Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has called for people to keep an eye out for “lorryloads of posh cheese” being sold “for cheap”, after more than 22 tonnes of cheddar were stolen from London cheese specialist Neal’s Yard Dairy.
Fraudsters posing as legitimate wholesalers for a major French retailer were sent the 950 clothbound cheeses, which are worth more than £300,000, before it was realised they were a fake firm.
In a post on Instagram, Oliver told his followers: “There has been a great cheese robbery. Some of the best cheddar cheese in the world has been stolen.”
He described it as a “real shame”, adding: “If anyone hears anything about posh cheese going for cheap, it’s probably some wrong’uns.”
He continued: “I don’t know what they are going to do with it, really.
“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.”
The hundreds of truckles of cheese were made up of three artisan cheddars – Hafod Welsh, Westcombe and Pitchfork – which are all award-winning and have a high monetary value.
Neal’s Yard Dairy sells Hafod Welsh for £12.90 for a 300g piece, while Westcombe costs £7.15 for 250g and Pitchfork is priced at £11 for 250g.
The firm said it had still paid the producers of the cheese so the individual dairies would not have to bear the costs, and added it was working with police to identify the perpetrators.
It is now trying to deal with the financial setback, a spokesperson said.
The company also called on 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.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “On Monday 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.”
Police said no arrests have been made related to the alleged theft.