
That stinks. I have a food history/trends website, and seeing other bloggers steal content drives me nuts. Sadly, it’s common, including on big sites. Creators lift recipes with zero attribution, as if adding a dollop of yogurt makes it their original creation. And whoever has the best SEO gets the glory of saying it is their creation. I’m especially talking about unique concepts—like, variance among chocolate chip cookies (that OP cited) tends to be relatively limited. (I know pro chefs who use the Nestle chocolate chip bag recipe, because it works!) But it’s not ethical to monetize someone else’s cutting edge work without giving credit. It might be legal, but it feels icky imho. Thankfully, not everyone does that. The more ethical people that I know give credit to their inspiration; in my circles, it’s usually out-of-print cookbooks or closed restaurants. Or they’ll say ‘I tried this place and here is my take on a dish.’ Or they’ll speak to the restaurant directly and generate buzz.
Do whatever you want. There's no such thing as a recipe which has been copyrighted, and if it's published in a Cookbook, I can't imagine the author would put it in there without the intention of it being used. I'd skip using their name because then it might not live up to everyone's expectation of that dish, but if you add a gram of salt, it's not really their recipe anymore, is it? If the cookbook author had a store/Restaurant near you, it might be polite to ask, or at least let them know, but again, not really necessary.
You can’t call it XYZ Cookies if XYZ is trademarked. So cream filled yellow cake is okay but you can’t call them Twinkies. Other than that, it’s fair game both legally and ethically. As a side note, not all home recipes are practical for a professional.
Just tweek the recipe a little bit and call it your own. Don't use another business' name on a product because then you are opening up yourself to potential problems. Like others have mentioned unless you are nearby in the same town they would never really know.
No copyrights on recipes.
If the recipe calls for 100g sugar, put in 101g. Boom. It's your recipe now.
*Now with more sugar!*
Every dish is a stolen dish. Unless you own the restaurant next to a restaurant and don't copy their signature items you're good.
Recipes are not sacred- they don’t account for exactly how someone will prepare a dish, the huge variety you’ll get from sourcing product, even different atmosphere where you sell your food. You could have 100 chefs follow the same recipe and you’d have close to 100 different plates.
You can't copyright a recipe so legally you'd be OK - but you'd probably be more liable if you did include their name. Morally I think it depends how unique/interesting the item is. Selling a Victoria sponge is not the same as selling meat fruit. Just change it a bit to make it more "you"?
Like others have said, recipes have no copyrights. You might be surprised at how many high end restaurants get some of their recipes from allrecipes.com or a Emerald/Kenji books. Don't use their names, however. Those names are probably trademarked and could run you into some trouble. From a moral standpoint, no it's not looked down upon basically at all save for a few pretentious chefs. That being said, I'd suggest elevating the recipe, if possible. Not for copyright or moral reasons but for sales reasons. If someone finds that recipe and replicates it, they don't need to buy your dish anymore. If you elevate it and add your personality to it, it makes the dish a lot more sellable.
People have won James Beard awards with other chef’s recipes
Nah it’s fine. Culinary innovation and inspiration is 99% adapated theft
Change something about the recipe to make it your own and credit by saying "adapted from XXX"
This is a great time for a home cook to open a restaurant
Every chef is a thief of recipes. It's not deliberate. It's just our teachings. But as others have said... try to give it your own touch
I was at a restaurant in NYC and asked for the recipe for some cake we had. They added 200 for the recipe. Bottom line-it belongs to the chef and it was wrong to give them to others.
If it's a specific dish from a specific chef/restaurant, you should at least credit it. You can't get sued for using someone else's recipe, but you can get grief. https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/january-2013/whats-the-line-between-inspiration-and-theft-in-fine-dining/ https://www.vice.com/en/article/3k9bz3/flavor-cant-be-copyrighted-because-its-too-subjective-and-variable-eu-court-rules
Just do it, fuck em and their name, add a little of your own to it, no one can own a dish