London-based distributor Neal’s Yard Dairy introduced on Instagram that it was “the victim of a sophisticated fraud” involving high-value cheddar cheese. They’re working with regulation enforcement to trace down the wrongdoer, and asking fellow cheesemongers to report any suspicious offers on clothbound cheddars with the tags indifferent.
Neal’s Yard Dairy/Instagram
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Neal’s Yard Dairy/Instagram
The British artisanal cheese neighborhood is reeling from what it’s calling the nice — or grate — cheese heist of 2024 after imposters stole tens of hundreds of kilos of high-value cheddar from a serious distributor.
London-based retailer and cheesemaker Neal’s Yard Dairy introduced final week that it had been the “victim of a sophisticated fraud resulting in the loss of over £300,000 worth of clothbound Cheddar” — the equal of greater than $389,000.
“The theft involved a fraudulent buyer posing as a legitimate wholesale distributor for a major French retailer, with the cheese delivered before the discovery of the fraudulent identity,” the corporate mentioned.
The thieves made off with 950 wheels — over 22 metric tons, or roughly 48,500 kilos — of Hafod, Westcombe and Pitchfork cheddar, it added. The wheels got here from three totally different artisan suppliers throughout England and Wales.
“Between them, these cheeses have won numerous awards and are amongst the most sought-after artisan cheeses in the U.K.,” Neal’s Yard Dairy mentioned. “The high monetary value of these cheeses likely made them a particular target for the thieves.”
The crime cuts deep: Cheddar, which originated in a village by the identical title in Somerset, England, is the best-selling cheese within the U.Okay. and a giant supply of nationwide satisfaction.
British celeb chef Jamie Oliver defined in an Instagram video that there’s “only a small handful of real cheddar cheese makers in the world,” and that’s the place the stolen cheese got here from. He known as it a “real shame.”
“This will slow Neal’s Yard being able to support all of their cheesemakers over the next five years, I would imagine,” Oliver mentioned.
Neal’s Yard Dairy is shouldering the price of the crime, having already paid the artisan cheesemakers in full. The corporate says it’s now taking steps to make sure its personal monetary stability and the “continued development of the British artisan cheese sector.”
It’s also working with native regulation enforcement and worldwide authorities to attempt to monitor down the culprits.
“While the cheese may never be recovered, our priority is to share openly what has happened and to prevent it from happening to other businesses,” it says.
However some in the neighborhood are hoping it’s not too late to search out among the cheese — if vigilante cheddar-heads are keen to look.
How cheese lovers might help
The id of the cheese thieves remains to be unknown.
Tom Calver with the cheesemaker Westcombe says they have been led to imagine they have been sending their merchandise to France through Neal’s Yard Dairy.
“These guys … basically impersonated a wholesaler-slash-customer, quite a large retailer over in France,” he mentioned in an Instagram video, displaying a row of empty cabinets and noting he had posted excitedly in regards to the 10-ton order simply weeks earlier. “It was a hoax, it was theft, it was fraud. I mean, it’s nuts.”
Patrick Holden, whose Hafod Welsh cheddar was taken, advised the BBC that the robbers requested Neal’s Yard to dispatch the cheese to a London warehouse, then collected it and disappeared. He believes they might be making an attempt to promote it within the Center East or Russia, “because people won’t ask questions there.”
“I think if they tried to sell it closer to home they’d find it difficult,” he mentioned, naming North America and Australia as examples. “Because the international artisan community is very connected.”
The cheesemakers have all issued statements thanking Neal’s Yard Dairy for honoring the sale and praising the corporate’s response for example of the belief and integrity that exists within the small business.
To that finish, Neal’s Yard Dairy is asking its “esteemed community of cheesemongers around the world” to maintain a watch out for the cheese and get in touch with them if they’re provided or obtain any suspicious offers — particularly clothbound cheddars of sure weights (10 kg and 24 kg) with the tags indifferent.
Calver amplified that request in his Instagram video.
“If you do see or know of anybody over in Europe or around the world that there’s some clothbound raw milk cheddar that’s going cheap, then just can you let us know?” he mentioned. “Because we can potentially trace it back — hopefully, maybe, I don’t know — and we can hopefully work with the police to try to find out who the culprits are and in some way help Neal’s Yard in this quest of finding the cheese.”
Oliver advised his greater than 10 million Instagram followers that “if anybody hears something about posh cheese going for affordable, it’s most likely some unsuitable ’uns.”
“Keep in mind, if the deal appears too gouda to be true, it most likely is!” he wrote within the caption.
Oliver additionally puzzled aloud what the thieves might probably be planning on doing with their high-profile loot.
“Are they gonna, like, unpeel the cloth and then cut the skins off and grate it and get rid of it in the fast food industry, in the commercial industry?” he requested.
In a social media replace posted on Sunday, Neal’s Yard Dairy mentioned it has obtained an “overwhelming number” of calls, messages and visits from supporters since saying the theft.
And it provided a solution to the numerous on a regular basis cheese lovers who’ve been asking how they might help.
“Continue to support British and Irish cheese,” it wrote. “Hafod, Pitchfork and Westcombe are special examples of farmhouse Cheddar. Eat them. Celebrate them.”
