Tonnes of cheese worth £300,000 stolen by fraudster
The theft of 22 tonnes of cheddar cheese has been described as "a very difficult loss" by a cheese supplier. Over 900 wheels of cheese was stolen by a person posing to be a wholesale distributor.
Tom Calver, director of Westcombe Dairy in Westcombe, who produced some of the stolen cheese, expressed his distress upon hearing the news.
Neal's Yard Dairy, a London-based manufacturer, reported delivering more than 950 wheels of cheddar, which has an estimated worth of £300,000. The cheese was delivered to an individual posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer, before the company realised it was fraud.
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Despite the significant financial blow, Neal's Yard still compensated Westcombe and other producers Hafod and Pitchfork, ensuring they did not bear the cost.
Mr Calver, 42, voiced his concerns about the implications of the theft. He praised Neal's Yard for their support and encouraged people to shop with them to help offset the loss.
Describing it as a "It is a huge, very difficult loss." Neal's Yard confirmed they were working with police to identify the fraudsters.
Mr Calver said that he spent half a day selling one cheese at a market over the weekend. Expressing disbelief at the theft, he said: "It is ridiculous out of all the things to steal in the world 22 tonnes of cheese?".
He added that the incident highlighted the value people place on artisan foods. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver took to social media to ask his followers to keep an eye out for "lorryloads of posh cheese" being sold at a discount.
The chef said to his 10.5 million followers: "There has been a great cheese robbery. Some of the best cheddar cheese in the world has been stolen."
Oliver labelled it as a "real shame", adding: "If anyone hears anything about posh cheese going for cheap, it's probably some wrong'uns.
"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."
Mr Calver's Westcombe Cheddar matures for 12 to 18 months and he revealed that the stolen cheese was produced 15 months ago. He expressed: "What worries me is the trust element in things.
"At the end of the day what we need to have is more trust in the food supply system, rather than less of it. I hope more people will want to know where their food comes from."
Mr Calver's cheddar retails at £7 for 250g. "What we are doing is we have two herds of cows. We are farming in a regenerative way trying to work alongside nature rather than against it," he explained.
"We are going for quality and trying to create a flavour of a specific place and moment in time."
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police stated: "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. There has been no arrest."