Foodie wars! MasterChef contestant accused of ‘cultural appropriation’ amid bitter copyright warfare over Middle Eastern cookbook – as Nigella Lawson leaps to creator’s defence

They are both leading foodie influencers with huge followings and an enviable repertoire in fashionable and highly Instagrammable dishes.

But when Kate Attlee, a former MasterChef quarter finalist turned high-end Cornish deli owner, threatened legal action against highly regarded food writer Yasmin Khan, a huge row erupted – with accusations flying about cultural appropriation and bullying.

The furious row came about over the title of Ms Khan’s fourth cookbook, entitled Sabzi, which was released by Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury in July.

The book – of vegetarian Middle Eastern recipes – was well received by influential foodies – with Nigella Lawson praising it as ‘beautifully inviting’ and supportive comments from other celebrity chefs, including Yotam Ottolenghi and Meera Sodha.

But ‘sabzi’ is the same word that Ms Attlee had previously chosen as the name for her own burgeoning foodie business – a small chain of Middle Eastern-accented delis in Cornwall.

Sabzi – which means herbs or greens in Farsi, the official language of Iran – has grown rapidly since Ms Attlee founded the first branch in Truro in 2019 and she had registered the word as a trade mark.

Ms Attlee, 37, claimed that both the word itself and the imagery on the cover of Khan’s book is so similar to the design of her shops that she demands Ms Khan, 43, and her publishers Bloomsbury to change the title and cover design – as it is already confusing her customers.

The resulting row divided friends and followers of the two, who are both social media influencers: Ms Attlee has 20,000 Instagram followers compared to Ms Khan’s 44,000.

Now the Daily Mail has learned that a peace deal has been brokered between the two rival cooks – with Ms Attlee agreeing last night to call off her threat of legal action.

A source close to Ms Attlee said: ‘An agreement has been reached – the title of the book will not be changed…’

The dramatic breakthrough came just hours after Nigella Lawson waded into the row in support of Ms Khan, calling her a writer who can be relied on for her integrity and whose work I’m a huge admirer of.

She added: ‘I was appalled when I heard about this. Along with many of my fellow food writers, I can’t help railing against the injustice.

‘I’m quite prepared to believe this mess is due to a misguided decision, not least by those who granted the trademark, but I just hope the error is rectified imminently.’

The bitter row had blown up after Ms Attlee threatened legal action to protect her trade mark.

She recently explained why she was upset by the book, saying: ‘A customer told me that a friend had rung her to say I was on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

‘She was really excited­ to hear me talking about our book and both the customer and her friend ordered a copy off the back of the interview.

‘They then discovered it wasn’t me or the Sabzi they knew.’

Some retailers are understood to have withdrawn the book from sale, wary of being drawn into any legal action.

But after news of Ms Attlee’s complaint emerged, there was a backlash against her with accusations of cultural appropriation and bullying.

Fellow food writer Rukmini Iyer, for example, wrote that Ms Attlee was guilty of ‘cultural appropriation gone mad’ for attacking Ms Khan, who is half Iranian via her mother.

She explained: ‘Sabzi’ isn’t a cute, meaningless foreign-sounding word, it’s an everyday word in Farsi, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Bengali among other languages, meaning ‘vegetables’ ‘herbs’ or ‘cooked greens’.

‘OVER ONE BILLION PEOPLE use the word ‘sabzi’ daily. And they aren’t talking about a deli.’

She added: ‘It’s like getting a trademark for a fish shop called ‘Fish’, or a pie-shop called ‘Pies’, and then posting lawsuits when someone publishes cookbooks called ‘Fish’ or ‘Pies’.’

Cultural appropriation is a woke era term describing the adoption of the customs, practices or ideas of one society by members of another – and typically is applied to white people doing things like wearing Native American headdresses or having their hair dreadlocked.

But supporters of Ms Attlee have since pointed out that it’s unfair to accuse her of cultural appropriation – as she too is of Iranian heritage, courtesy of her Iranian father.

She posted about her father Kazem, who works for the NHS, last year: ‘I am incredibly privileged to have been raised in a mixed heritage house. I have a British mum, & an Iranian dad. My Dad is an extraordinary man.’

That same post went on: ‘Sabzi is a love letter to so many things, & it’s also a love letter to the country I’ll never call home.’

Ms Attlee registered the word as a trade mark in 2022 – but supporters of Ms Khan pointed out she had started working on her book of the same name as long ago as 2017, which was two years before the first deli was even opened.

Fellow food writer and author Debora Robertson told the Daily Mail: ‘Yasmin Khan is one of the most widely respected food writers in the country.’

‘She began working on this book years ago and the support for her is so overwhelming because this case feels fundamentally wrong and unfair. ‘What next? Is someone going to trademark tacos? Fish and chips? Pizza? It’s nonsense.’

But fighting her corner, supporters of Ms Attlee had lately taken to writing scathing comments about the book on some forums.

Comments on the book’s Amazon listing – where it receives one-star reviews (the lowest possible) – include: ‘Do not buy this book that blatantly rips off the well-established Sabzi brand in Cornwall!’ and ‘Stealing is not on. This is a hard-earned and trademarked Cornish brand…if you want true Sabzi recipes look up the original.’

Friends of Ms Attlee said she had been hurt by the reaction to what she thought was a reasonable attempt to protect her business.

‘There has been a lot of trolling and it has become quite toxic,’ one told us. ‘It has felt like bullying and Kate is really hurt.’

Ms Attlee met her husband Will at their private school, Truro College, then worked at the legendary River Cafe in west London before founding her business on the back of a supper club in Cornwall.

She took his name as her married name – and it connects her to the postwar Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee, who was her husband’s great uncle.

They have two daughters and live in Cornwall close to her shops.

She appeared on Masterchef in 2018, the year before opening her first deli.

Ms Khan, a mother of one, is a human rights activist turned writer who as well as her food writing is a regular on the BBC and CNN and has worked with celebrity chefs including Anthony Bourdain.

A spokesperson for Bloomsbury said: ‘The term Sabzi is part of the shared culinary vocabulary of many cultures, including Ms Khan’s own heritage. In various languages, including Farsi and Urdu, it simply means vegetables or greens, or a dish made with vegetables. 

‘It is a term that Ms Khan, an award-winning cookbook author, has used previously during her writing career, including in her cookbook The Saffron Tales. The common usage of the term Sabzi in connection with recipes for vegetable dishes is evident from a simple internet search. 

‘The term is commonly used in restaurants around the UK to describe various vegetable dishes.

‘Ms Khan has used the term as the title of a cookbook consisting of vegetarian recipes from or inspired by Iranian and South Asian culinary traditions. It is widely accepted that the use of a descriptive term as the title of a book in order to denote the book’s subject matter – as Ms Khan has done – does not function as trade mark use.

‘Ms Khan commenced work on Sabzi in 2017, well before the first Sabzi deli was opened.

‘We have responded in detail to Ms Attlee’s complaint through the proper channel, her legal representatives.’

After dropping her action, Ms Attlee told the Mail last night: ‘I have the utmost respect for Yasmin Khan and her writing. This has only ever been about a big publisher and due diligence in respect of small businesses and brands.’