It’s also generally accepted in editorial/publisher/related circles that changing three major ingredients or methods or steps does make a recipe different enough not to be an exact copy… HOWEVER it is norm and good practice to mention the inspiration in the header to the recipe or in the bibliography. It’s not necessary, but viewed to be proper and in good taste.

So the issue with respect to food is not as straightforward as it might be in the sense of plagiarism or stealing other types of intellectual property rights like a patented invention. In the issue raised in the post above, a competitor or someone related to a competitor specifically claims Zubuchon “copied” their “original” product. It was my position that they were neither original in the type of product, the way it was made, the name, etc. AND we couldn’t have “copied” them as we actualy had such a product or similar one on offer in Cebu months before they sold theirs.

But back to the recipe issue you raise. Creme brulee is a classic dish that appears in thousands of restaurants today. In its most modern reincarnation, the dish is attribbuted to Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque fame, who put it on his menu in the late 1970’s or was it early 1980’s and wowed his clients. He clearly acknowledges his inspiration was a spanish dessert or such that he tasted while on a holiday to Spain. He made his version and called it creme brulee. But the history books go further back, and a dessert by that name antidates him by say another 100 years or so… the point is, he never claimed for it to be his and only his invention. He took from another dish, he openly acknowledged it, and he never lay claim to owning the recipe and not allowing others to use it. Instead, creme brulee went on to become one of the most popular desserts in the succeeding decades.

Personally, I find it appalling when people think they “own” a recipe. However, I absolutely DO RESPECT the concept of copyright as it applies to say cookbooks…

Naming where the inspiration comes from, or simple attribution, is so incredibly easy to do. My point is, why not just do that so that there is no doubt how you arrived at the recipe?

Just want to get your opinion on a scenario: let’s say a very famous chef from lala-land re-invents a classic recipe, put his spin on it and gave it a much refreshed, modern look, made different permutations of its designs and flavors. Nobody in his land dared to do what he did because it was his concept, his “signature.” Any serious lala-land chef knows he would come off as an imitator & opted to make the dish in their own design or in its classic, generic look.

But along came another chef from lili-land who took the foreign chef’s concept and began selling the product with the same “look”, slightly different decorations and flavors in his homeland. To quote Inquirer writer, A. Vergara: “When does inspiration end and knocking-off begins?” – especially when it comes to food?

Don’t let this moron teenager bother you, obviously he is lacking quite a bit of education!

Boneless lechon is nothing new, my lola & lolo used to make it every christmas in germany when I was a kid, that was 60+ years ago. I have also made it at times at my restaurant/bar in the Seattle, Washington area about 20 years ago.

So this kid’s claim is preposterous, but the norm for the Phils. If something works, the rest will jump on the bandwagen and claim it as it’s own! They are NO competition, so best thing is to ignore them, that will piss them off more than playing THEIR stupidit game.

Btw, you are on my favorite list on my pc and I check every day if you have something new. I’ll be in Mactan next year, asawa ko and my little brat Ecel live in Cordova, so expect us at your restaurant to get some fine food, ingat ka!

more power to you!