I apologize in advance for what is, in many ways, an unhappy post.
I know food blogs are supposed to be places of joy and light; of indulgent spouses, white-balanced photography and twinkly-eyed children with uncommonly adventurous appetites.
Well, I’m not one for writing to market, so get ready for some food blog chiaroscuro.
The truth is, since moving to my neighborhood, I find the grocery shopping options borderline depressing. I don’t say that lightly: I am an unusually supermarket-focused person, and, in my world, food purveyors might as well be mood purveyors. When I was studying in St Petersburg I lived far outside the city center, where Americans generally feared to tread, just to be near O’Kei, the experimental Walmart-sized supermarket that was being tested out on the Russian market. I did a similar thing last year when I moved to Red Hook, Brooklyn, the ghetto-by-the-sea made livable only by Fairway Market.
I now live in a part of Brooklyn called “South Slope” by realtors and “Greenwood Heights” by any New Yorker who’s ever looked at a map. My shopping options include an Associated Foods that feels, produce-wise, a lot like rural Guatemala, a Met Foods that puts out cuts of meat that are every shade of bruised but red, and a Key Foods that is not in itself unacceptable, but is far away enough that the commute is. Finally, a small, independent store across the street–Eagle Provisions–promises “Epicurean Delights From Around The World”.
Among these “Epicurean Delights” were a jar of eggplant spread I nearly choked on and the first product bad-tasting enough for me to call the consumer complaint hotline.
I could rant on and on, but, in the interest of maintaining my already slim readership, I am going to confine what could easily bloom into a pestilent epic on the scale of the titan arum to a list of three questions.
1. I called Bella Famiglia to tell them that their pomegranate-flavored sparkling water starts off with a suggestion of aniseed before erupting into an overpowering nose of B.O. I didn’t put it quite like that over the phone, but that is what it tasted like, and my first job right out of college was writing wine tasting notes so I know of what I speak, okay? I promised you a question, and here it is: does calling the hotline mean I have officially and irreversibly crossed into the ranks of the insane? (Partial answer: the hotline operator seemed to think so. I was transferred to a voicemail box and have not been contacted since.)
2. Marco Polo Mild Ajvar, Product of Bulgaria. So bitter I could almost feel my esophagus closing up. And this was the mild version. Whatever the full-flavor version tastes like, I feel certain that Hell seethes with it. Question: is it the store’s responsibility or the manufacturer’s? Am I justified in bringing that jar back to Eagle Provisions?
Update on Question 3, below: I am prone to fits of righteous indignation, but fortunate to have a boyfriend licensed by the state of New York to prescribe and administer large-dose chill pills. I wrote the blogger in question an e-mail saying that I was sure it was an oversight, and it turned out it was; it’s now been corrected.
3. I would like everyone’s advice on a matter of netiquette. It has come to my attention, via Technorati, that a blogger has all but reproduced one of my recipes. I would not go so far as to call it plagiarism, because I am acknowledged–though not by name–in one of the introductory paragraphs as a “fellow food blogger” and the “inspiration” for the dish, but I can’t help but bristle (more hurt than angry, really) when I read on to find my recipe reproduced almost word for word and presented as something she “put together”. My own policy when I am making other people’s recipes is to avoid reprinting the recipe altogether and link directly to the original (c.f. my post on Appetite For China’s Tea Eggs). If I have made any significant changes then I mention them, but do not insert them directly into cut-and-pasted text. What would you do in this situation? Let it go or write an e-mail?
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COMMENTS / 17 COMMENTS
Michele: In response to query number 3, pose as your lawyer and write a cease and desist letter, or even worse, send the offending blogger a copy of Ian McKewen’s ‘Saturday.’atalie added this comment on Jun 27 08 at 7:43 pm
It’s still plagiarism. Unless you specifically permit the copy, attribution is not enough. I’d write.Joshua added this comment on Jun 27 08 at 8:07 pm
(1) the hotline is, supposedly, set up to deal with such issues and any one who creates and sells a product should always listen to feedback (especially negative) if they want to make a product they’re proud ofkrista added this comment on Jun 27 08 at 8:27 pm
(2) i would think it’s a manufacturing problem, unless it’s expired or something. but you should be able to return it to the store because i would think they have policies in place to deal with manufacturer’s who don’t deliver quality products. although i’m totally assuming this, i don’t really know.
(3) yes, email!!!
i gotta be honest, i had a momentary panic because i read your blog a lot and i just make the country crack recipe you put up and i thought ‘oh. my. god. did i put it up like it was my own recipe???’ then i realized, ‘oh.’ i didn’t even blog about it. mostly because i didn’t want to have to admit that I ATE MOST OF IT BY MYSELF. fyi…i used fresh peaches instead of blueberries because that’s what i had on hand and i swear, it’s the kind of dessert that makes you cuss out loud when you eat it. i don’t know if i want to thank you or blame you for bringing that into my life.
back to the point….
don’t let it go. because it’s more of a principal thing than anything else. you’ve already earned (even more of) my respect by not outing them right here and now. very commendable.
anyway, i heart your blog.
the end.
yeah… clearly you haven’t let it go, so email or comment to the blogger in question.McAuliflower added this comment on Jun 28 08 at 12:35 am
Inform them how to give props without infringing.
cheers
I would call that person out. Chances are this loser won’t cop to biting your steez, but he/she will know you’re on to them. Hopefully, they’ll be too mortified to do it again.Katie B added this comment on Jun 28 08 at 9:54 pm
By the way, I really enjoy your blog. It’s pretty much the only food blog I’ve come across where the writer doesn’t come off as a. not as funny as they think they are &/or b. up their own butt arrogant because of their food knowledge. OK, you & Michael Y Park on epilog.
Atalie, your hatred of Ian McEwan’s “Saturday” knows no bounds. I don’t know why, because it is one of his tamer books. Yes, it annoyed me. No, I didn’t really like any of the characters. But give me “Saturday” over Zadie Smith’s “On Beauty” any day of the week.Michele Humes added this comment on Jun 28 08 at 11:08 pm
Joshua, it’s not as cut and dry as that. Food bloggers love having their recipes tried out and republished, with or without permission. It’s the all-important link back to the original post that we crave: just a teeny bit of html makes all the difference.
Krista, I’m so excited you tried Laura’s Southern Crack. How many sticks of butter did you use? Thank you for your very kind words.
McAuliflower, I did e-mail, and then immediately encountered a grey area in my own post that made me half regret doing so. I think my impulse can be summed up, once again, as the blogger’s hunger for linkback validation.
Katie B, thank you very much for the wonderful compliment.
1. Good for you for taking one more bit of action against recipe piracy.AppetiteforChina added this comment on Jun 29 08 at 3:55 am
2. Your post reminds of living in Harlem, where grocery stores stocked mutilated produce alongside life-size bags of pork rinds. Walking 25 blocks to Fairway with a granny cart was the best possible option. And unless you love MSG, Beijing’s markets aren’t so rosy either. I still get depressed sometimes just from going food shopping. Sigh. Sometimes you just gotta make do.
The update, which I have also appended to my post:Michele Humes added this comment on Jun 29 08 at 8:00 am
I am prone to fits of righteous indignation, but fortunate to have a boyfriend licensed by the state of New York to prescribe and administer large-dose chill pills. I wrote the blogger in question an e-mail saying that I was sure it was an oversight, and it turned out it was; it’s now been corrected.
Diana, if the uptown Fairway were anything like the Brooklyn Fairway (it’s not), you might really have made the trek. Just last night my boyfriend and I were working out a weekly taxi scheme for getting Fairway groceries. We’re spoiled and we can’t go back. You should take us on a photo tour of one of your Beijing shopping expeditions! I imagine you can get anything you like at Carrefour, though perhaps at a price?
I’ll totally call a customer service line if there’s a problem with a product. The key is to provide constructive criticism in the kindest possible way.Amanda added this comment on Jun 30 08 at 10:29 am
By the way, there is There is an award for you on my blog.
If the person merely used “your” list of ingredients, and wrote their own directions…then the recipe is theirs. A list of ingredients cannot be copyrighted. If they just cut and pasted your entire recipe, including your writing about it, then it could be seen is plagiarism. But recipes alone (ingredients) are not subject to copyright law. Recipes evolve from previous recipes, they are rarely (if ever) completely original.Marissa added this comment on Jun 30 08 at 3:13 pm
People suck. Call them on it when they do. Return bad food/bev products and sternly reprimand store for carrying twaddle-food. Go consumer uprising!sybann added this comment on Jun 30 08 at 3:54 pm
i made a half recipe and used one stick of butter. i kind of think it could have used more. especially because the peaches could have used it. i’m actually going to make another batch right now. with the blueberries this time. right after i put the baby to bed, i’m gonna curl up on the sofa with a book, listen to some bon iver, and a big ole bowl of laura’s southern crack. it’s gonna be a good tuesday.krista added this comment on Jun 30 08 at 9:11 pm
oops.krista added this comment on Jun 30 08 at 9:12 pm
um, yeah, tomorrow would be tuesday. nothing to see here, folks, nothing to see.
Michele - Carrefour here is completely unpredictable. For example, yesterday’s fruit selection had tons of dragonfruit and mangosteens but no pears or lemons. Any good imported cereal will set you back at least 6 or 7 US dollars, but Belgian lambic ales have been reduced to $1.50. You just need to be up for an adventure when going to Carrefour and have no recipes in mind.AppetiteforChina added this comment on Jun 30 08 at 9:18 pm
Hi,Vivian added this comment on Jul 01 08 at 1:42 am
I’m an Australian reader and find your blog absolutely fascinating. Just thought I’d pop my head up to say hello when u mentioned “slim readership”…
^_^ love your writings. Good luck with shopping and be careful not to get food poisoned….
p.s. i’m a lawyer here in Sydney ^__* if you need a “pose as lawyer” letter let me know hahaVivian added this comment on Jul 01 08 at 1:44 am
(I’m going to italicize the status update and move it further up in my post, since the recipe attribution problem has already been corrected.)Michele Humes added this comment on Jul 01 08 at 12:20 pm
Amanda, thank you! I’ve never received a blog award before.
A general comment on the recipe copyright issue: Marissa, I understand what you’re saying. However, I think most bloggers operate under an honor system, even if there are no copyright laws to enforce it.
Sybann: “twaddle-food”–now there’s a term I can see myself adopting.
Krista: did not know who or what Bon Iver was. Did a youtube search. Me like!
Diana, don’t talk to me about the easy availability of mangosteens. I’m sure you’ve heard we can get them in the States now–but for something like 5 bucks a fruit. They’re my absolute faves. I wonder why nobody cooks with them. (*plotting feverishly*) Dragonfruit, on the other hand–why?
Vivian: thank you! This issue is resolved, but there are a couple of people I wouldn’t mind extorting via e-mail…I’ll be in touch.
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