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Flap Over Cookbook By Seinfeld's Wife

The celebrity status of comedian Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica, and an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" have helped propel her "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook to the top of bestseller lists. But a number of readers have pointed out some similarities between Seinfeld's book--published this month by an imprint of HarperCollins--and "The Sneaky Chef" by Missy Chase Lapine, which was twice submitted--and rejected by--HarperCollins and ultimately published by an imprint of Perseus Books.

Both cookbooks are targeted to parents of picky eaters. The basic concepts for several of Lapine's recipes--such as avocado in chocolate pudding--also appear in recipes offered by Seinfeld. "I don't need to copy someone's idea," says Seinfeld, who worked with a chef and a nutritionist on the book. "I've got enough going on in my life."

Steve Ross, president and publisher of the Collins imprint, says the company had rejected Lapine's book because it was too similar to another title on its list. He said the publisher agreed to meet with Seinfeld when she submitted a similar proposal two weeks later because of her name and her agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh of William Morris. Walsh described Seinfeld as "smart, stunning, and infinitely promotable" in a cover letter.

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