By Writer 
Introduction
Brooke Bellamy, known online as @brookibakehouse, has become one of Australia’s most influential voices in the culinary space. Originally from Tasmania, she relocated to Brisbane where she established herself not just as a baker and business owner, but as a powerhouse influencer and TikToker dominating the FoodTok scene. What many don’t realize is that her journey began long before she started sharing day in the life videos and DITL videos roughly three years ago.
Behind her massive audience of millions lies a deeper history—she has been one of Australia’s most prolific bloggers for considerably longer, building her expertise and credibility quietly before the social media explosion. Her content strategy, blending authenticity with sharing life online, resonated so deeply that she quickly amassed followers who trusted her recipes and baking knowledge. Through her YouTube channel, Instagram reel, and her business venture Brooki Bakehouse, which she opened at her bakery three years ago, she transformed her passion into a multi-million dollar brand published by Penguin Random House with her cookbook Bake with Brooki.
However, this success story took an unexpected turn when Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats brought forward serious plagiarism accusations and copyright infringement allegations against her publisher. The allegations sparked wider scrutiny, with fellow recipe creator Sally McKenney of Sally’s Baking Addiction also claiming reproduction of her work. While Brooke Bellamy denied all allegations, stating her recipes were inspired by various sources, the controversy highlighted ongoing issues within cookbook publishing.
The Daily Telegraph reported her removal as an ambassador for the Academy for Enterprising Girls, adding to the turbulence. This cookbook-related scandal in the culinary world raised questions about plagiarism, fraud, and accountability—echoing past controversies involving figures like Belle Gibson and her cancer story, or Pete Evans and his bone broth formula. The incident reminded everyone that even social media influencer success built by a blue-chip publisher requires ethical foundation, and that word-for-word similarities in recipes can trigger legal action that demands attention and denial alone cannot resolve.
Who Is Brooke Bellamy?
Tasmania-born Brooke Bellamy emerged as a creator during an era when the internet was still discovering its potential for storytelling. Through World of Wanderlust, her now-defunct travel blog, she pioneered a career that inspired countless aspiring bloggers to chase their dreams before the influencer industry became the multi-billion-dollar machine we recognize today.
For nearly a decade, Bellamy shared authentic insights on solo travelling around the world, offering practical tips and raw sharing of her adventures throughout the 2010s. Her success wasn’t merely about accumulating followers—it represented a genuine movement of people who believed in building meaningful online presence. Today, her Instagram presence remains strong with 512,000 loyal followers who continue to witness her transformation.
Yet what makes Bellamy’s story truly compelling is how she orchestrated this dramatic shift in direction. Rather than remaining confined to travel blogging, she strategically pivoted toward a completely different life, one that now centers around her passion for baking and entrepreneurship, relocating to Brisbane as she embraces this changed dramatically chapter of her journey.
The first foray into the culinary world began earlier than many realize—Charlie’s Dessert House in Launceston, which she opening and running alongside her blogging career since 2016, proved she was always exploring multiple ventures simultaneously. Now, through Brooki Bakehouse, her Brisbane-based operation.
Bellamy has found her true calling, crafting chunky cookies and delicate macarons that ship Australia-wide, alongside custom cakes that reflect her meticulous attention to detail. This evolution from long-time followers of her travel stories to customers of her artisanal bakery ownership demonstrates how Bellamy continues to inspire—not through constant movement across the globe, but through opening new possibilities in her adopted city.
What Is Brooki Bakehouse?
When Brooki Bakehouse first opened in 2022 at Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, it didn’t take long for word to spread. The bakery became well known almost instantly, with lines snaking down the street from the very first moment. What made it shot to such rapid success? A combination of exceptional chunky cookies and the viral appeal of Bellamy’s DITL videos on TikTok created a perfect storm of popularity that few bakeries experience.
Today, if you plan your next visit to Brisbane, you can experience the phenomenon firsthand at their Fortitude Valley location. But for those who can’t make the trip, Brooki Bakehouse offers a solution through Australia-wide shipping of their cookie boxes. Whether you’re lined up outside the physical location or ordering online, the brand continues to capture hearts and satisfy cravings through a thoughtful blend of quality baking and social media savvy that keeps customers coming back.
It all began with a reader email?
In November 2024, I received an email that would shift my perspective on recipe copying in the digital age. A reader had noticed something striking: remarkable similarities between my caramel slice recipe and a version featured in Bake With Brooki.
A newly released cookbook by Brooke Bellamy, an Australian social media influencer with nearly 4 million followers who runs a cookie shop in Queensland. The reader described how the recipe appeared to replicate mine “almost exactly,” despite minor variations in wording. This wasn’t just another instance of recipes being copied online—this was different, and troubling in ways I hadn’t anticipated.
From Social Media Success to Major Publishing
Brooke Bellamy is no ordinary content creator. Her social media presence and commercial success have built her into a recognizable figure in the Australian food industry. When Penguin Random House, one of Australia’s biggest publishers and among the largest publishers globally, decided to publish her work, it signaled a major milestone.
Bake With Brooki was published in October 2024 and launched with a huge publicity campaign. The book launch campaign reached enormous audiences, amplifying the cookbook’s reach far beyond typical releases. What troubled me most wasn’t just the recipe replication itself—it was the scale and legitimacy that professional publishing house association provided.
The Numbers Behind the Success
The commercial impact has been staggering. According to Nielsen BookScan data as of 23 April 2025, the cookbook has sold an extraordinary 92,849 copies in just under six months, generating $4.6 million worth of sales at an RRP $49.99 per copy. The cookbook sales record speaks to the reach of the massive publicity surrounding the release.
When a published author with 4 million followers releases a cookbook through a major publisher, backed by significant marketing investment, the distribution becomes exponential. This wasn’t a small case of recipe copying lost in the internet’s vastness—it was printed in a book, authenticated by one of the world’s most respected publishing entities, and distributed across Australia with professional credibility.
A Shift in How We View Culinary Attribution
What disturbed me most was recognizing that my caramel slice recipe had been incorporated into this massive commercial success story. I’m accustomed to seeing my work adapted and shared online—that’s become part of digital food culture. But discovering my recipe in a professionally published cookbook launched with enormous commercial backing felt fundamentally different.
The cookbook author credit went to Brooke Bellamy, yet the foundation of at least one featured recipe came from my work. This situation raises important questions about recipe replication, attribution, and what happens when social media success intersects with traditional publishing in ways that blur the lines of culinary ownership and creative acknowledgment.
Why Has Brooke Been Accused Of Plagiarism By RecipeTin Eats?
Lately, Brooke Bellamy, the face behind Bake With Brooki (BWB) and her popular BWB Book, has been caught up in a swirl of online discussions after being accused of plagiarism. Her cookbook, published by Penguin Random House Australia, features over 100 recipes that she says she’s created over the years as a food creator on Instagram.
However, some cooking personalities and fans have noticed similarities between her caramel slice, baklava, and other recipes compared to ones shared by other authors and a well-known blog—sparking serious claims of copyright infringement.
In response, Brooke has personally responded, saying she did not plagiarise and respectfully rejects the allegations. She stated that any concerns were swiftly communicated to her legal team, and to prevent further aggravation, she even offered to remove the recipes in future reprints.
She also mentioned that the issue was raised back in December 2024, specifically on 4 December 2024, and that she and Penguin Random House Australia are taking it seriously while maintaining that the recipes were genuinely hers.
As someone who’s followed many popular baking influencers, I can understand how huge news like this shakes the Australia food community. When claims like these surface, they often lead to aggravation and endless discussions, especially when recipes are so often inspired by shared culinary traditions. Brooke’s approach—to address the issue head-on and continue sharing her passion for baking—shows how delicate the balance can be between creativity and copyright in today’s digital age.
Makan, Masterchef and copied memories?
In October 2021, Bloomsbury Absolute announced the withdrawal of Makan, the debut cookbook by Elizabeth Haigh, a Singaporean-born British chef. This decision was based on rights issues that emerged when American-Singaporean author Sharon Wee accused Haigh of copying and paraphrasing from her memoir-cookbook, Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen, published in 2012. The controversy centered on Haigh allegedly reproducing several of Wee’s recipes, as well as personal memories and family stories. Haigh, a UK Masterchef contestant and Michelin star recipient, did not respond to media requests for comment, leaving the issue largely unresolved.
One of the accusations focused on Haigh’s reproduction of 15 recipes from Wee’s mother, particularly some that were described in great detail, with both authors describing the sensory experience of cooking. The Guardian compared a passage from Haigh’s book, which focused on how Nonya Aunties engage their senses when they cook, to a similar section from Wee’s book.
Both mentioned smells, colour, gravy, charcoal, and the importance of taste, with Haigh referring to the concept of agak-agak (guesswork), which was also a key point in Wee’s writing. Despite the withdrawal of Makan from the market and the silence from Bloomsbury Absolute, the allegations raised important questions about memory, authorship, and the ownership of culinary traditions.
Dangerous misinformation?
The rise of wellness influencers has become a double-edged sword. While some genuinely aim to help others lead healthier lives, others, like Belle Gibson, use their platform to promote misleading or even dangerous ideas. Gibson, once a celebrated Australian figure for her cookbook The Whole Pantry, made claims that she had cured her brain cancer through a wholefood diet and avoided conventional medicine. This idea, though appealing, had dangerous consequences, as it encouraged people to abandon traditional medical treatments in favor of unproven diets.
The issue wasn’t just with the recipes themselves, but the broader impact of misinformation. By promoting self-treatment for serious illnesses, Gibson led others to believe they could achieve similar results without seeking professional help. This shunning of proper medical care in favor of a self-treatment approach poses a real risk to health. Influencers like her can perpetuate dangerous ideas under the guise of wellness, and without proper regulation, their reach can cause real harm to their audience.
“But I’ve also never experienced something like I have over the last few weeks.”?
Brooke Bellamy, the author of a cookbook, recently found herself in the middle of a heated controversy. Maehashi, a fellow influencer, alleged that two of her recipes—caramel slice and baklava—were copied from her own work. Brooke Bellamy responded publicly on social media, defending herself by explaining that while the recipes were indeed personal to her, she never claimed to have invented them.
According to Bellamy, these recipes were not unique creations, but rather, versions of well-known treats. Side-by-side screenshots were shared by Maehashi, showing ingredients, quantities, and instructions from both books, which fueled the accusation. However, in her video blog posted on Instagram, Brooke Bellamy denied the accusations, stating that she didn’t try to pass these recipes off as her own.
The situation became even more intense when Brooke Bellamy acknowledged the emotional toll this controversy had on her, saying, “But I’ve also never experienced something like I have over the last few weeks.” This statement reflected the stress and scrutiny she had been under in the wake of the public dispute. Despite the claimed plagiarism, Brooke Bellamy stayed focused on her recipe book and reaffirmed that her intent was never to deceive anyone.
They are all inspired from somewhere and someone before me.?
In the world of creation, every idea has roots that reach back in time. Brooke Bellamy, like many before her, was inspired by those who came before. No one truly invents something from scratch; instead, we all build on ideas, content, and terms that have been passed down through generations. Recipes, headings, and even sentences are often reshaped versions of things we’ve encountered in our lives. Whether it’s a cooking style or an entrepreneurial spirit, it’s clear that human creativity is deeply interconnected, with overlaps between ideas.
While oversight can sometimes happen, we must also recognize that mistakes and data from past generations shape who we are today. Inspiration can come from anything — a paragraph in a book, a shuffle of thoughts, or a topic that makes us see the world differently. Content, like a recipe, evolves over time, with every new version adding its own unique twist. This is the beauty of creativity and why no one can truly claim to have created everything they present. Everything is a blend of the old and the new, an ongoing cycle of learning and sharing.
Conclusion
Brooke Bellamy’s journey from a travel blogger to a successful baker and cookbook author is a testament to her entrepreneurial spirit and adaptability. While her rise to fame through social media and her bakery, Brooki Bakehouse, captured the hearts of many, the recent plagiarism allegations have cast a shadow on her reputation.
These accusations highlight the complexities of creativity in the digital age, where inspiration often blurs the lines of originality. As the culinary world continues to evolve, it serves as a reminder that intellectual property, accountability, and transparency are crucial in maintaining trust within the food industry. Despite the controversy, Bellamy’s resilience and commitment to her craft show that success is not just about ideas but also how we handle challenges and learn from them.
FAQs
- What are the allegations against Brooke Bellamy?
Brooke Bellamy faces allegations of plagiarising recipes, including caramel slice and baklava, from Maehashi. These claims were made public on RecipeTin Eats, Maehashi’s food blog, and quickly went viral on social media. A US baker also accused Bellamy of copying her vanilla cake method. The controversy has sparked a sour stoush over recipe authenticity, raising questions about public accusations and the ethics of recipe sharing.
- Has Brooke Bellamy had her baby?
Yes, Brooke Bellamy, the celebrity baker, recently stepped out with her newborn daughter, Colette, for the first time since giving birth last month. It’s an exciting moment for her fans as she embraces motherhood while continuing her baking career.
- What is Brooke Bellamy’s business?
Brooke Bellamy owns Brooki Bakehouse, a business that has grown from her passion for baking into a multi-million-dollar brand. She also published a cookbook titled “Bake with Brooki”, which features many of her favorite recipes.
- What is Brooke Bellamy known for?
Brooke is primarily known for her baking skills, sharing easy-to-follow recipes on her social media platforms. She has become an influential figure in the baking community, especially for her content on TikTok, where she shares baking tutorials and cooking tips.
- Did Brooke Bellamy face any controversies?
Yes, Brooke Bellamy faced plagiarism allegations from Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats. Maehashi accused Brooke of copying recipes for caramel slice and baklava from her blog. However, Brooke has denied these allegations, stating that while the recipes are personal to her, she did not invent them.
- What happened between Brooke Bellamy and Nagi Maehashi?
Nagi Maehashi posted side-by-side screenshots of similar recipes from both of their cookbooks and raised concerns about the alleged similarities. The issue sparked a social media controversy with accusations of plagiarism. Brooke has since responded, defending her work and clarifying that she did not copy the recipes but has always given credit to traditional recipes.