An Australian chef and cookbook author has spoken of her disappointment around one of her most beloved recipes becoming entangled in the Erin Patterson triple murder case.
A 12-person jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict on July 8, where 50-year-old Patterson was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
The 10-week trial heard how Patterson had modified a beef wellington recipe from the highly popular book “Recipe TinEats Dinner” by Australian cook Nagi Maehashi.
Instead of making one large beef wellington as the recipe instructs, Patterson adjusted it to make several individual servings, lacing the portions consumed by her guests with death cap mushrooms.
The meal killed Patterson’s parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson.
Heather’s husband Ian was made gravely ill by the meal but survived after being treated in hospital.
Patterson is now facing life in prison and can appeal her conviction.
In an Instagram story, the chef Maehashi expressed her upset at being contacted regarding her recipe book, which had been found in Patterson’s kitchen.
Starting her message off with a red mushroom emoji, Maehashi addressed her note to the journalists of Australia.
“Please stop calling and emailing and texting and DMing me about the Erin Patterson case,” she wrote.
“It is of course upsetting to learn that one of my recipes—possibly the one I’ve spent more time perfecting than any other—something I created to bring joy and happiness, is entangled in a tragic situation.
“Other than that, I have nothing to say and won’t be talking to anymore. Thank you for respecting my privacy.”
Japanese-born Maehashi grew up in Sydney and has sold more than a quarter of a million copies of her Dinner cookbook, first published in 2022.
Maehashi started charity work during the pandemic, eventually creating RecipeTin Meals, which provides meals to those in need, sometimes serving hundreds of free meals a day.
She last made headlines earlier in the year when she called out Queensland social media influencer Brooke Bellamy for publishing duplicate recipes in the 2024 book “Bake with Brooki.”
Penguin Random House has denied the allegations and Bellamy agreed to remove the recipes from further editions.
