Cindy McCain is eating humble pie after being caught lifting recipes from the Food Network and posting them as her own on her husband’s campaign Web site.
The ingredients of at least three McCain “family” recipes – “ahi tuna salad,” “passion fruit mousse” and “farfalle pasta with turkey, sausage, peas and mushrooms” – were plagiarized, word for word, from Food Network chefs listed on the culinary company’s Web site.
A fourth concoction – “rosemary chicken breasts and warm spinach salad with bacon” – closely resembled the ingredients of Rachael Ray’s dish, according to The Huffington Post, which broke the story.
“I’ll whip up fat-free humble pie for the McCains,” said tart-tongued chef Kathleen Daelemans, whose ahi tuna with Napa cabbage salad recipe was listed on the site and stolen by McCain.
Cindy McCain’s recipe was called “ahi tuna with Napa cabbage slaw” – with the same 13 ingredients and identical directions as Daelemans’ dish.
“I’d be happy to cook for Cindy and give her cooking lessons,” Daelemans said.
Daelemans told The Post that the ahi tuna recipe was included in her second book, “Getting Thin and Loving Food,” as well as prepared on her former Food Network show “Cooking Thin.”
“I was shocked. On the one hand, we can chuckle about it. On the other hand, it’s plagiarism,” Daelemans said.
Giada De Laurentis – host of the Food Network’s “Every Day Italian” show – is the author of the pasta farfelle dish.
And the copyrighted passion fruit mousse dish was served up by Chicago dessert maven Gale Gand. Gand, the celebrity chef who hosts the network’s “Sweet Dreams” program, took pride in the fact that Cindy McCain copied her. “I’m flattered – and vote for Obama!” said Gand, an Illinois resident.
Daelemans said the GOP senator’s spouse should have given her credit or at least made a courtesy call asking permission to list her dish as a family recipe.
“That’s like stealing someone’s song. Give a girl a boost! We’re all trying to make a living here, Cindy,” she added. She said it’s not unusual for chefs to provide “ghost” recipes to others.
Ray had no problem with McCain using one of her recipes as a family dish. “My recipes are accessible to everyone – interns, senators, students and families alike. I find it flattering when anyone cooks my food,” Ray said.
A Food Network spokeswoman declined comment on Recipegate, referring all questions to the McCain campaign.
But the network’s site clearly warns against digital copyright infringement, a violation of federal law.
The McCain campaign immediately discarded the pilfered recipes from the Web site after the story broke, and served up sweet and sour humor while eating crow.
“One of our Web interns apparently drafted an unknown Rachael Ray as a senior policy adviser in our department of gourmet. The intern was dealt with swiftly, and the site is down for revision,” a spokesman said.
“Our apologies to the Food Network.”