Can a recipe be stolen?

If you reproduce a published recipe in the public domain, it is always best practice to give credit. — YAROSLAV SHURAEV/Pexels

A little over a month ago, a scandal shook the cookbook world. It all began when Masterchef UK alumna Elizabeth Haigh released her inaugural cookbook Makan in May this year, in tribute to her Peranakan lineage (her mother is Nyonya and originates from Singapore).

A few months later, the book was pulled from bookshelves after Singaporean cookbook author Sharon Wee alleged that Haigh had plagiarised at least 15 recipes and – even more shockingly – memories from her cookbook, Cooking in a Nyonya Kitchen, published in 2012.