RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi went into "full tiger mum mode" last week to defend her head chef, JB Alexandre, after a follower criticised his recipe for a French potato bake.
Alexandre has worked with Maehashi for five years, and the pair are extremely close.
The dispute began in the comments section under Alexandre's new recipe for Tartiflette, an Alpine dish made with potatoes, bacon, onion and Reblochon or another washed-rind cheese.
A follower named Sophie wrote that she was "not a fan of the recipes that call for a bunch of French cheeses not easily available in Aus", or what she called the "dismissive 'other'".
"I remember the days when they were all based on stuff easily available in most supermarkets and local grocers," Sophie wrote, adding that Maehashi's earlier Asian-focused recipes were more easily adaptable for dietary requirements.
"The last thing we need is more orthodox French recipes, but here we are," she added.
'Dismissive tone'
Maehashi immediately replied to the criticism, telling the follower that her remarks were "disrespectful" to her colleague.
"We welcome opinions, but please remember there is a real person behind every recipe here who has put considerable effort and care into sharing recipes we love, for people's use, for free," Maehashi wrote.
"In this case, that person is JB, and I take offence at the dismissive tone of your message. You're entitled not to like every recipe we publish, and I appreciate constructive and polite feedback, in fact, that often shapes how and what we do."
She added that if her website's free recipes no longer suited the reader, there were "plenty of other websites to choose from".
"Disrespect towards the people who create the recipes on my website is not welcome," Maehashi said.
Astounding feedback
Maehashi also defended Alexandre's record on the site, pointing to the success of his previous contributions, which range from a simple apple cake to a more complex soufflé.
"The traffic stats and feedback on JB's recipes from people who have made them have been astounding," she wrote.
"Though perhaps not to your taste, it's evident that JB's recipes are clearly beloved by the vast majority. They work. And they're bloody delicious. And I feel privileged that someone with his expertise and experience chooses to share his recipes with us."
Chef upset
Alexandre said the follower's criticism had upset him for a couple of days, and that he had waited over the weekend before replying.
"Your comment and tone were abrupt and caught me off guard, it wasn't the easiest thing to read," Alexandre told Sophie.
He added that while all opinions and feedback were genuinely welcome, and that a point about ingredients being harder to find in Australia was "fair, and worth hearing", the manner of the criticism had bothered him.
"That's why we always offer multiple substitutes," Alexandre wrote. "But 'no more, but here we are' felt more like a jab at years of recipes than constructive feedback, and I'd be lying if I said that didn't bother me a little."
'Inner tiger mum'
Maehashi later took to Instagram to explain her fierce response to the criticism of her colleague.
"JB had his first experience of online... err... politics on his Friday Tartiflette recipe which blew up over the weekend," she wrote.
"We encourage opinion and appreciate constructive criticism. In fact, we take it on board so much, it has shaped the type of recipes we post and how we post. But the tone of this comment crossed the line and out came my inner tiger mum."
Previous online feud
The incident is not the first time Maehashi has been involved in a public dispute over her recipes.
In April 2025, she had a public feud with the cookbook author Brooke Bellamy, known as the Cookie queen, after accusing her of plagiarising her recipes for caramel slice and baklava.
Maehashi took to her Instagram page to claim that Bellamy's recipes in her book, Bake With Brooki, bore striking similarities to her own.
Bellamy strongly denied the allegations, stating that her work was the result of "countless hours" of baking experience that began in her childhood.
"I did not plagiarise any recipes in my book which consists of 100 recipes I have created over many years, since falling in love with baking as a child and growing up baking with my mum in our home kitchen," Bellamy said at the time.
Her publisher, Penguin, also rejected Maehashi's claims and stated that the recipes were Bellamy's own.
