RecipeTin Eats's founder Nagi Maehashi goes full 'tiger mum' and rips into a fan who criticises her hunky French head chef: 'Crossed the line'

RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi went into full tiger mum mode last week when one of her fans criticised her hunky French head chef, JB Alexandre.

JB has been working with Nagi for five years and the pair are extremely close.

Nagi rushed to the defence of JB after a fan named Sophie criticised JB's new recipe for Tartiflette - a French potato bake from the Alps, made with potatoes, bacon, onion and Reblochon cheese (from the Alpine region of Haute-Savoie) or any washed rind cheese.

In the comments under the online recipe, Sophie wrote: 'I'm not a fan of the recipes that call for a bunch of French cheeses not easily available in Aus, or the dismissive 'other'.

'I remember the days when they were all based on stuff easily available in most supermarkets and local grocers. Plus her Asian-forward recipes were usually adaptable to GF and other dietaries. No more :(. The last thing we need is more orthodox French recipes, but here we are.'

Nagi immediately responded to Sophie's remark, calling her 'dismissive' and 'disrespectful' towards her colleague.

'Hi Sophie – We welcome opinions, but please remember there is a real person behind every recipe here who has put considerable effort and care into sharing recipes we love, for people’s use, for free,' she replied.

'In this case, that person is JB, and I take offence at the dismissive tone of your message. You’re entitled not to like every recipe we publish, and I appreciate constructive and polite feedback – in fact, that often shapes how and what we do. 

'But if our free recipes no longer suit you, there are plenty of other websites to choose from. Disrespect towards the people who create the recipes on my website is not welcome.

'And for the record, the traffic stats and feedback on JB’s recipes from people who have made them have been astounding, from his simple Apple Cake to more complex recipes like his Soufflé. 

'Though perhaps not to your taste, it’s evident that JB’s recipes are clearly beloved by the vast majority. They work. And they’re bloody delicious. And I feel privileged that someone with his expertise and experience chooses to share his recipes with us. – Nagi'

Meanwhile, JB said Sophie's criticism had upset him for a couple of days.

'Hi Sophie, I actually sat with this over the weekend before replying. Your comment and tone were abrupt and caught me off guard, it wasn’t the easiest thing to read,' he said.

'I want to be clear that all opinions are genuinely welcome here, feedback included. If there’s a genuine point in here about ingredients being harder to find in Australia, that’s fair, and worth hearing.

'That’s why we always offer multiple substitutes. But "no more, but here we are" felt more like a jab at years of recipes than constructive feedback, and I’d be lying if I said that didn’t bother me a little.'

Nagi later took to Instagram to explain why she unleashed her inner 'tiger mum'. 

'So - JB had his first experience of online... err... politics on his Friday Tartiflette recipe which blew up over the weekend. We encourage opinion and appreciate constructive criticism. In fact, we take it on board so much, it has shaped the type of recipes we post and how we post. But the tone of this comment crossed the line and out came my inner tiger mum,' she said. 

This is not the first time Nagi has had a spray online - she famously had an explosive public feud with Cookie queen Brooke Bellamy in 2025.

At the height of the scandal, Brooke found herself at the centre of allegations from Nagi, who accused her of plagiarising two recipes - caramel slice and baklava - in her cookbook.

In April 2025, the RecipeTin Eats founder publicly claimed Brooke's recipes bore striking similarities to her own on her Instagram page.

However, Brooke denied all allegations and said her work was the result of 'countless hours' of baking experience.

'I did not plagiarise any recipes in my book which consists of 100 recipes I have created over many years, since falling in love with baking as a child and growing up baking with my mum in our home kitchen,' she said at the time.

Penguin, the publisher behind Bake With Brooki, also rejected the claims, stating the recipes were her own.