High-end art and jewelry thefts are often in the news, but an artisanal cheddar heist?
High-end British cheese company Neal’s Yard Dairy revealed that nearly $400,000 in hand-crafted cheddar was stolen in a sophisticated con that’s being called the “Grate Cheese Robbery.”
“We have some difficult news to share,” the beleaguered company wrote in an Instagram post five days ago.
The purveyor of British and Irish cheeses was the victim of a theft resulting in the loss of “over 22 tonnes of clothbound Cheddar,” the post claimed.
Cheeses at Neal’s Yard Dairy.
Alamy
“A fraudulent buyer posing as a legitimate wholesale distributor for a major French retailer” allegedly pilfered the cheese, according to the post.
“Over 950 wheels of Hafod, Westcombe, and Pitchfork Cheddar were delivered before the fraud was discovered,” the post said.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver posted to Instagram denouncing the theft and urging his 10.5 million followers to be on the lookout for “lorry loads of posh cheese” he says is worth £300,000, or $390,000.
According to Oliver’s post, “The Big Cheese Con Thieves” posed as a wholesale supplier to a French supermarket and “duped Neal’s Yard Dairy’s London warehouse staff.”
“The precious cargo of valuable artisanal Cheddar was sent out in good faith, only to disappear without a trace,” Oliver wrote.
Neal’s Yard Dairy said it received the order for the cheese in July, The New York Timesreports.
The company reached out to three dairy farms to fulfill the order because it was so massive, according to The New York Times.
In September, Neal’s Yard Dairy upheld its end of the deal by sending the cheese to the supplier, who was supposed to pay for it by Oct. 7, David Lockwood, one of the company’s partners, told The New York Times.
When the payment due date came and went with no word from the supplier, Neal’s Yard Dairy tried to contact the supplier, who “became uncontactable,” Lockwood told The New York Times.
The company notified the London police on Oct. 21, who are investigating.
Neal’s Yard Dairy made sure to pay the dairy farmers and cheese producers for the stolen cheese, even though Oliver says it will take years for them to make up the loss.
“Despite the significant financial blow, we have honoured our commitment to our small-scale suppliers and paid all three artisan cheesemakers in full,” the company said in the post.
The amount stolen equals the entire annual production of Hafod cheese, potentially creating a significant gap in the artisanal cheese market.
The company is working with law enforcement authorities to identify the cheese thieves.
“In the meantime, we would like to put out a call to everyone within our esteemed community of cheesemongers around the world,” it wrote in the post.
“If anyone is offered or receives cheeses they believe may have been associated with this theft, particularly clothbound Cheddars in a 10kg or 24kg format with the tags detached, please contact info@nealsyarddairy.co.uk so we can support the police in their investigation.”
As police continue to hunt down the stolen cheese, Lockwood is incredulous that this even happened.
“It’d be a great action comedy,” he told The New York Times. “Maybe we can sell the rights and get some of the money back.”
