Michelin Star Chef Elizabeth Haigh Accused Of Plagiarising Cookbook

Chef Elizabeth Haigh, former MasterChef contestant and Michelin star's debut cookbook was withdrawn by publisher Bloomsbury after allegations of plagiarism.

As per reports, Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen author Sharon Wee accused Haigh of plagiarising her book. Wee's book was published in 2012. She accused that Haigh of plagiarised not just the recipes but personal anecdotes in her book Makan: Recipes from the Heart of Singapore.

Haigh enjoys a wide fan base and celebrity status in London circles. She owns a restaurant named Mei Mei.

Bloomsbury Absolute while talking to BBC said that Haigh's book got published in May and is now being removed "due to rights issue". Sharon Wee alleged that Haigh's book carries 15 copies of recipes in addition to personal stories from her book.

Wee released her statement on Twitter. She said that she was distressed to discover that certain recipes and other contents of her book were allegedly copies or paraphrased without her consent. "I immediately brought this matter to the attention of the book's publisher, Bloomsbury Absolute.”

“I wrote my book in loving memory of my mother. I credit her and her peers for their anecdotes, recipes and cooking tips. This was their story..." she added. The issue came to light when Cook the Books, a store in New Zealand, got an email from staff at Marshall Cavendish who had published Sharon Wee's book.

The email alleged that it was the "most blatant case of cookbook plagiarism" they had ever seen. The excerpts from both the books were compared in the email to point out the similarities. As both the authors had written a passage about their mothers, the email pointed out both passages had similarly described about their mothers organising containers in their kitchen.

Elizabeth Haigh was a contestant on the MasterChef show in 2011. She won a Michelin star at the restaurant Pidgin in London. In 2019, she opened her own restaurant named Mei Mei in London's Borough Market.