Latest news with #NealsYardDairy
The Independent
13 hours ago
- The Independent
Police make further arrests in Neal's Yard Dairy cheese robbery
Detectives investigating the theft of more than £300,000 worth of high-end cheddar cheese have now arrested six men. Last October, Neal's Yard Dairy said it had delivered 950 wheels of cloth-bound cheese to who they believed to be a a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer. However, the dairy had in fact been tricked by alleged fraudsters, who had spent months convincing them they were legitimate customers. The London-based artisanal cheese company only realised they had given 22-tonnes of the cheddar to fraudsters when they did not receive payment for the goods, which were taken in two truckloads. A 63-year-old man was arrested in the days that followed on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods. News of the investigation went quiet for some time, but the force has now confirmed a total of six men aged between 37 and 63 have been arrested in connection with the plot. The flurry of further arrests began in the new year, with a 37-year-old man being arrested on January 2 on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and handling stolen goods. Two more men, aged 63 and 45, were also arrested in January, while a 57-year-old was arrested in April. The latest arrest came on July 3, when a 54-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and handling stolen goods. The Met Police said a further 50-year-old man was interviewed under caution on July 4. All six have been released under investigation pending further enquiries and the investigation, being led by detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command, is still ongoing. Neal's Yard Dairy has sold British and Irish farm-made and artisan cheeses since the 1980s. It has four shops in London and also sells online and by subscription. The robbery involved artisan cheddars, including Hafod Welsh, Westcombe, and Pitchfork, sell from between £7 and £12 for around 300g. Tom Calver, director of Westcombe Dairy in Westcombe, Somerset, produced some of the stolen cheese and said he was 'hugely distressed' when he heard the news. 'It is ridiculous – out of all the things to steal in the world – 22 tonnes of cheese?' Mr Calver, 42, added. 'What it does show, which I am amazed about, is the value people put on these amazing artisan foods.' In the wake of the incident, the Southwark-based company urged cheesemongers around the world to contact them if they suspect they have been sold the stolen cheddar, particularly cheese wheels in a 10kg or 24kg format. It said it had still paid the producers of the cheese so the individual dairies would not have to bear the costs and is now working with police to identify the perpetrators. Patrick Holden, owner of Holden Farm Dairy, previously told The Independent that two-and-a-half tonnes of his Hafod Welsh cheddar, made using a hundred-year-old recipe from his 90-cow herd, was among the stock allegedly stolen. He said: 'It was the biggest order we ever had - so it was quite a shock. 'Our cheese is limited in quantity but we had it in storage and we worked out it was the most we could spare.'
Times
a day ago
- Times
Police on the scent as cheese robbery plot crumbles
Detectives hunting the gang behind the Grate Cheese Robbery, in which 22 tonnes of the world's finest cloth-bound artisan cheddar was stolen in an elaborate fraud, have arrested six middle-aged men as they stay on the scent of the suspects. A crew of con artists allegedly spent four months convincing Neal's Yard Dairy, the London wholesaler and retailer of artisan cheeses, that they were a well-known French cheese-buyer for a major distributor and supermarket, before making off with £300,000 worth of cloth-bound raw-milk two truckloads they took away 950 wheels of cheese in October last year, including 12 tonnes of Pitchfork Cheddar, nine tonnes of Westcombe Cheddar and two tonnes of Hafod Cheddar. When Neal's Yard weren't paid after delivery they quickly established that they had been conned and went to the police. They paid the three small-scale artisan cheese producers in full 'despite the significant financial blow' to themselves.A week later, detectives from the Metropolitan Police's specialist crime command arrested a 63-year-old man on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods. Since then news of the investigation has fallen silent as investigators sniffed out the trail of the stolen truckles. The Met has now revealed that they began arresting more suspects at the end of last year and made their latest arrest last month. The six men, aged between 37 and 63, have been arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods. A 50-year-old man has also been interviewed under six arrested suspects have been released under investigation pending further enquiries. Ben Ticehurst, the head cheesemaker at Trethowan Brothers dairy, which makes Pitchfork Cheddar ten miles from the Somerset town that gives it name to the cheese, said it was 'very heartening to think that even if we have pushed it to the back of our minds, the police are digging in and finding out what has gone on'. Ticehurst added: 'Thankfully no one was harmed [during the theft] but for any of the small producers it could have been game over if Neal's Yard hadn't taken the financial hit and paid us.' 'Despite that, it will still have had a huge impact on their ability to help small cheesemakers like us, with the incredible amount of work they put into their staff helping cheesemakers with incredibly technical things so we can make the best cheeses we can.' After the initial arrest of the 63-year-old man on October 30 last year, things went quiet until a flurry of activity in the New Year. A 37-year-old man was arrested on January 2, followed by a 45-year-old man on January 13 and another 63-year-old man on January 21. A 57-year-old man was arrested on April 30 and detectives arrested a 54-year-old man on July 3 and interviewed the 50-year-old man under caution on July 4. The alleged con started with an email to Neal's Yard in July 2024, from someone with a seemingly deep knowledge of cheese, requesting 950 cheddar truckles, or uncut wheels of cheese. • Can you freeze cheese? 34 cheese questions answered by an expert Over the course of several months the perpetrators allegedly impersonated a reputable distributor well known within the European cheese industry. An elaborate contract was drawn up, outlining detailed payment terms, and conversations with the alleged representative demonstrated a deep understanding of the sector, further lending credibility to the scheme. At the end of September, a haulier organised by the alleged fraudsters collected half the cheese from Neal's Yard Dairy's warehouse in Bermondsey, southeast London. The second delivery was made by a haulier arranged by Neal's Yard itself, who was instructed to drop the cheese off at a warehouse in north London. The haulier who carried out the delivery reported that the warehouse was 'not a typical food warehouse'. Neal's Yard was supposed to be paid within a week of the deliveries being made, which is typical for the food industry, but by the start of October they had heard nothing from the supposed they contacted the legitimate distributor, who they believed had made the order, they quickly established that they had been conned. The cheeses could conceivably be stored for up to 18 months, at the right temperature, without deterioration but as soon as they are cut they will dry and need to be eaten. The cheese producers believe the thieves may have tried to smuggle the cheese into the Middle East or Russia, away from the watchful gaze of the international artisan cheesemaking community, to avoid detection. News of the fraud, first dubbed the 'grate cheese robbery' by Jamie Oliver, made headlines around the world and shone a spotlight on the world of expensive artisan produce. Ticehurst believes the public were initially shocked that someone would value cheese highly enough to organise an elaborate deception to steal it, but he thinks their produce should be regarded in the same way as fine wines or sports Cheddar is made by hand in small batches and costs about £1,200 per 25kg truckle. After its first year of production it won Best British Cheese at the World Cheese Awards in 2019 and was judged the fourth best cheese on the be considered traditional Somerset clothbound cheddar, it must be made by hand from raw cow's milk, with calf rennet and local starter cultures used in the process.
Telegraph
17-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
France's perfidious cheese trickery will never defeat Stiltonian resolve
It's been a gloomy day on the cheese front. The accounts of the artisan London-based Neal's Yard Dairy, which hit the news big time in October 2024 after suffering what was described as 'a cheddar heist' nicknamed the Great Cheese Robbery, has revealed a alarming (pre-heist) fall in its pre-tax profits from £1.3 million to £664,571 in the 12 months to June 30 2024. This was unrelated to the heist, but the circumstances of that were so bizarre and the owners' reaction so heroic, as to give the dairy an honoured niche in English culinary folklore. Against the background of the steady reduction in makers of the noble Stilton, this leads the pessimists among us inexorably to wail about unstoppable decline. But I'm no pessimist. The heist that gripped the nation involved rotters getting their hands on 950 clothbound cheddars worth more than £300,00. The Neal's Yard board stepped in. 'Despite the significant financial blow,' they announced on Instagram, 'we have honoured our commitment to our small scale suppliers and paid all three artisan cheese makers in full.' This was done in precarious times, for it was shortly after one of the five blue Stilton makers gave up the struggle. They are hard to replace. Only Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire are allowed to boast Protected Designation of Origin status. And since Brexit, British cheese in general and Stilton in particular have been coping with horrendous pettifogging obstacles in the guise of customs paperwork, inspections and delays and strengthening competition from the likes of Roquefort and Gorgonzola. We can justly blame the EU Commission and, of course, the French, for vengefully making surmounting barriers as difficult as possible, but there are other trends that have been driving makers of traditional cheeses out of business. The health lobby bears much of the responsibility. The era of the great lunch – of which the rattle of the cheese trolley and another bottle of claret would be the climax – has been under strain. And the young favour mildness over robustness in food as in so much else. But the board is optimistic, and rightly so. British cheese producers are adapting and making much of quality, heritage and exclusivity, targeting regions like Asia and the Middle East where Western delicacies are attracting well-travelled young who crave both the adventurous and the traditional. Resourceful food companies are marketing what are known as 'creative pairings' like Stilton and honey. And young Asians love our ancient monuments and our history. Stilton is big on TikTok where it is being pushed by young influencers: sales are climbing. I have rejected namby-pamby mild cheese in favour of the strong, the robust and the smelly. Stinking Bishop is my present choice and, I see, is already flourishing on TikTok. I am an historian who cares about accuracy, but when it comes to flogging cheese, there should be no boundaries. Why not? The possibilities are endless. Think of the ecclesiastical clothes, the extraordinary settings, the scandalous stories, our endlessly creative young people and our brilliantly creative ad industry. The French won't stand a chance. And the decent, honourable people in Neal's Yard Dairy will flourish.
