Martha Stewart is accused of STEALING a recipe from the iconic 1982 cookbook that launched her billion-dollar career, by former employee who says SHE created a dish for her first job interview with the lifestyle guru

Martha Stewart is accused of taking credit for a recipe she didn't create during the early years of her career as a domestic lifestyle guru.

In a new CNN docuseries charting her legacy, the 82-year-old's former catering worker Sarah Gross claims she was the mastermind behind one of the popular creations from Martha's groundbreaking 1982 cookbook, Entertaining.

Speaking on the premiere episode of The Many Lives of Martha Stewart on Sunday night, Sarah recalled bringing her “cranberry nut pie” when she applied for a job at Martha's first cooking venture, The Market Basket.

After years of making the cake with Martha for the parties they catered, Sarah was less than impressed when the recipe not only appeared in Entertaining, but when the celebrity chef also took credit for its creation while publishing the book TV promoted.

“They've become so part of the repertoire that who knows if she even remembers it being my recipe,” Sarah said.

In a clip from a promotional TV appearance at the time of the book's release, a presenter asked Marta about her cranberry nut cake and where all her new recipes came from.

Martha responded, “A lot of these are recipes I've made all my life, and a lot of them were made just for the book.”

Martha has since said she was inspired by Sarah's recipes and even recalled why she lost credit for some of her work during a March 2023 episode of the In The Kitchen With Martha podcast.

In a conversation with Thomas Joseph and Sarah Carey, Martha explained how 'Alexis' famous chocolate chip cookies' came to be.

“Forty-five years ago, when Alexis developed the recipe for me, that recipe was an evolution,” Martha began.

“Sarah Gross, who worked for me in my catering company. She had a delicious cookie recipe and I asked her for the recipe, but she wouldn't give it to me.”

She continued, “So I said to Alexis, I gave her the cookie and said, 'Here, make this recipe.' And in two tries she had the recipe.

“You know, it could have been Sarah's famous chocolate. Sorry Sarah, but it's Alexis.'

In the episode, photographer Michael Skott – who shot the images used in Entertaining – stated: ' [Martha] I worked hard for it and she was driven, but everything was a team effort and there were a lot of people who worked with Martha when I was involved who also came up with ideas.

'How did it come to be Martha's idea? Well, that's another story.'

During her time with Martha, Sarah said she ended up running Martha's catering company as the celebrity chef's star began to rise on a national scale.

However, Sarah says their business relationship came to an end when she demanded she be given due recognition for her work within the company.

She explained, “I worked for Martha and was paid a maximum of eight to ten dollars an hour. I don't think I've ever been paid more than that, and I did so much for her.

'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 give my heart and soul, and at that moment I felt like I was, I needed a title.”

Sarah continued, “I needed something I could call my own in relation to this company that was growing before me.

“And Andy says, 'Martha's going to be as big as McDonald's, and we're not giving that away.'

The disgruntled caterer concluded, “That's Martha, she had a vision of where she wanted to go and nothing and no one was going to stand in her way.”

After parting ways with Martha, Sarah launched her own catering company called Cabbages & Kings Catering.

In 2019, a recipe for a cranberry pie with nut crust was shared on marthastewart.com.

The description simply said, “Martha made this recipe on episode 701 of Martha Bakes,” referencing an episode that originally aired in July 2016.

Since starting her catering business in the basement of her home in 1976, Martha has become a business mogul to be reckoned with.

When Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia went public in 1999, its success made her the first female self-made billionaire in the United States.

With 48 books and several TV shows to her name, the New Jersey mother of one has also built a hugely successful website and writes a newsletter, which reportedly has a readership of 12 million.

DailyMail.com has contacted Martha's reps for comment.

The final two episodes of The Many Lives of Martha Stewart air on CNN on February 4 at 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM