Martha Stewart is a chef, author, and TV personality, who is undoubtedly one of the most famous people on the planet. And a new docuseries by CNN shows all the highs and lows of Martha’s life with over 50 years in the spotlight.
“The Many Lives of Martha Stewart” tells of Martha’s rise to fame, time in prison, and her magnificent comeback. But one of the juiciest details included is that Martha apparently stole a recipe that essentially launched her career.
The Recipe in Question
In 1982, Martha Stewart released her first book, “Entertaining,” and in it, she included a beloved recipe for a cranberry nut tart.
And now, more than 40 years later, one of her former employees is claiming that the recipe was her creation, not Martha’s, and that she never got any credit for it.
Sarah Gross’ Story
Within the first episode of CNN’s “The Many Lives of Martha Stewart” docuseries, ex-employee Sarah Gross gives an interview and tells the world her story.
Gross claims that she showed Martha her own recipe for a cranberry nut tart when she first applied to work for the then-caterer. And for years, the two made the delicious treat for a variety of events.
Martha and Sarah Have Different Versions of the Truth
When asked how Martha came up with the recipe for the famous cranberry nut tart, she responded vaguely, “Lots of these are recipes that I’ve been making all my life, and a lot of them are just created for the book.”
And while Sarah Gross claims that the recipe was undoubtedly her own creation, she also gave Martha the benefit of the doubt, saying, “[It] became so much part of the repertoire that who knows if she even remembers that it was my recipe.”
Martha Has Specifically Mentioned Sarah Gross but for Another Recipe
Interestingly, Martha Stewart called out Sarah Gross by name during an episode of her podcast in 2023. However, it wasn’t to credit her for the cranberry nut tart. It was within a story about “Alexis’ famous chocolate chip cookies.”
Martha said, “Sarah Gross, who worked for me in my catering business. She had this delicious cookie recipe, and I asked her for the recipe, and she wouldn’t give it to me.” And continued, “So I said to Alexis, I gave her the cookie, and I said, ‘Here, make this recipe.’ And in two tries, she had the recipe.” Finally, Martha said, “You know, it could have been Sarah’s famous chocolate. Sorry, Sarah, but it’s Alexis’.”
Sarah Claims She Left Martha’s Employ Because She Wasn’t Compensated Fairly
During the interview, Sarah Gross tells CNN that she eventually stopped working for Martha as she wasn’t being fairly compensated for her work.
Gross reported, “I was working for Martha, getting paid eight to 10 dollars an hour max. I don’t think I ever got paid more than that, and I was doing so much for her.”
“Martha Is Gonna Be as Big as McDonald’s”
Sarah Gross continued, “So I set up a time to talk to her. I got there, and Andy Stewart was there, and I asked Martha… I told her that if I was going to be giving my heart and soul, and by that point I felt like I was, that I needed a title.”
To which Andy Stewart, Martha’s husband, apparently replied, “Martha is gonna be as big as McDonald’s, and we’re not giving that away.”
Andy Stewart Was Right
Sarah also said, “That’s Martha. She had a vision of where she wanted to go, and nothing, and nobody was going to get in her way.”
And it turned out that both Andy Stewart and Sarah Gross were right: Martha Stewart made it all the way to the top.
The Unmatched Success of Martha Stewart
Martha became a television star, a beloved personality, a best-selling author, and a successful business mogul.
Stewart has released more than 48 books, many on the best-seller list, several TV shows, and a wildly popular website and newsletter with 12 million subscribers.
The Cranberry Nut Tart Is Still One of Martha’s Favorites
More than 40 years later, Martha Stewart added her famous cranberry nut tart recipe to her website, MarthaStewart.com, in 2019.
The caption below the recipe explained, “Martha made this recipe on episode 701 of Martha Bakes,” which aired in July 2016. And since the recipe was clearly within the chef’s 1982 book “Entertaining,” it’s clear that Martha seems to have forgotten where the recipe originally came from.
Martha Didn’t Really Reach This Level of Success on Her Own
Although Martha always wanted to be, and therefore was, the star of the show, she constantly had a team around her.
Michael Skott, a former employee, said in an interview, “[Martha] worked hard for it, and she was driven, but everything was a team effort, and there were a lot of people that worked with Martha when I was involved with her, that also came up with ideas.”
In the End, It Was Always Martha’s World
Skott also explained that in the end, it really was Martha holding the reins, saying, “How it worked that it ended up being Martha’s idea? Well, that’s another story.”
Stories and comments from Martha’s former employees, like Sarah Gross and Michael Skott, have certainly shown a different side of the superstar. Throughout her entire climb to success, it really was Martha’s world, and everyone else was just living in it.
