Cheaters stole thousands of pounds of fancy cheddar, rocking the British cheese world

The British artisan cheese community is reeling from what it calls the big – or grater cheese heist of 2024 after cheaters stole tens of thousands of pounds of high-quality cheddar from a major distributor.

London-based retailer and cheesemaker Neal’s Yard Dairy announced last week that it had been “the victim of a sophisticated fraud which resulted in the loss of more than £300,000 worth of linen-bound Cheddar” – the equivalent of more than $389,000.

“The theft involved a fraudulent buyer posing as a legitimate wholesaler for a major French retailer, with the cheese delivered before the discovery of the fraudulent identity,” the company said.

The thieves made off with 950 wheels – more than 22 tonnes, or about 48,500 pounds – of Hafod, Westcombe and Pitchfork cheddar, it added. The wheels came from three different artisan suppliers in England and Wales.

“Together these cheeses have won numerous awards and are among the most sought-after artisan cheeses in Britain,” said Neal’s Yard Dairy. “The high monetary value of these cheeses probably made them a particular target for the thieves.”

The crime runs deep: Cheddar, which originated in a village of the same name in Somerset, England, is the best-selling cheese in Britain and a major source of national pride.

British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver explained it in a Instagram video that there are “only a small handful of true cheddar cheese makers in the world,” and that is where the stolen cheese came from. He called it a ‘real shame’.

“This will leave Neal’s Yard unable to support all their cheesemakers for the next five years, I would imagine,” Oliver said.

Neal’s Yard Dairy is bearing the costs of the crime and has already paid the artisan cheesemakers in full. The company says it is now taking steps to ensure its own financial stability and the “continued development of the UK artisan cheese sector”.

It also works with local law enforcement agencies and international authorities to track down the perpetrators.

“While the cheese may never be recovered, our priority is to openly share what happened and prevent this from happening to other companies,” the company said.

But some in the community are hoping it’s not too late to find some of the cheese — if cheddar-faced vigilantes are willing to look.

How cheese lovers can help

The identity of the cheese thieves is still unknown.

Tom Calver of cheesemaker Westcombe said they thought they were sending their products to France via Neal’s Yard Dairy.

“These guys… were basically posing as a wholesaler-slash-customer, quite a large retailer in France,” he said in a Instagram videoshows a row of empty shelves and notes he had posted excitedly about the order for 10 tons a few weeks earlier. “It was a hoax, it was theft, it was fraud. I mean, it’s crazy.”

Patrick Holden, whose Hafod Welsh Cheddar was taken, told the BBC that the robbers asked Neal’s Yard to send the cheese to a warehouse in London, then collected it and disappeared. He thinks they might try to sell it in the Middle East or Russia, “because people won’t ask questions there.”

“I think if they tried to sell it closer to home they would find it difficult,” he said, citing North America and Australia as examples. “Because the international craft community is very connected.”

The cheesemakers all released statements thanking Neal’s Yard Dairy for honoring the sale and praising the company’s response as an example of the trust and integrity that exists in the small industry.

To that end, Neal’s Yard Dairy is asking its “esteemed community of cheese sellers around the world” to keep an eye on the cheeses and contact them if they are offered or receive suspicious offers – especially cloth-bound cheddars from a certain weight (10 kg and 24 kg) with the tags removed.

Calver reinforced that request in his Instagram video.

“If you see or know anyone in Europe or the rest of the world that a linen-bound raw milk cheddar is becoming cheap, can you please let us know?” he said. “Because we can potentially trace it – hopefully, maybe, I don’t know – and we can hopefully work with the police to try to find out who the perpetrators are and somehow help Neal’s Yard in this search for the cheese. .”

Oliver told his more than 10 million Instagram followers that “if anyone hears anything about cheap cheese, it’s probably the wrong choice.”

“Remember, if the deal seems too golden to be true, it probably is!” he wrote in the caption.

Oliver also wondered aloud what the thieves might be planning to do with their high-profile loot.

“For example, are they going to rip off the cloth, cut the skin off and grate it and throw it away in the fast food industry, in the commercial industry?” he asked.

In one social media update Posted on Sunday, Neal’s Yard Dairy said it has received an “overwhelming number” of calls, messages and visits from supporters since the theft was announced.

And it provided an answer to the many everyday cheese lovers who wondered how they could help.

“Continue to support British and Irish cheese,” it wrote. “Hafod, Pitchfork and Westcombe are special examples of Cheddar farm. Eat them. Celebrate them.”