British chef Elizabeth Haigh’s cookbook pulled by publisher after Singapore author accuses her of plagiarism
- The former MasterChef UK contestant, who is of Singaporean-British heritage, released her cookbook ‘Makan: Recipes from the Heart of Singapore’ in May to initial acclaim
- But Haigh now faces heat after her cookbook was alleged to contain material paraphrased from a 2012 book by Singaporean author Sharon Wee
A British publisher has withdrawn a cookbook written by a celebrity chef from circulation amid allegations that it contains material plagiarised by a Singaporean author.
Written by former MasterChef UK contestant Elizabeth Haigh, the book Makan: Recipes from the Heart of Singapore was published in May this year to acclaim and buzz.
The chef of Singaporean and British heritage wrote that she had wanted to collect, adapt and understand the recipes and techniques used by her Singaporean mother as she “didn’t want them to be lost”.
Haigh said recipes were authentic to her as “they are my history, my journey and the refection of my family as it has grown and developed over the years”.
But earlier this month, Singaporean author Sharon Wee said on Twitter she was distressed to discover that certain recipes and content from her book – Growing Up in a Nyonya Kitchen, published by Marshall Cavendish in 2012 – had allegedly “been copied or paraphrased without my consent in Makan by Elizabeth Haigh”.