Jamie Oliver has appealed to his followers to keep an eye out for “lorryloads of posh cheese” being sold “for cheap” after over 22 tonnes of cheddar was stolen from celebrated London cheese shop, Neal’s Yard Dairy. A group who posed as legitimate wholesalers for a major French retailer claimed the 950 cloth-bound cheeses, which is worth over £300,000, before they were identified as a fake firm. Oliver made a post on Instagram to his followers that described the robbery of the “best cheddar cheese in the world” as a “real shame” and that getting hold of the cheese so cheaply was likely done by “wrong’uns.”
The hundreds of truckles of cheese that were stolen were made up of three award-winning artisan cheddars – Hafod Welsh, Westcombe, and Pitchfork – which are held at a high monetary value. Neal’s Yard Dairy sells these cheeses with Hafod Welsh priced at £12.90 for a 300g piece, Westcombe at £7.15 for 250g, and Pitchfork at £11 for 250g. Responding to the theft, Neal’s Yard Dairy stated that the producers of the cheese had still been paid, therefore, the individual dairies would not need to bear the costs and added that it is working with police to track down the perpetrators.
A company spokesperson stated that the firm is still grappling with the financial setback due to the theft and urged cheesemongers from around the world to contact them in case they believe that they were sold the stolen cheese, particularly cloth-bound cheddars in either 10kg or 24kg formats with detached tags. The Metropolitan Police reported that they had received a statement that large quantities of cheese had been stolen from a Southwark-based manufacturer. Police have confirmed that inquiries into the circumstances of the theft are ongoing but as yet no arrests have been made.
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