Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain
By Gemma Middleton •
Updated: 29 Oct 2024 • 19:01 • 2 minutes read
On Sunday, October 27th, 2024, Jamie Oliver asked his 10.5 million Instagram fans to be on the lookout for “lorry loads of very posh cheese.” Jamie, who rose to fame as the ‘Naked Chef’ on British television, made the plea to his followers after discovering that 22 tonnes of award-winning cheddar worth 300,000 British pounds (360,906.00 Euros) were missing after being stolen in a scam.
The cheese fraudster posed as a major French retailer
Neal s Yard Dairy, one of Britain s most famous dairy companies, first revealed last week that they d been scammed out of a huge haul of clothbound artisan cheddar, which was stolen by a con artist posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer. The cheese was gone before the company realised they had been scammed. Over 950 wheels of Hafod, Westcombe, and Pitchfork Cheddar were delivered before the fraud was discovered” Neal’s Yard Dairy said in a recent statement. The company, which sells artisan British and Irish cheeses to stores and restaurants around the world, allowed the fraudster to collect the cheese and take it. When they realised they had been conned and contacted the police, the cheese was long gone.
Cheddar cheese does not have protected status
In his Instagram post and video, Oliver, who named the incident ‘the grate cheese robbery’ wrote: “If the deal seems too gouda to be true, it probably is! Let’s find these cheese stealers.” He went on to explain a little about cheddar cheese. Cheddar, which is named for the village in southwest England where it originated, is the world s best-known cheese because it does not have the protected status of other regional products like champagne and, thus, is produced in many countries. But there are only a small number of real British cheddar makers.” He ended his post by saying: “If anyone hears anything about posh cheese going for cheap, it’s probably some wrong’uns.” He then asked his followers to contact the police or the company if they knew anything which might help.
Eagle-eyed Jamie Oliver fans are cheesed off and on the case
Neal’s Yard Dairy has made a social media post giving an update. The company wrote: “Since sharing the news and following Jamie Oliver s video, which has had more than 1 million views, we have been inundated with calls, messages, and visits.” The post continued: To everyone who has rallied to support us in the last few days — thank you. We are truly touched that so many people in the artisan cheese community and beyond are standing with us. It s a reminder of why we love the work we do. Neal s Yard Dairy said it is working with law enforcement authorities to identify the perpetrators of this fraud . London s Metropolitan Police also said in a statement regarding the incident that Enquiries are ongoing into the circumstances. There has been no arrest.” Let’s hope the ‘melt’ that stole the cheese is found as soon as possible now so many people are aware of the bizarre theft.
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Written by
Gemma Middleton
Gemma is a content writer, teacher and screenwriter who has lived in Spain for 16 years. She’s now enjoying her time as an ’empty nester’
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