Thieves have made off with €90,000 (£79,000; $104,000) worth of snails from a farm in northern France that supplies high-end restaurants.
L’Escargot Des Grands Crus, located in Bouzy near Reims, reported that its entire supply of fresh and frozen snails had been stolen—an especially heavy blow just before the holiday season.
According to Franceinfo, the intruders cut through a perimeter fence and broke into several farm buildings overnight from Sunday to Monday. However, the owners did not file a police report until later in the week.
Police are now investigating, while the farm works urgently to rebuild its stock to meet year-end demand.
Escargots—edible snails—are a French delicacy typically prepared with garlic butter or wine. Producers usually see a surge in sales in December as customers indulge in the dish for Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“This is certainly not the kind of message we expected to share as the holidays near,” the farm wrote in a statement on Thursday announcing the theft.
They described the incident as “a shock, a mystery, and a real blow to the whole team,” adding: “We’re doing everything we can to restock in time for the holidays.”
The farm has supplied restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Les Crayères in Reims, as well as delicatessens and private clients, according to Franceinfo.
Photos taken after the break-in show shelves and refrigerators almost completely emptied of snail products.
“A whole section of finished goods was taken from the shop, along with raw materials from my workshop,” Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne, the farm’s manager, told the outlet.
“It was my entire end-of-year stock… We had just enough to get through the holiday season without any problems.”
