We were talking here somewhere about recent booze heists. Well, here's one for the food side of things. Begs the question: who can fence 1000 lbs of snails??
Producers at L’Escargot des Grands Crus in the Champagne region woke up to a shock — roughly 450 kg (about 990 lb) of snails, destined for top-tier Christmas menus, were stolen overnight.
The haul — valued at over US $100,000 — represented the farm’s entire annual output. For many fine-dining kitchens, it was meant to fill holiday orders at establishments like Domaine les Crayères.
Owner Jean‑Mathieu Dauvergne called the theft “a real blow,” especially with Christmas demand approaching. Some chefs say they’d rather drop escargot from the menu than serve anything from another source — underlining how badly the crime hit the French gourmet snail supply chain.