Owners of a London dairy scammed out of 22 tonnes of cheddar in what Jamie Oliver branded the grate cheese robbery are wondering who the culprits could be - and now some suspicions are pointing towards Russia.
Neals Yard Dairy mistakenly sent 950 wheels, worth £300,000, to fraudsters thinking they were a legitimate wholesale distributor.
The company said it had still paid Hafod, Westcombe and Pitchfork, the producers of the cheese, despite the significant financial blow.
Nobody knows where the cheese is but there are rumours that the heist may have been masterminded by criminals looking to smuggle it into Russia.
Certain food products have been prohibited in Russia since 2014 after Moscow banned imports in response to EU sanctions over the annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in Ukraine.
Neals Yard Dairy in London where worth £300,000 was stolen this month
Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver slammed the alleged scammers on his Instagram story
A staggering 22 tonnes of premium Cheddar, worth £300,000, have vanished, leaving the cheese world reeling.
Neils Yard said it is working with police to identify the suspects of the theft dubbed the Grate Cheese Robbery but no arrests have been made.
Sarah Stewart, managing director and co-owner of the dairy said she received an ‘unusually large’ order over the phone from a man who spoke with a French accent but in perfect English, The Sunday Times reports.
Stewart said: We asked colleagues in the industry about the purchaser and we received very good feedback from our contacts in France.
We got a contract from this person that had very convincing information: the right company information, a logo, that kind of thing.
There are sanctions in Russia and a strong market for luxury foods because there is no legitimate way to get hold of them.
I have no idea if this is what has happened to our cheese.
Responding to the news on Instagram, celebrity chef Jamie said: In a shocking turn of events, Neals Yard Dairy has fallen victim to a brazen heist of epic proportions.
A staggering 22 tonnes of premium Cheddar, worth £300,000, have vanished, leaving the cheese world reeling.
A screengrab from Jamie Olivers Instagram story slamming the theft
Responding to the news on Instagram, celebrity chef Jamie said: In a shocking turn of events, Neals Yard Dairy has fallen victim to a brazen heist of epic proportions
Jamie called for help to track down the fraudsters responsible for the cheese scam
Cheese enthusiasts are advised to be wary of suspiciously large quantities of premium Cheddar on the black market, he added.
Remember, if the deal seems too gouda to be true, it probably is! Lets find these cheese stealers.
Neal’s Yard have called on cheesemongers around the world to contact them if they suspect they have been sold the stolen cheese - clarifying that the clothbound cheddars come in a 10kg or 24kg format with the tags detached.
Patrick Holden, who owns the farm where Hafod Cheddar is made, said: It might sound naïve to fall victim to a scam, but the truth is that the artisan cheese world is a place where trust is deeply embedded in all transactions.
The breach of trust by this fraudulent customer is a violation of the atmosphere of good faith and respect that all of Neals Yard Dairys trading relationships have personified over the years.
In a post on its website Neal’s Yard said that while the cheese may never be recovered their priority is to ‘share openly what has happened and to prevent it from happening to other businesses.’
A force spokesperson said: On Monday, October 21, we received a report of the theft of a large quantity of cheese from a manufacturer based in Southwark.
Enquiries are ongoing into the circumstances.