Ina Garten, the host of Food Network's "Barefoot Contessa" who is well-renowned for her delicious recipes including the freshest of ingredients, is suing California company OFI Imports for attempting to replicate her frozen dinners and using recipes that are nearly identical.
OFI Imports wasn't discreet about the whole process either - its products were packaged in a similar manner to those of the Barefoot Contessa's line . . . it even had a red color scheme and white bold font, according to Eater.com.
OFI probably thought that by referring to its meals as "Contessa Chef Inspired," the company would be in the clear; however, this was not the case.
Garten stomped her way down to the Manhattan federal court house to file a lawsuit after OFI refused to cease the sales of its imitation dinners. OFI could not be reached for comments about the issue.
Third-party manufacturer Contessa Premium Foods was responsible for making BC meals until last spring when the company when out of business, Fox News reported. Garten did not have any ownership in the brand, but attempted to purchase it last year.
In the meantime, OFI bought CPF, but did not purchase the licensing rights for the Barefoot Contessa line, so Garten is allegedly seeking damages in her lawsuit.
OFI's remake of the iconic dinners was brought to Garten's attention when customers said they "incorrectly believed" that the products were made by her, according to a press release from Garten's company.
Aside from minor aggravation that this ordeal has caused, Garten is keeping busy and plans to attend and speak at biannual food magazine "Cherry Bombe's" Jubilee conference in New York City in March.
The celebrity chef wrote "Make it Ahead," which sold more than 512,000 copies and was the top-selling cookbook of 2014, Eater revealed. Not bad for a former White House employee!
