Random Food Thoughts

Ojai Sam said:
TFTFY
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I have a legal question. I post it here because it has to do with food.
For a few years now I have been watching the cooking show "America's Test Kitchen", where the staff tinker with recipes until they get the "perfect" version of it. Until recently, the host of the show was Chris Kimball. He left about a year ago to start a quite similar show called Milk Street Kitchen. I signed up on their email list for weekly missives.

The latest one came this morning with a piece on how to make the perfect grilled hamburger. The interesting thing is, it is EXACTLY the recipe he and the staff of ATK developed/presented a few years ago. Same recommendations for meat to use, shaping, seasoning, grilling, etc. Now, since he was the host of the old show, he might think that he "owns" the recipe (although I doubt he helped develop it- that is left to the test cooks), but that seems very much like taking corporate information from a previous employer and giving it to your new one. Highly unethical, in my opinion.

It seems to me that ATK would have good legal standing to sue Milk Street Kitchen for using their recipes and presenting them as their own. What do you think?
 
I made the scape compound butter the other day. The recipe said it will yield one log. Well, yeah, if the log is 3' long! I've got enough compound butter to last me to next year. Now I need to grill up some meats and veggies to use it on. Or garlic bread. Or to finish a sauce. Or, or, or........
 
Nickyboy said:
I have a legal question. I post it here because it has to do with food.
For a few years now I have been watching the cooking show "America's Test Kitchen", where the staff tinker with recipes until they get the "perfect" version of it. Until recently, the host of the show was Chris Kimball. He left about a year ago to start a quite similar show called Milk Street Kitchen. I signed up on their email list for weekly missives.

The latest one came this morning with a piece on how to make the perfect grilled hamburger. The interesting thing is, it is EXACTLY the recipe he and the staff of ATK developed/presented a few years ago. Same recommendations for meat to use, shaping, seasoning, grilling, etc. Now, since he was the host of the old show, he might think that he "owns" the recipe (although I doubt he helped develop it- that is left to the test cooks), but that seems very much like taking corporate information from a previous employer and giving it to your new one. Highly unethical, in my opinion.

It seems to me that ATK would have good legal standing to sue Milk Street Kitchen for using their recipes and presenting them as their own. What do you think?
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It's not my field, but generally a recipe can be patented as a "process" if it's "new, useful and not obvious". So, Jack In The Box has patented its "Secret Sauce". However, I doubt if a hamburger recipe could meet this test. Anyway, I suspect that ATK didn't bother to file a patent for every recipe.

ATK could also copyright a narrative recipe. That would stop someone from copying verbatim one of their books. But I doubt they could stop Chris from demonstrating how to make a burger.

The most likely answer is that Kimball's contract or separation agreement with ATK spells out what he can and can't do. He probably bargained for the right to do another similar show when he and ATK parted ways using the same or similar recipes.
 
Wow. Interesting view, Ojai. If that's the case, he (by rights) could just rehash every recipe they ever did on ATK and never have to come up with a new one for Milk Street. But that would be boring, so I imagine he wouldn't go that way.

I understand the patents on Secret Sauces. Although, we all know they are all mayo, ketchup, relish, garlic powder and then the "secret" of two grains of paprika or brown sugar or something. :D
 
Nickyboy said:
I have a legal question. I post it here because it has to do with food.
For a few years now I have been watching the cooking show "America's Test Kitchen", where the staff tinker with recipes until they get the "perfect" version of it. Until recently, the host of the show was Chris Kimball. He left about a year ago to start a quite similar show called Milk Street Kitchen. I signed up on their email list for weekly missives.

The latest one came this morning with a piece on how to make the perfect grilled hamburger. The interesting thing is, it is EXACTLY the recipe he and the staff of ATK developed/presented a few years ago. Same recommendations for meat to use, shaping, seasoning, grilling, etc. Now, since he was the host of the old show, he might think that he "owns" the recipe (although I doubt he helped develop it- that is left to the test cooks), but that seems very much like taking corporate information from a previous employer and giving it to your new one. Highly unethical, in my opinion.

It seems to me that ATK would have good legal standing to sue Milk Street Kitchen for using their recipes and presenting them as their own. What do you think?
Click to expand...
I read that CK was a bit of a jerk, and that led to his exodus, but I miss him on the new version of the show. (ATK)
 
Worm said:
I read that CK was a bit of a jerk, and that led to his exodus, but I miss him on the new version of the show. (ATK)
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A friend of mine is best friends with Adam X from the show (don't want to give away names but he tests euipment!) and he says that everyone absolutely hated him from the get go. That being said, I can see how his character was part of shaping what was the ATK show. BUT....I have seen the show without him and it seems much more relaxed and authentic to me. YMMV.
 
I made a batch of fresh "board butter" today to moisturize and condition my wooden cutting boards and spoons. I used some to the excess to do one board and two spoons as it cooled. They look 100x better already, and it hasn't had a chance to sink in over night.
Tomorrow I will buff the excess off and do the rest of my wooden implements. Boards are going to get a light sanding and then buttered. I also have a long grain oak cutting slab I made about 15 years ago, roughly 18" wide by 24" long. I am going to cut it up and re-glue it into an end grain board and butter it well. Should be an improvement on what it is now.
 
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