Weston Restaurant Owner Accuses Former Employees Of Stealing Recipes
WESTON (CBS) - The owner of a Weston dumpling restaurant is suing her former kitchen manager claiming the woman stole her family recipes.
Nadia Liu Spellman opened Dumpling Daughter in Weston in November 2014. So far, it's been a success. She says her menu comes from years of travel through Asia and from growing up in her mother's restaurants.
"I take a lot of pride in the recipes that my mother and I created together. We tweaked everything together and it's something that's very special to us," she said.
Customers lined up outside her location waiting for it to open for lunch on Thursday. They too say the dumplings are unique.
"They're fantastic. I've never had a dumpling better than this," said Karen Huff.
In a lawsuit, Spellman accuses a former worker of ripping her recipes for dumplings and other items as well as the concept of her restaurant.
Jie Lin, Ying Yao Xiong, and Huanchen Li opened up Dumpling Girl restaurant in Millbury earlier this year.
Spellman says Xiong and Lin worked in her kitchen and stole her ideas.
No one at Dumpling Girl would speak with WBZ.
The menus are stunningly similar. The dumpling offerings are identical. Many of the noodle dishes are also exactly the same. The menu descriptions verbatim.
Customers at Dumpling Girl didn't seem to mind. They said they'd be unlikely to drive to Weston anyway and that many dumpling places have similar menus.
But for customers at Dumpling Daughter, it was scandalous. One loyal customer says ingredients aside, she doubts anyone could replicate one of her favorite restaurants.
"I don't think if it was written down in a recipe book, you could re-produce it. There's something extra," she said.
