Michelin chef 'gutted' at theft of 2,500 pies

**Joe 90** · 04-12-2024, 12:01 AM

Who ate all the pies?

Michelin chef 'gutted' at theft of 2,500 pies-screenshot_20241203_165947_chrome-jpg

,The 2,500 pies were due to be delivered to a stall at York Christmas Market on Monday morning

A van containing 2,500 pies destined for a Christmas market has been stolen, prompting an appeal from a Michelin-starred chef.
Tommy Banks, who runs award-winning restaurants in North Yorkshire, says "nearly a tonne" of pies, worth £25,000 in total, were taken after the van was driven away from Barker Business Park in Melmerby on Sunday night.
The refrigerated vehicle was due to make a delivery to the chef's pop-up pie stall at York Christmas Market - but staff found it had vanished on Monday morning.
"The team are very gutted because it’s days and days of work gone," he told the BBC.

"Vans get replaced on insurance but all that work and all those ingredients, just nicked."
The stolen items, which included steak and ale pies, turkey and cranberry pies and butternut squash pies, would have been enough to stock Tommy's Pie Shop for a week, according to the chef.
He continued: "The thing that I'm gutted about especially is, what are they going to do with them, are they going to dump them somewhere?
"It's just a real shame."

Tommy Banks
Image caption,The stolen van had been loaded up in Melmerby, North Yorkshire and was taken on Sunday night

North Yorkshire Police said it had been informed of the theft and asked anyone with information to get in touch.
"The guys are absolutely scrambling but I think we have enough to get through today and we're just working like crazy to make more," he said.
"Hopefully we'll be able to stock ourselves back up again."
Mr Banks put out a video message on social media appealing for the thieves to "do the right thing" and donate the pies to a community centre to avoid thousands of meals going to waste.

Image source,Tommy Banks
Image caption,Tommy Banks appealed for the pies to be dropped off at a community centre

"I know they've gone now and we obviously aren't going to recover them to sell them," Mr Banks said.
"I just think that’s 2,500 people we could feed and there’s a lot of people who could do with a hot meal right now. If we can find them, they can have them."

Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks '''gutted''' at theft of 2,500 pies - BBC News

**Joe 90** · 04-12-2024, 12:04 AM

A happy ending!

A stolen van that contained 2,500 pies has been found by police, a Michelin-starred chef has confirmed.
Tommy Banks, who runs award-winning restaurants in North Yorkshire, said the van had been due to drop off the pies, worth £25,000, at York Christmas Market on Monday morning.
However, he believed the white Fiat Ducato had been snatched from a business park in Melmerby, near Ripon, on Sunday night.
The refrigerated van was found abandoned with false number plates in the Hemlington area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire Police said.

Image source,Olivia Richwald/BBC
Image caption,Mr Banks still does not know who stole his pies

Mr Banks admitted the incident was "a bit like a Wallace & Gromit sketch".
"I don't think the guys who stole the van were necessarily trying to steal pies. I think they were trying to steal a van and the pies were just collateral," he said.
He does not yet know if the large number of steak and ale, turkey and cranberry, and butternut squash-filled pastries were still in the vehicle.
"A van is a van, but the amount of work that goes into making pies is huge," he said.
He added that he felt "sad" that such a large amount of food could go to waste.
North Yorkshire Police previously said an investigation had been launched into the theft and asked anyone with information to get in touch.

**dirk diggler** · 04-12-2024, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Joe 90

He added that he felt "sad" that such a large amount of food could go to waste.

I know the filling...

**Edmond** · 04-12-2024, 02:32 PM

Looks like the thieves crumbled under pressure.

Originally Posted by Joe 90

The stolen van had been loaded up in Melmerby, and was taken on Sunday night

Fully loaded, the steaks were high.

**david44** · 05-12-2024, 01:41 AM

Crumbs...................

**Reg Dingle** · 05-12-2024, 02:00 AM

At 10 pounds a pie, the guys taking the fleur de lys

**Neverna** · 05-12-2024, 03:12 AM

Originally Posted by Joe 90

A happy ending!

A stolen van that contained 2,500 pies has been found by police, a Michelin-starred chef has confirmed.

Not really a happy ending, Joe. The pies were in the van but weren't refrigerated so like the damaged van, they are written off.

**Joe 90** · 05-12-2024, 03:36 AM

Originally Posted by Neverna

Not really a happy ending, Joe. The pies were in the van but weren't refrigerated so like the damaged van, they are written off.

I'd have thought they would be OK with the temperature here at the moment.

Then again it's a health and safety issue unless they have a yellow sticker on them and flog them for a quid each!!

**david44** · 05-12-2024, 03:56 AM

A man with a buckethead is helping the crimpers

**dirk diggler** · 05-12-2024, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by Neverna

Not really a happy ending, Joe. The pies were in the van but weren't refrigerated so like the damaged van, they are written off.

Originally Posted by Joe 90

The refrigerated vehicle

Depends if they left it running or how long it took to find.

I reckon they'd be fine.

Tenner a pie though, stinger!

You'd get 5 of mine for that.

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