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Photo: Alison Cook Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Image 2 of 15 A ceviche at Latin Bites. A ceviche at Latin Bites. Photo: Alison Cook Image 3 of 15 A cocktail at Latin Bites. A cocktail at Latin Bites. Image 4 of 15 Quinoa salad wraps at Latin Bites Quinoa salad wraps at Latin Bites Photo: Alison Cook Image 5 of 15 Image 6 of 15 Duck confit with green rice at Latin Bites Duck confit with green rice at Latin Bites Photo: Alison Cook Image 7 of 15 Patacons (short rib) at Latin Bites. Patacons (short rib) at Latin Bites. Photo: Alison Cook Image 8 of 15 Fish and shellfish in green sauce at Latin Bites. Fish and shellfish in green sauce at Latin Bites. Photo: Alison Cook Image 9 of 15 Anticuchos at Latin Bites. Anticuchos at Latin Bites. Photo: Alison Cook Image 10 of 15 Image 11 of 15 Anticuchos at Aji Peruvian Cafe. Anticuchos at Aji Peruvian Cafe. Photo: Aji Peruvian Cafe Facebook Image 12 of 15 Arroz con mariscos at Aji Peruvian Cafe. Arroz con mariscos at Aji Peruvian Cafe. Photo: Aji Facebook Image 13 of 15 In the kitchen at Latin Bites. In the kitchen at Latin Bites. Photo: Alison Cook Image 14 of 15 The dining room at Latin Bites The dining room at Latin Bites Photo: Alison Cook Image 15 of 15 The war between Latin Bites and Aji Peruvian Cafe 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Latin Bites, the well-regarded modern Peruvian restaurant led by chef Roberto Castre, wants Houston to know that it has nothing to do with a new Peruvian restaurant that employs four of its ex-staffers.

“It has been brought to our attention…that the restaurant Aji Peruvian Cafe is serving food items that look and taste exactly like those of Latin Bites,” writes co-owner Carlos Ramos (chef Castre’s brother-in-law) in a statement released today. “We want to clarify that we have no relationship with that restaurant.”

According to Ramos, four of Latin Bites’ former employees — “of Mexican nationality,” he specifies while naming Oscar Adame, Gerardo Adame, Leodani Adame and Jesus Beltran — are involved with Aji. Ramos writes that the four “had no previous knowledge of Peruvian cuisine” and “were trained personally by chef Castre.” He contends they are now making “illegal use of master recipes and presentations” that are signatures of Latin Bites, and that the owners of Aji have not agreed to meet to discuss the matter “and clear copyright issues in a professional way.”

Ramos attaches three sets of photographs of Latin Bites and Aji dishes for purposes of comparison, and there are striking similarities. Castre has a refined visual style dating from his days as a high-end caterer, and the trio of gorgeously tinted and adorned causitas (a Peruvian mashed potato extravaganza) that took my breath away when I first saw them at Latin Bites in 2010 indeed looks nearly identical in Aji’s promotional materials, as does the tripartite tiradito-style ceviche, right down to the position of its choclo and sweet potato garnishes.

That’s the Latin Bites side of this messy dispute. Speaking for Aji, co-owner Pilar Forkel, who is a native of Peru, asserts with some vehemence that it’s not true that her restaurant is copying Latin Bites.

“It’s not fair,” she told me when I reached her by phone at Aji. “I’m from Peru, too, I go to restaurants in Lima, and in Peru right now there are too many similar presentations to what Latin Bites does. Google “causa Limena” and you’ll see that what Gaston Acurio is doing looks exactly like Latin Bites.” I looked, and while not identical, the Acurio and Castre iterations are indeed strikingly similar.

On its website, the four-month-old Aji Peruvian Cafe lists its owners as Pilar Forkel, Diego Carnero and Carlos Contreras. (Interestingly, Forkel is an owner of another recently opened Peruvian spot, Sur Latin Peruvian Cuisine in Katy. Update: Forkel clarifies that she only worked at Sur for five months to help her cousin get it going.) In a “Who we are” section, Aji describes Oscar Adame as “one of the top-of-the-line, most recognized Peruvian chefs in all of Texas,” another source of dismay for the Latin Bites owners.

“My food is quality, it’s fresh and it’s not copying Latin Bites,” insists Forkel. She says her chef, Oscar Adame, worked for four years at Latin Bites and quit on his own, for personal reasons. She finds the “copyright” issue absurd. Take lomo saltado, she goes on: “it’s meat, it’s sauce, it’s rice, it’s French fries. How do you copyright a presentation for that?”

Forkel believes the problem with chef Castre is “personal. He’s in a war with my restaurant. He used to be number one, and he doesn’t think another restaurant should be number one.” She points to Eater Houston’s recent inclusion of Aji Peruvian Cafe as the third on a list of six under-the-radar restaurants worth visiting as a possible sore point for Latin Bites.

That seems like a bit of a stretch, but with charges and counter-charges flying that’s to be expected. Issues of inspiration versus copying will always be vexing in the restaurant business. So will the sometimes fine distinctions between what’s legal, what’s ethical and what’s just business as usual.