Cheese Caper: The Great Cheddar Heist

In a shocking turn of events, Neal’s Yard Dairy, a renowned cheese specialist in London, has fallen victim to an elaborate scam that saw a con artist posing as a wholesale distributor for a prominent French retailer abscond with a staggering 22 metric tons (48,488 pounds) of their award-winning cheddar. The total value of this dairy heist exceeds £300,000 (€360,000), leaving the company in disbelief as they scrambled to report the theft.

Nearly 1,000 wheels of exquisite cloth-wrapped cheese from three distinguished producers have vanished without a trace: Hafod Welsh organic cheddar, Westcombe cheddar, and Pitchfork cheddar. Each of these artisanal cheeses carries a significant price tag, with the dairy pricing Hafod Welsh cheddar at £12.90 (€15) for a 300-gram wedge, Westcombe at £7.15 (€8.50) for a 250-gram piece, and Pitchfork at £11 (€13) for 250 grams.

Neal’s Yard Dairy commented, “The high monetary value of these cheeses likely made them a particular target for the thieves.” In response to the brazen theft, detectives from Scotland Yard, along with international authorities, are actively pursuing leads to apprehend the perpetrators.

Tom Calver, a director at Westcombe Dairy, expressed his devastation over the loss, noting, “A lot of work goes into making this cheese, which is aged between 12 to 18 months. For that to be stolen… it’s absolutely terrible.”

In a bid to recover the stolen goods, Neal’s Yard Dairy has reached out to international cheesemongers, urging them to remain vigilant for the missing cheese, particularly in large 10-kilogram and 24-kilogram blocks. Remarkably, despite the theft, Neal’s Yard has assured that all three producers of the cheese have been compensated in full, ensuring they do not shoulder the financial burden of this crime.

Adding a dash of celebrity to the case, British chef Jamie Oliver has joined the effort to track down the stolen cheddar. With a plea to his 10.5 million social media followers, he dubbed the incident the “grate cheese robbery” and encouraged the public to keep an eye out for “lorry loads of very posh cheese.” He humorously cautioned, “If the deal seems too gouda to be true, it probably is! Let’s find these cheese stealers.”