Did Jessica Seinfeld Plagiarize her Book?

Wow!!! Oprah just had Jessica Seinfeld on the other day and not only did O praise her but I went nuts over that episode! Jessica, the wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, penned the book “Deceptively Delicious” with tips for putting vegetables in foods in ways that picky eaters won’t notice.

Naturally, Jessica’s book killed in sales after the appearance but now, Missy Chase Lepine, the author of “Sneaky Chef” is crying fowl (I just put some recipes of hers up earlier today from the Today Show!).

USA Today released an article a few days ago and I found it to be an interesting read. Here are the main points:

• “Deceptively” zoomed up the best-seller lists. The $24.95 book is No. 2 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list. More than 1.2 million copies are in print.
• Soon after Seinfeld’s appearance on the talk show, postings at Amazon.com and Oprah.com noted that there is another cookbook that advocates these same techniques and specific ingredients: The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine, the former publisher of Eating Well magazine. Published in April by Running Press, the book has 150,000 copies in print.
• Lapine says she and her publicists pitched the Oprah show five times without success. She also points out she submitted her 139-page book proposal with 31 recipes and 11 purees twice to HarperCollins (Seinfeld’s publisher), once in February 2006 without an agent and again with an agent in May 2006.

Here’s what Lapine had to say:

• “I’m surprised that on the Oprah show this was being touted as an entirely new technique pioneered by Ms. Seinfeld.”
• “My grandmother used to do it,” she says, but her book is the product of five years of research. “My book is not just a concept. My book is a how-to manual.”
• “I’m concerned and troubled that Oprah credited and applauded someone else for a technique that was out there six months earlier.”
• “The one big fact is that they had access to my manuscript early on… There are at least 15 of my recipes that ended up in her book, [but] if you change one ingredient, you’re safe.”
• She says that after her publisher contacted HarperCollins, Deceptively’s cover was modified from the one featured on a promotional brochure. The word “simple” was inserted in place of “sneaky.”
• “Seinfeld is a big name, and it garners more attention than someone who doesn’t have a big name.”
• Lapine and her publisher have no comment on possible legal action.

Here’s what Jessica had to say:

• “My book came from years of trying to get my own children to eat healthy foods — my own trial and error in my own kitchen. The idea of pureeing vegetables has been around for decades. I have never seen or read this other book. I do hope it is successful and brings even more attention to child nutrition.”
• Seinfeld’s publisher, Steve Ross, insists “she wasn’t influenced by anyone else’s ideas.” Seinfeld cooks these dishes herself, he says. “I don’t think money affects whether one cooks or doesn’t cook.”
• Says Seinfeld’s agent, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh: “We can never get enough of building up our celebrities and then tearing them down. But in this case they’ve chosen the wrong person, because Jessica Seinfeld is above reproach.”

Oprah Winfrey was not available for comment.

Another day, another book scandal on Oprah. Remember how nasty she was to James Frey when it was discovered that some of his memoir “A Million Little Pieces” were… dramatized???

For what it’s worth, I reserve judgment in this situation. I don’t believe Jessica is a plagiarist but I also cannot deny the connection.

What do you think?

Tags: jessica seinfeld, deceptively delicious, sneaky chef, missy chase lapine, jessica seinfeld cookbook, jessica seinfeld oprah, jessica seinfeld plagiarism