"Muffaletta"

Yes, I know it's spelled wrong. The local newspaper here ran an article in their food section this morning. The article included recipes for olive dressing, "muffaletta" and "muffaletta" bread. The article was by one Charlotte Durham who credited the recipes to one Ellen Dixon of Memphis.

Isn't it Jeanne Dixon who is the psychic?

She must be related to Ellen since she channelled me.

All three recipes are lifted - quite literally - word for word from my book.

How mean of you to steal poor Ellen's family recipe. Shame, shame!

[Jenise]

Chef,

As an owner of your book, I feel obliged to contact this newspaper and tell them about the psychic miracle. Now, I'm sure you've already done so, but the more the merrier. We can't have Miss Durham running around thinking she's talentless.

Jenise

Chef,

As an owner of your book, I feel obliged to contact this newspaper and tell them about the psychic miracle. Now, I'm sure you've already done so, but the more the merrier. We can't have Miss Durham running around thinking she's talentless.

Jenise

Couldn't hurt. Here's the real oddity. About three years ago this newspaper ran an article on muffulettas. They contacted Central Grocery and Progressive Grocery in New Orleans. And, oh yeah, me. They chose to run my recipes (same ones) and a photo of the muffuletta.

So, horror of horrors, Ellen may not have even purchased my book, but, rather, clipped the recipes from the newspaper!

[Jenise]

So would this be the Memphis Daily News? I already searched and it was the only largish sounding newspaper I could come up with. Her article wasn't online, in fact almost nothing but public records are available without a subscription, so I need to be sure before I lodge my complaint.

So would this be the Memphis Daily News? I already searched and it was the only largish sounding newspaper I could come up with. Her article wasn't online, in fact almost nothing but public records are available without a subscription, so I need to be sure before I lodge my complaint.

The Commercial Appeal - it's a Scripps Howard newspaper. Circulation around 300,000.

[Jenise]

Done!

Done!

Thanks, Jenise.

For those of you who own a copy of my book, here's the article - get out your hymnals and follow along line by line.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/rec ... 73,00.html

[For those of you who own a copy of my book, here's the article - get out your hymnals and follow along line by line.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/rec ... 73,00.html

I'm looking at that article, and at pages 71-73 of my copy of the hardcover Taylor Trade edition of Creole Nouvelle.

It's not "word for word", as you said earlier. It's a paraphrase. So I'm afrad they're legal here. Recipes, being processes, legally fall under patent rather than copyright. What's covered by copyright is your exact wording of the recipe, which I note they were careful not to use.

But this is legal in the Meese sense of it not being "an inditable offense". It's certainly blatant plagiarism, and morally reprehensible. Especially since they seem to have gone out of their way to credit Ellen whatshername for it. Either they or this Ellen person have a lot of explaining to do.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, I made the same comparison. So in my complaint to the paper, I noted that "the ingredients list was 100% exact and the instructions about 95% or so. So though not 100%, the few words that were changed leave no doubt about both the original authorship and the real deserving party for credit." And I used the 'p' word, too.

At least the clowns could have spelled "Muffuletta" correctly. Who do they think they are, the Manchester Guardian or something?

-Paul W.

Thanks Jenise and Paul (Bob Ross, too.) Yes, it was not "word for word" I admit, but close enough to my ingredient list, wording and procedures that evolved over years of trial and error that it seems extremely unlikely that someone would evolve the same order and diction, especially in a recipe where quanitities would be *so* easy to change and procedural order is not of paramount importance. Also, I have never seen another recipe for a muffuletta that included a bread recipe. I grew up working in my stepfather's bakery and do all my own baking.

Sara's Secrets yesterday featured a muffalata, which she attributed to the "Century" [sic] Grocery. She also made a very odd comment that led me to believe that she'd never actually tried one of these,,, but she may have just meant she'd never tried one from there. Of course, she'd have known it wasn't Century if she'd been there, I guess. She's really kind of an odd duck.

Sara's Secrets yesterday featured a muffalata, which she attributed to the "Century" [sic] Grocery. She also made a very odd comment that led me to believe that she'd never actually tried one of these,,, but she may have just meant she'd never tried one from there. Of course, she'd have known it wasn't Century if she'd been there, I guess. She's really kind of an odd duck.

With an apparently sloppy research staff.

Paul, I made the same comparison. So in my complaint to the paper, I noted that "the ingredients list was 100% exact and the instructions about 95% or so. So though not 100%, the few words that were changed leave no doubt about both the original authorship and the real deserving party for credit." And I used the 'p' word, too.

Despite the fact that several folks here contacted the newspaper - as did I and my agent, not a peep out of them.