Attleboro Cafe Sues Waltham Company Over Waffle Recipe

Waltham MA

09 February, 2022

7:38 PM

Description

WALTHAM, MA — The Attleboro-based cafe Burgundian is suing the Waltham-based artisanal food company Eastern Standard Provisions over a Liège waffle recipe that made Oprah's Favorite Things list during the holiday season, according to the lawsuit filed on Feb. 3. Burgundian, a veteran-owned small business, entered into a non-disclosure agreement with Eastern Standard Provisions over the summer under the pretense that the larger company would offer the waffles in a co-branded venture, according to the lawsuit. However, Burgundian alleges that it made the sample product sent to Oprah, but its name and branding were removed from the submission. "Eastern Standard had no prior experience with Liège waffles and actually executed the NDA to learn Burgundian's confidential and proprietary Liège waffle recipe," says the lawsuit. "Anticipating Ms. Winfrey's endorsement, Eastern Standard rushed to supersede the NDA by making a bad faith proposal for Burgundian's Liège waffle recipe," it continues. "After Ms. Winfrey picked Burgundian's Liège waffles for her Oprah's Favorite Things list, Eastern Standard abruptly claimed Ms. Winfrey's endorsement as solely its own despite having no Liège waffle product, recipe, or experience." In the lawsuit, Burgundian claims Eastern Standard Provisions employed a "bait and switch" by selling Liège waffles from a different company and saying that is the recipe chosen by Oprah. "Publicly, Eastern Standard claims that Ms. Winfrey picked the Liège waffles it is selling for her 2021 Oprah's Favorite Things list," says the lawsuit. "Privately, Eastern Standard claims that the Liège waffles it is selling are different from Burgundian's Liège waffles because they use a 'new recipe and process.'" "Ms. Winfrey tasted and tried Burgundian's Liège waffles, and then picked them for her 2021 Oprah's Favorite Things list," the lawsuit said. "Eastern Standard is nevertheless realizing the financial, business, and branding benefits from the 'Oprah Effect' without Burgundian." Patch has reached out to Eastern Standard Provisions for comment and will update this article when we hear back.