TV chef fired by Food Network for 'plagiarising dessert recipes from Martha Stewart'

• 'The network was very concerned because many of her recipes were close — with only a few minor edits — to other chefs’ recipes,' source revealed
• The frosting for Anne Thornton’s German Chocolate Cupcakes, is a close copy to Martha Stewart’s 2009 Coconut-Pecan Frosting

A TV chef's cookery show was axed after network bosses decided her recipes had been plagiarised, according to a production insider.

Anne Thornton's programme with the Food Network was not renewed after production staff discovered some of her recipes were taken from cookbooks and famous chefs like Martha Stewart and the Barefoot Contessa, sources told the New York Post.

Thornton, who lives in New York, presented 'Dessert First,' a popular cookery programme which began in October 2010.

'The network was very concerned because many of her recipes were close — with only a few minor edits — to other chefs’ recipes,' a source close to the production told the New York Post.

The frosting for Thornton’s German Chocolate Cupcakes, was reported to be a close copy to Martha Stewart’s 2009 Coconut-Pecan Frosting.

The only differences were a handful of pecans and a chunk of butter.

Her Luscious Lemon Squares were also reported to be too similar to a 1999 recipe from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.

Thornton's Mascarpone-Stuffed French Toast was deemed close to a recipe published in 2006 in the cookbook 'The Essence of Chocolate.'

A recipe comparison showed Thornton added orange zest to the mix and  substituted a topping of strawberry, rather than maple syrup - the wording was also found to be very similar.

Thornton was in the middle of her 13-episode second season when the discovery was made, said an insider.

Thornton was informed her show would not be renewed in the summer.

She worked in finance before her skills caught the attention of the TV bosses at a New York wine and food fest in 2009.

Contacted yesterday by the New York Post, Thornton insisted there was never any issue over the originality of her recipes.

'This is all news to me,' she said.

'I get inspiration from all my heroes,' said Thornton, who counts the Barefoot Contessa among her biggest influences.

'You take what you learn from them and then you riff on that,' she said.

'As for lemon squares, there’s only so many ways you can make them, so of course there will be similarities.

A Food Network spokeswoman yesterday declined to address whether there was any issue over the origin of Thornton’s recipes.

'Anne’s show, ‘Dessert First,’ was not renewed after its second season purely due to ratings/performance,' she said in a statement.

SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON OF THORNTON'S AND STEWART'S FROSTING

The frosting for Anne Thornton’s German Chocolate Cupcakes, is a close copy of Martha Stewart’s 2009 Coconut-Pecan Frosting.

Thornton's German Chocolate Cupcakes      Stewart's Coconut-Pecan frosting

3 egg yolks                                                            3 egg yolks                                                         12 ounces evaporated milk                                   12 ounces of evaporate milk
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar                    1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter                                   1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter,
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract                             1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt                                     1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed sweetened flaked coconut             2 2/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 3/4 cups toasted pecans, chopped                    1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted & coarsely chopped

Cooking instructions                                          Cooking instructions

Put the egg yolks, evaporated milk, brown             Combine eggs yolks, evaporated milk and brown
sugar and butter in a separate saucepan.             sugar in a saucepan. Add butter, and cook over
Place it over medium heat and cook until the         medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick, about
sugar dissolves and the butter melts.                    10 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a
Continue cooking, stirring constantly until              bowl. Stir in vanilla, salt, coconut and pecans. Let
thick, 8 to 10 minutes or so.Take off the                 cool completely.
heat and stir in the vanilla, salt, coconut
and pecans. Allow to cool.