What we know about the theft of £300,000 of cheese from Neal’s Yard Dairy

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

What we know about the theft of £300,000 of cheese from Neal’s Yard Dairy

Jamie Oliver has urged people to be on the lookout for “lorryloads of posh cheese” being sold “for cheap” after hundreds of truckles of cheddar worth more than £300,000 were stolen from Neal’s Yard Dairy.

The London cheese specialist said it had delivered more than 950 wheels of cheddar – more than 22 tonnes – to scammers before realising it had been duped.

Neal’s Yard said it had still paid the producers so the individual dairies would not have to bear the costs and is now trying to deal with the financial setback.

In an

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

post, Jamie Oliver wrote: “If anyone hears anything about posh cheese going for cheap, it’s probably some wrong’uns.”

What we know

Neal’s Yard confirmed that it had delivered 950 wheels of cheddar to the alleged fraudster posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer before realising what had happened.

The wheels included three artisan cheddars, including Hafod Welsh, Westcombe, and Pitchfork.

The cheese specialist also confirmed it had still paid the producers so they would not have to bear the cost “despite the significant financial *****”.

It is also working with police to identify the perpetrators.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “On Monday October 21 we received a report of the theft of a large quantity of cheese from a manufacturer based in Southwark. Inquiries are ongoing into the circumstances.”

No arrests have yet been made in relation to the alleged theft.

Neal’s Yard also urged cheesemongers around the world to contact them if they suspect they have been sold the stolen cheese, particularly clothbound cheddars in a 10kg or 24kg format with the tags detached.

What we don’t know

The full details of the theft haven’t been fully made public, but one report suggested that the ‘unusually large’ order was made over the phone by a man claiming to be a legitimate buyer.

According to the Sunday Times, Neal’s Yard managing director and co-owner Sarah Stewart said they had asked colleagues in the industry about the purchaser and received good feedback, along with a contract that contained “very convincing information”.

We also don’t know who is behind the theft. Some reports suggested the heist may have been masterminded by ********** looking to smuggle the cheese into Russia, as luxury foods are difficult to get hold of since Moscow banned imports in response to EU sanctions.

Another unknown is where the stolen cheese will end up, and how the people who took it plan to get rid of it.

In his

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

post, Jamie Oliver raised the question of what would be done with the cheese, asking: “Are they going to unpeel it from the cloth, and cut it and grate it and get rid of it in the fast food industry, in the commercial industry? I don’t know – it feels like a really weird thing to nick.”

Read more

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#theft #cheese #Neals #Yard #Dairy

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up