Recipe-copying

That is what I had gotten one email from an anonymous.

"I do not think you would like it if I took one of your recipes and presented it in public without giving you credit, particularly if it was presented so people were led to believe I had developed the recipe.

If I win a cooking contest using one of your recipes, would you be happy if I kept all of the money and prestige of winning? I think not."

I have to write something outside of my usual league: the issues of coping the recipes from other. I don't see a reason why they threatened me to copy my recipe, I personally, don't care who want my recipe and cook what my recipe said. It won't be same way he or she cooked as I do.

During more than my twenty years of culinary arts, my experience led me to so many things that I had seen but I will keep very brief on:

1. Someone claimed the recipe as his own but I have seen it copied from other to boost their ego. I had seen wonderful sandwich: Grilled tuna with good wasabi mayonnaise in few places but someone claimed that they invented it. Who care? They can go ahead and talk about their own food but I had seen written recipes ten years ago or more.

Think about Chicken Waldorf from Astoria Hotel in whatever place. Everyone can copy this recipe and enjoy its aged glamour flavor. I personally love this recipe and had eaten its famous salad. Now, I made them at home. Want to make an issue about coping other recipe or stealing a recipe? I don't care about that. I might seen one recipe from 1850's into present modern cooking. I can see Rachael Ray do her own Chicken Waldorf, her telling how dynamite it tasted. I started to yawn over her mouth-dripping recipes but loved her "EVOO"--That's what annoyed my wife. Ok, think other one, $ 200 dollars cookies from Nieman Marcus or whatever it spelled. According to the urban legend, someone bought a recipe from that store for $ 200 dollars and spread the copies of recipe to public for free. I had read the recipe and found similar recipes to this famous cookie recipe. Something not right with that and this recipe. You can not copyright any recipe. Well, You can find a recipe and write a cookbook for others for twenty dollars--you can copyright your cookbook but not a recipe.

2. You can Google up many recipes and will find that there are similar recipes that they claimed they owned the recipes. You can try Chicken Waldorf and use it for cooking contest with little modifications on your recipe. I had seen some good Blue Ribbon winner recipes and find them in other place as they claimed they won. I don't care how much they won. As someone said that take one of my recipe, it might be found in other website that are similar written recipe as I had. Blue Ribbon winning recipe? It is a big joke. Develop your own recipe? I don't develop my own, I learned from other Chefs, other amateurs and whatever they claimed to be, and tried their recipe, then learn from the instruction. Modify some changes, it became my own recipe that I know it is working better. Some recipes I didn't change a bit because it is good. There are no fancy developments in a recipe. You can learn from Japanese Chefs, from French Chefs and many Chefs with their recipe writings and their cooking techniques. Learn from a famous recipe and try one.

3. Go ahead and steal my recipe to win a cooking contest. Mind the law of sowing and reaping. Someone can come and research or examine your "recipe" to see if you really do make it as your own, discover that there are many similar recipes that are written in few years ago. I better leave that to you to think about it. Personally, I don't care if you win one, it won't be same way you cooked as I do. Don't forgot to do your taxes on your winning cashes. I am not kidding.