Thieves steal $135,000 worth of snails from farm in France ahead of key Christmas season
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L’Escargot Des Grands Crus farm breeds 350,000 snails annually, and supplies them to fine-dining and Michelin-starred restaurants in France.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PEXELS
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Thieves broke into a French farm and stole 450kg of snails worth €90,000 (S$135,500), leaving the farmer scrambling to replace his supply in time for the upcoming Christmas season.
L’Escargot Des Grands Crus, in the village of Bouzy in France’s Champagne region, reported on Nov 26 that it had “been robbed” of its entire stock of fresh and frozen snails.
“This is a shock, an incomprehension, and a real blow to the entire team,” it wrote on its Facebook page.
The farm breeds 350,000 snails annually, and supplies them to fine-dining and Michelin-starred restaurants in France.
Most of the stolen snails were earmarked for Christmas deliveries to these establishments.
Edible snails, or escargots, are a French delicacy and are usually cooked in garlic-parsley butter sauce.
“The coming weeks are usually the most important for us. We are trying our best to restock our stocks to satisfy you for the holidays,” the farm added in the Facebook post.
The break-in has been a shock to L’Escargot’s owner, Mr Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne.
He said thieves had broken into the farm between the night of Nov 23 and the early hours of Nov 24 by cutting a fence and breaking down the door to the building where the snails were kept.
Once inside, the thieves were met with shelves “full of snails: in jars, fresh, frozen”, Mr Dauvergne told public broadcaster France Info.
“They stole raw materials – 450kg of snail meat. It’s incredible to have stolen such a quantity. It must be the work of a very organised network,” Mr Dauvergne told French newspaper Le Parisien.
He believed the farm’s reputation is what made them a target.
“We are starting to get known and that’s certainly what attracted the crooks,” he said.
The police are now investigating, with police officer Remi Dubois saying the snails were worth almost as much as champagne and believed the thieves were likely “experienced and professional”.
As for Mr Dauvergne, he had turned to his fellow farmers for help.
Eleven snail farmers, including Mr Alexandre Maire, will sell some of their stock to Mr Dauvergne at a reduced price.
“We’re ready to help him quickly to enable him to save his season,” Mr Maire told France Info.
