Stolen recipes

[Patrice]

I would like to know what you think about chefs stealing other chef idea and serving them in their restaurant like their own. I have the chance to travel a lot around the world and eat in a lot of restaurant and , in the last years I stopped counting the times when I was served a recipes invented by another chef.  

In his 1993 book: Les Carnet de Michel Bras ( desserts) Bras present a recipe for a frozen mint mousse with a liquid chocolate center.  Last year, the very creative chef of Clio in Boston, Kenneth Oringer, was invited to cook in Montreal.  He served a fantastic meal.  For dessert, he presented a frozen mint mousse with a liquid chocolate center... Did Mr Oringer had the same idea that Michel Bras had many years ago? Let me doudt about it, I know that Mr Oringer know Michel Bras and that he has eaten at his restaurant before.

How many buttermilk pannacotta or coconut tapioca desserts have you seen on menu recently.  Claudia Flemming, the fantastic pastry chef of Gramercy Tavern has made this two desserts her trademark.  Last week while visiting Boston, I was served a very good dessert in one of Boston best restaurant: coconut tapioca with passion fruit and coconut ice cream.  I sound a little bit like Claudia version: coconut tapioce with passion fruit caramel and coconut sorbet.

How can we prevent this, do chefs have the right of stealing other chef recipes?

[=Mark]

Reminds me of one of the first episodes of Northern Exposure.  Dr. Fleishman comes across Adam cooking some Chinese noodles over a camp stove in a wooden shack in the middle of nowhere.  Joel remarks on how much they remind him of the noodles at a little off the beaten path restaurant in Greenwich Village.  Adam asks if it was the Five Spice Cafe.  Astonished, Joel says that it was...

At this point Adam flies into a rage.  "That damn Kwan!  I helped him get through cooking school and apprenticed him for 2 years!  And he turns on me, steals my recipes and makes a hit with the Times!!

Joel:  "But I..."

Adam: "Shut Up!  Do you want me to break you like a dry stick!!!"

Joel:  "Nooo..."

[Steve Klc]

Patrice--you raise an interesting issue and it is one that I don't think has easy answers.  We've talked about it on other threads--usually in the UK board--in the context of Heston Blumenthal ripping off Ferran Adria and most recently an Isle of Wight chef ripping off Thomas Keller's oysters and pearls dish.

I think there's a fine line that we all have to walk--chefs, critics and the lay public--when it comes to discussing stealing and plagiarizing of recipes, ideas and inventions in the culinary world.  For me, it isn't always so clear--or so absolute--that there can't be shades of gray.

Let's look at your two examples:  Ken Oringer serves up something suspiciously similar--perhaps even identical to--a dessert he had at Michel Bras--copied from recipes which we both know is detailed in the Bras Dessert Notebook, available for years only in French.  You and I both are aware of this book--we think it is great--we think it is the only book of restaurant style desserts in all of France to be worthwhile--well, Ken is no dummy (Boston may have alot of mediocre restaurants--but it has very smart chefs) and he's probably smart enough to have checked the book out--especially if it is a matter of public record that Ken admires Bras.  The fact that he did the dessert in Montreal and at his restaurant could be homage--could be paying respect to Bras.  I don't know--I think my problem would be if he conducted interviews about how and why he created that dessert and disingenuously did not credit Bras as a source of inspiration if questioned directly about the dessert.  I tell you, I would be terribly impressed if Ken labelled the dessert "frozen mint mousse with a liquid chocolate center a la Bras" on his menu if it were indeed largely ripped and presented right out of the book.  That indicates a larger chef, a chef more confident in his own abilities and shows more respect for an audience, more respect for his place in the larger scheme of cooking.

I also fault an uncritical, mostly fawning food media for being unaware of what has happened in the industry, both here and abroad, at the elite levels of dining and chefs' creativity.

How many people are there that have had this dessert at Bras, have read the Bras dessert notebook and are aware of its significance, have had the suspiciously similar dessert at Clio and/or at a guest chef dinner where Ken cooked like last year in Montreal, are in a position to know Ken has had and admires the cooking of Bras--and also know what Ken has said about that dessert or allowed others to write about it unchallenged?  Talk about an investigative report.

And to markstevens--thank you to my core for reminding me just how enjoyable that show was and specifically how well-written and acted that Adam Arkin character was.  I laughed out loud over just about every segment with him.  It was more cutting, more delicious than the Gareth Blackstock/Chef! episodes which were, of course, great.

[Andy Lynes]

I like the idea of restaurant menus name-checking other chefs. The majority of diners probably wouldn't care, but even if 1 or 2 percent asked "who is this Michel Bras bloke then" it could be opening up a whole new world to them.

[Steve Klc]

Patrice--you conclude by asking "How can we prevent this, do chefs have the right to steal other chef's recipes?"

Well, another way to look at this is that Michel Bras and Claudia Fleming are being paid to write books--they are willingly and for profit putting their work out there for the public and pros to emulate.  It's part of how a chef establishes their brand and extends their influence.

As a diner, I don't care if I'm eating Claudia Fleming's coconut tapioca pre-dessert or her Buttermilk panna cotta with Sauternes gelee--even if I'm in a Boston restaurant at the time, as long as it is good.

The deeper and more significant problems for me are:  1) if the Boston restaurant critics and fawning food media don't realize No. 9 Park is presenting a Claudia Fleming dessert concept intact, if indeed it is; and 2)  that such a chef or pastry chef allows fawning, uncritical praise to be heaped upon them--for their palate, their creativity, their inventiveness--when they know their best ideas are coming from some other chef.

Patrice--how specifically was the No. 9 Park dish presented--in a Bernadaud white bowl with 2 quenelles of sorbet on top of the soup?  Any cilantro-infused syrup?  

And Andy--recognizing others just seems so easy and so obvious. I just see it as a sign of respect that has been lost as we enter an era of even greater celebrity for chefs.  Perhaps we at eGullet can serve as an antidote.  Credit to Patrice for raising awareness of these two specific examples.

[Patrice]

Yes the No.9 version was served in a Bernardaud bowl.  But unlike Claudia version it didn't had the cilantro syrup nor the passion fruit sorbet. They serve it with a passion fruit syrup, what a combination!!!

Has a pastry chef I just can't imagine how someone can feel by taking credit from someone else ideas.

I have no problem with chef taking ideas or getting inspired from someone else work but reproducing in our restaurant a recipe from a chef without any credit is another thing.

[jordan]

I find this to be an interesting topic.  I have always found that a trend gets started with one dish and then variations of the item begin to appear all over (best example "asian" influenced tuna tartare).  I remember having it at Garry Robbin's AJ in the Flatiron and by the summer it was everywhere.  I think that it is flattering to be copied; it lets you know that you were on target and should make you feel like an industry leader.  However, I think it is reprehensible for a chef who borrows an idea from an other chef to claim ownership of it or in the worst case publish the recipe in a book.  Some major lifestyle personalities (her name withheld) have made a business of doing this.  A friend of mine owns a popular Austrian rest. in the city, and in the fall he serves a signature soup.  One of his friends (an other NYC chef) had the soup and asked if my friend minded if he put a variation of it on his menu.  My friend was flattered and gave him the recipe, a few months latter the exact recipe was printed in a major food magazine and listed as a signature of the other rest.  Needless to say they are no longer friends and that individual has lost all credibility in my eyes.

[Steve Klc]

Jordan--that's a great example and I think it speaks to something just under the surface of Patrice's last post--that of professional and personal integrity.  But what's the recourse--where's the redress?

Yes that individual has lost credibility in your eyes--but because we don't really know who you're talking about--we don't have an opportunity to evaluate the recipes or soups in question, put them in either local or historical context--and you lose the chance of us viewing the situation dispassionately.  Either way he gets away with it.

I understand your sense of decorum or loyalty may prevent you from being specific, but I'd personally like to know the who and the what.  Are we talking Bouley, Gutenbrunner?

I get Martha--am I actually going to have to read it rather than just look at the pretty pictures to pursue this?

[jordan]

I am not comfortable using peoples names.  I work in the industry and although I would like to see the thief get his just desserts, I would hate it if someone smeared my name on this site.  You did get the clue about the lifestyle personality and you are on the right track with Gutenbrunner.  I don't think that Bouley's menus are without outside influence, nor do I think Bouley would use an exact recipe from an other chef.  So no, it is not Bouley.

[Scottf]

I dropped my brother at work the other morning and took a chance to peruse the current menu at the restaurant where he works.

On the menu was a Cod dish (can't remember exact description) but underneath in bold type were the words "This fabulous dish is from the famous Nobu restaurant in London"

I think that is extending professional respect and courtesy.

[B Edulis]

I've been making a delicious a Malaysian recipe for coconut pearl tapioca with bananas for years -- does that mean that Fleming stole her idea from them? The world is so small now that ideas can really travel quickly -- the metaphor of ideas as viruses seems appropriate.

I guess my point is that if chefs should credit other chefs, they should also credit cultures of origin.....

[Patrice]

Personnaly,I've no problem when a chef get inspiration for his recipes from different cultures or, like I said before from another chef creation. But, if he decide to serve on his menu a dish created by another chef ( in the 2 examples I gave before, both recipes were already published and were still on the menu of the chef who created it) it would be honest to gave credit.

[ChocoKitty]

I'm glad someone raised this topic (I'm currently doing some research on the copyrightability of recipes and dishes). At first blush, I don't think that food *ideas* can be protected from copying. The actual recipes themselves may be subject to copyright protection, but that doesn't seem to be the issue here (Steve klc, do chefs even USE recipes that often?).

I don't think there's any method of legal recourse that would be appropriate for this kind of copying. Would we really want legal battles over this anyway? I agree with Scottf's observation re: professional courtesy. That's probably the best solution for now.

I think that copying in this industry could be considered analogous to copying in the fashion industry (I'm speaking off the top of my head here now). Sure, one designer can come up with a brilliant new idea, but that doesn't prevent people from using the idea in their own designs. And trying to find the line between "inspiration" and "copying" is yet another thing that mucks things up. Steve klc is absolutely right -- there really is no bright line rule.

Sorry I garbled things even more!

[Steve Klc]

Chocokitty--you haven't garbled at all, you've actually helped to clarify.

The fashion analogy doesn't work for me and here's why:  a couture designer has an identifiable style, trademarks if you will for each collection, they release their new line and it is an international event whether it's in Paris, Milan, NY etc, reviews and pictures appear in the mostly fawning international fashion print media, and then tons of lesser designers and off-price outfits copy the trends and even knock them off completely--with less hand stitching, inferior fabrics, whatever.  The look is then made available to the public at large very affordably.

But it is the original designer that gets the credit, publicity and brand extension for creativity (regardless of whether you feel such out-sized recognition is warranted) and the industry and fashion is well aware who is knocking whom off--and those that knock off are not themselves fawned over, the imitators rather than original thinkers are not promoted as if they were creative.  Opportunistic, yes.  But it is made clear who the players are--who the talent is.

If this were the case in food, the American food media would have realized Trotter and Keller were influenced by and emulating Ferran Adria years before a few articles on Ferran began popping up in American media.  Even now the public is unaware how significant Adria is.

Say what you want about the insular, political, catty fashion media--they are aware enough to write about influences and similarities--they go to the runway shows, read the international versions of all the magazines, watch the same tv shows--and that is all made available in ways that the food media doesn't seem to be able to follow.  Food is too huge, too diverse, too local.  Restaurant critics are inherently limited by the fact that they have to eat locally so much--and the threshold for newspaper food writing is so low on a local level as well.

By contrast, take Robin Givhan of the Washington Post, who writes wonderfully about fashion but also integrates fashion into larger themes.  She knows what's going on--she goes to all the shows, she covers the scene.  I wish food was covered with the same diligence and world view.

I do agree largely with you regarding formal copyrighting of ideas for dishes and food--but then you are the patent attorney.  However, in food and this burgeoning era of celebrity chefs--this copying does speak to the professional integrity of the chef and a chef's disingenuousness.  However--that line of "stealing" without attribution has to be balanced with the normal process of dissemination, tweaking, inverting, re-working, reinventing of ideas that goes on all the time.

If Ken from Clio did the exact Bras dessert--without changing a thing in terms of presentation--and passed it off as his own, allowing others to fete him for an excellent creation and extoll his dessert skills in print--well, yes, I'd have a problem with that just like Patrice.  (I think Patrice goes further than me--that Ken shouldn't even have done the dessert as Bras did it.  I don't go quite that far.)  Of course, I'd suggest the dessert was probably not as good as the original Bras creation--because those that create usually do a better job than those that emulate or copy.

Chefs use recipes differently depending on skill level.  Most chefs have such a high opinion of themselves and their skills that often picture and presentation ideas are more valuable to them. There are occasionally new techniques, new ways of thinking or seeing things that can come through in recipes--and then yes, recipes come into play.  The Adria foams in the iSi Profi whipper are an example of both a thought process and a recipe process.  I, for instance, try the recipes of other pastry chefs all the time.  Constantly evaluating them against what I know and how others have done similar things.  And in pastry--in a general sense, a how you work sense--yes, recipes are used for everything, 100% weighed, even down to the yolks, water and gelatin in my work.

Be sure to quote me in your article.

[cabrales]

Placed in quotes below are excerpts from an April 10, 2002 NYT article ("A Chef Invents a Lobster Dish, And Pots Start Boiling All Over", by Florence Fabricant) on T Keller's "inspiring" other chefs.

The article speaks to Keller's butter-poached lobster, the recipe for which was published in his 1999 book. The article raises interesting line-drawing questions. When does one focus on the resulting dish (butter poached lobster), and when on the technique that produced that result. And should culinary techniques under certain circumstances be claimed as being associated with a particular chef? For example, in the case of the butter-poached lobster, apparently an essential step in the Keller approach is to have the lobsters very quickly blanched in the beginning, to foster the removal of the flesh from the shells.  There are other steps in the recipe on which I,  not being able to cook, do not feel equipped to elaborate. Apparently, one method of serving the butter-poached lobsters at French Laundry is with an accompaniment of leeks, a beet-type glaze and also a potato sheet.

         "Most chefs who have put butter-poached lobster on their menus, including Rick Moonen of Oceana in Manhattan and Michael Kramer of McCrady's in Charleston, S.C., readily credit Mr. Keller with creating the dish. 'I saw butter poaching

in Thomas Keller's book,' said Gerry Hayden, the executive chef at Aureole in Manhattan, where he serves what he calls butter-braised lobster with either truffle coulis or a coconut curry broth. . . ."

The NYT article then enumerates a number of butter-poached lobster dishes at other restaurants, although garnishings differ.  For example: Oceana (asparagus flan); McCrady's in Charleston (with foie gras and poached pear), Charleston; La Folie, SF (with sweet white corn and leek ragout); Dream Dance casino in Milwaukee (with saffron risotto); Lure in NY.

The article then proceeds to indicate:

            "Not every chef attributes the inspiration for butter poaching lobster to Mr. Keller. . . . David Walzog, who serves butter-poached Maine lobster with parsley couscous and a brandy lobster sauce at the Monkey Bar in Manhattan, said the idea came from his mentor, Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill, who he said taught him to use a  butter bath for cooking vegetables. . . . Gordon Ramsay, the  Michelin  three- star chef in London, who also serves butter-poached lobster at Claridge's, offered the same confit comparison [of poaching in fat]. He said his source was Michel Bras, in France. But a certain amount of Kellerization still applies to his version, Mr. Ramsay acknowledged, because he exchanged chefs with Mr. Keller's  restaurant  a few years ago."

When Keller comes up with a butter-poached lobster recipe, that recipe has associated with it a particular technique (in this case, blanching and slow poaching). While those techniques could be applied to numerous food products and, of course, are not properly attributable to Keller's recipe, at what points does the pairing of an ingredient with technique in an unusual way become identifable with a chef?

The butter-poached lobster example is interesting for me because I did not previously know Keller originated this preparation. I have not eaten butter-poached lobster at French Laundry.  It seemed like such an obvious pairing (and so naturally derived from lobster with liquid butter dipping sauce) that, had I eaten the butter-poached lobster at another restaurant, I would not have thought particularly hard about the origins of the dish.

[cabrales]

The high turnover rate among members of the kitchen team, and the movement of individuals from one chef’s kitchen to another’s, appear to be a significant vehicle for transmitting “inspiration”.  In many cases, it could be switches in jobs on the part of a cuisinier. In other cases, kitchens send an apprentice chef to another restaurant, with the expectation that the individual would return. An individual at Putney Bridge indicated to me that a chef had been assigned to Jardin des Sens, Montpellier, for a session during 2001, with the expectation of return.

Chef Marchesi inventor of the ravioli aperto, was very vocal about its having been copied.  Several 1996 articles describe Italian chef Gualtiero Marchesi’s support for copyrighting recipes. In October 1996, he spearheaded a conference at an Italian resort called “The Cook’s Signature: Copyright In the Kitchen”.

He said: “‘One of my most famous creations is the raviolo aperto/open raviolo . A few years back I had a young  chef  who worked with me for a while. Then he went off to work for another great  chef.  And what do I find when I open that  chef's  latest book? A recipe  for raviolo aperto! . . . . I should be credited as its creator."  (The Independent,October 20, 1996, “Could your gazpacho be a pot of gold?; ...it could, if a group of angry  chefs  get their way”, by Oliver Swanton.)

[cabrales]

Leaving aside for now the  "sharing" of ideas by cuisiniers who move among different kitchens, there is an aspect of arguable "copying" that is quite intriguing.  There are indeed situations when a chef might view his ideas as having been misappropriated by his pupil.  For an example, look no further than London's own Marco Pierre White, who trained under, among others, Pierre Koffman of La Tante Claire.

"In his unauthorised biography of White, Charles Hennessy writes: ‘Pierre Koffmann says, 'Marco only came to steal my  recipes.  But he's one of the best  chefs  I ever had . . . .' White's defence is straightforward. ‘The best pupils go to the best teachers,’ he says. ‘By definition, things rub off. . . . But I also credit my sources. On my menu at the Oak Room I have Pied de Cochon Pierre Koffmann. At Drones, which will open in December, there is Creme Brulee Boxtree.’ . . . ." (The Guardian, November 24, 2000, "Waiter, there's a spy in my soup: One great recipe can make a chef's  fortune - so it's hardly surprising that rivals will go to any lengths to steal it.", by Victoria Moore.)

The master/pupil scenario is rather interesting, because, in some cases, the pupil is widely known to have trained with the master and there are questions about whether that might mitigate the "copying" aspect. For example, Marc Veyrat/Edouard Loubet. Nobody has meaningfully contested that Loubet is copying Veyrat. Perhaps one might even see Veyrat liking Loubet's following his overarching principles of using local herbs, forgotten vegetables, unusual flowers, etc.  Sometimes Loubet is even pictured wearing a black hat, not exactly as wide-brimmed as Veyrat's, but vaguely similar. One doesn't know what Veyrat thinks of Loubet.

There has been much discussion on the board about use of Adria's techniques and/or ideas by other chefs. To what extent would members view certain followers of Adria as "copying" him?  

[Basildog]

i must confess to being "inspired" by a dish i had at another restaurant.Pity that the dish read well , but was appalling in its execution.But it did make me think that it was a good idea, if done with some fresher ingrediants.Will i go to hell? :confused:

[Holly Moore]

Back when I had my restaurant I came up with a dish we called Flautas Monterey - a flour tortilla, filled with guacamole, topped with red sauce and montery jack, and heated under a cheese melter.

About a month later a restaurant 3 doors away from mine put "Flautas Monterey" on their menu.  Pissed me off until I figured out what to do about it.  I typed out the recipe and mailed it to the chef-owner at the other restaurant along with a note saying, "just to be sure you're preparing it properly."

Alas, I also sent a copy of my note to the "around town" columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer.  He wrote it up for one of his daily columns, though he didn't name the restaurant that had received the recipe.  Didn't have to.  It was off the other restaurant's menu the day the column was published.

Then again, whenever I adapted an item from another's menu - though I was never so overt about it - I would quote folk musician Pete Seeger.  When a reporter asked him if he was upset when another musician used his song, Seeger replied, "hell, he just stole from me, I steal from everbody."

I like the comparison of the evolution of folk music to the evolution of recipes.

[jordan]

I feel that there is a difference between a recipe and a technique.  For example, how does butter poaching differ from confit?   How do we know that Keller didn't borrow butter poaching from the French?  Yes he may be the first to apply it to lobster, but I don't think it's fair to credit him for inventing the technique.  I do however feel that replicating a recipe exactly and passing it off as a personal/original creation is plagiarism.  At the same time there is a big difference between copying a recipe and sharing a technique.

[Bux]

Crisp Paupiette of Sea Bass in a Barolo Sauce is one of Daniel Boulud's signature dishes, or at least it's been reported as one his clientele won't let him take off the menu. This is how the the dish is described on his web site where the recipe appears.

Paul Bocuse's Rouget en Ecailles de Pomme de Terre inspired this exquisite preparation of tender fish fillets wrapped in a crisp crust of sliced potatoes.

(While I'm not commenting on the quality of this dish, nor suggesting anyone visit the web site, in the interest of full professional disclosure I will note that I was responsible for the original design of the web site and that I have had personal relationships with people who have worked for the restaurant.)

I should think it's awfully hard to copyright or patent a recipe or cooking technique. As others have mentioned, lots of ideas make the rounds and this is not limited to kitchen creativity. It happens in all creative arts. Who gets credit for art deco? Every movement in art has it's originators and followers. In some cases the followers make major contributions. In most cases even the originator has just made a slightly bigger break in the evolution of styles rather than a real revolutionary change.

Great chefs may originate a recipe, but in time it may enter the classic repertoire. I understand why some chefs may be upset by having a recipe copied, especially if exactly, but as a member of the dining public, I'd say it makes for better dining than to have every uncreative chef trying to create his own new dishes. I think Klc hit upon the biggest difference between food arts and the other arts, crafts and design professions--the journalists and critics are far less knowledgeable and the influences go unnoticed and unreported.

[ChocoKitty]

I should think it's awfully hard to copyright or patent a recipe or cooking technique. As others have mentioned, lots of ideas make the rounds and this is not limited to kitchen creativity. It happens in all creative arts. Who gets credit for art deco? Every movement in art has it's originators and followers. In some cases the followers make major contributions. In most cases even the originator has just made a slightly bigger break in the evolution of styles rather than a real revolutionary change.

Good point. And that's the tension between protecting intellectual property, in whatever form it is, and allowing intellectual property to be used as a basis for further innovation. Actually, it's not that hard to copyright a recipe or patent a food product or food processing technique. The issue is whether those types of legal protection are appropriate given the cost of obtaining the protection in the first place (copyright protection is cheap, but patents can run several thousand dollars). Enforcement is particularly tricky -- would it be worth the cost and effort to monitor every possible copyist, send nasty letters, and possibly sue them? Even though my legal practice would be a lot more fun if this happened (*wink*), I doubt that this would necessarily be good for the public, innovators in the culinary arts, or those who build on others' innovations.

I do like the analogy between kitchen creativity and other creative arts. I'm not as ready to blame food critics and writers for not addressing this issue in more depth. I'm not sure that readers are interested in "depth". I'm not even convinced that most media outlets are willing to cover food in as much depth as, say, fashion or sports -- I just don't think they're ready to take food that seriously yet. But that's another topic.....

[Steve Klc]

...another topic already being addressed on the compromised food critics thread--weigh in with your thoughts there choco--especially since you dropped that bomb of an article on Bauer's autonomous power in SF!

[Bux]

ChocoKitty: I do like the analogy between kitchen creativity and other creative arts. I'm not as ready to blame food critics and writers for not addressing this issue in more depth. I'm not sure that readers are interested in "depth". I'm not even convinced that most media outlets are willing to cover food in as much depth as, say, fashion or sports -- I just don't think they're ready to take food that seriously yet.

I think it may be valid to blame writers who just pander to their public, but you're certainly correct in noting that the food news reading public is not interested in the background history the way either a museum goer or sports fan is interested in that kind of information. We all eat, but as a society, we certainly do it with less intellectual interest than almost anything else in our lives. What do people want from food journalists? Probably nothing more than hints on where to get the most for their money when they eat out and easy step by step recipes that are infallible but leave out complex information.

[stellabella]

The Modern Language Association defines plagiarism as quoting another author word for word, or paraphrasing another author's ideas, without giving any credit to the original author.  The Honor Council at my college will find a student guilty of plagairism if he cuts and pastes sentences or paragraphs from the original source into his own and tries to "disguise" the theft by inserting a few of his own words here and there--the MLA agrees that even copying the sentence structure can be defined as plagiarism.

Before the use of the internet became so prevalent, students almost always got away with plagiarism, because it was time-consuming, if not downright impossible to locate plagiarized sources--though there have always  been those professors who can nail 'em every time.  Now it is easy to bust them.  But that depends on whether the professor wants to be bothered to go to the trouble.  So, some get severely punished for such transgressions, while others get a slap on the hand or no punishment at all.  Enforcement of the rule is arbitrary, and that's unfair.

I am not suggesting that the same standards that apply to the ownership of words should apply to the ownership of recipes-- but I personally think it is wrong to take another person's idea and pass it off as your own.  If it's possible to out a thieving chef, I say do it.  But I imagine it would be really hard to do.