Michelin-star chef Tommy Banks devastated after pie-filled van theft
Thousands of pies were damaged after thieves tried to steal a van full of baked dishes from Michelin-star chef Tommy Banks.
- A van containing 2,500 pies was stolen from Michelin-star chef Tommy Banks.
- The pies were meant to be sold at the York Christmas Market but were found damaged after the van was recovered.
- The theft is still under investigation by North Yorkshire Police.
Thieves in England stole a van containing 2,500 pies, with the value of the savory treats estimated to be about £25,000, or $31,600 U.S. dollars.
Michelin-star chef Tommy Banks took to social media Monday to report the robbery, saying on Instagram that the van and 2,500 pies that were set to be sent to the York Christmas Market had been stolen.
The BBC reported that the stolen pies were savory and included steak and ale pies, turkey and cranberry pies and butternut squash pies.
“Out there somewhere is our van and nearly a ton of pies with my name written all over them,” Banks said.
Banks is the owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant The Black Swan in Oldstead, a village north of the city of York, along with other several other food businesses in northern England.
“They probably didn’t bargain for the nearly ton of pies’
In his first Instagram plea, Banks acknowledged the hard work that had gone into making the pies, and addressed the robbers, asking that they drop the pies off to a community center, “so we can at least give them to people who need food and they are not wasted.”
“I know you’re a criminal, but maybe just do something nice because it’s Christmas and maybe we can feed a few thousand people with these pies that you’ve stolen. Do the right thing,” Banks added in the video.
On Tuesday, however, the fate of the pies became clear, as the van was recovered by police. The pies, which were heavily damaged, were still inside.
North Yorkshire Police reported that a van that was stolen from a business park in the town of Melmerby at some time over the weekend had been found “abandoned with false number plates in the Hemlington area of Middlesbrough.”
The theft is still under police investigation as of Dec. 3 and no arrests have been made.
Banks said in a follow-up video Tuesday that the “the whole this is a total write-off, to be honest, which is a real shame … Not the ending to this story I was hoping for.”
In his first post about the crime itself, he had a message for whoever stole the van and pies: “I think you are a thieving piece of (expletive) and I hope you don’t get any presents this Christmas.”
And in other culinary crime news …
Last month, British police arrested a man implicated in connection with a cheddar cheese theft involving cheese stolen from Neal’s Yard Dairy, a leading specialist London cheese retailer.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the man was involved in the October heist of 24 tons of creamy loot, valued at around $390,000.
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com.
