Kate Attlee (pictured above) operates four Sabzi delis in the South West and says she is taking legal action against the publisher because she has registered the word ‘Sabzi’ and its figurative mark in trademark classes covering cookery books, recipe books, writing materials, and retail services connected to books.
But in a statement Bloomsbury says that “the term Sabzi is part of the shared culinary vocabulary of many cultures, including Ms Khan’s own heritage.”
“In various languages, including Farsi and Urdu, it simply means vegetables or greens, or a dish made with vegetables. It is a term that Ms Khan, an award-winning cookbook author, has used previously during her writing career, including in her cookbook The Saffron Tales. The common usage of the term Sabzi in connection with recipes for vegetable dishes is evident from a simple internet search. The term is commonly used in restaurants around the UK to describe various vegetable dishes.
“Ms Khan has used the term as the title of a cookbook consisting of vegetarian recipes from or inspired by Iranian and South Asian culinary traditions. It is widely accepted that the use of a descriptive term as the title of a book in order to denote the book’s subject matter - as Ms Khan has done - does not function as trade mark use.
“Ms Khan commenced work on Sabzi in 2017, well before the first Sabzi deli was opened. We have responded in detail to Ms Attlee’s complaint through the proper channel, her legal representatives.”
Kate founded Sabzi in Truro in 2019, shortly after reaching the quarter-finals of BBC’s MasterChef. She now operates four delis and sells fourteen products under the Sabzi name.
In July, Bloomsbury published food writer Khan’s Sabzi: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes for Every Day.
Attlee also claims the book’s figurative mark bears similarities to hers, including line thickness and font stylisation.
Sabzi has published free recipes to its 5,000 newsletter subscribers and on social media since 2023. Attlee says she was planning to publish her own cookbook building on this collection.
“I invested in trademarking Sabzi, as I felt it was important to protect my brand at the beginning of its journey,” Attlee says.
“We receive countless weekly requests for a Sabzi cookbook, and this has been an exciting upcoming plan for the business.
“I am so dismayed that a brand as big and powerful as Bloomsbury has not respected my legal rights, and has taken the opportunity to publish a book using the name ‘Sabzi’, even going so far as to use similar stylisation.”