Escargots worth €90,000 stolen from French farm

Thieves stole snails worth €90,000 (£79,000; $104,000) from a farm in northern France that supplies gourmet restaurants.

L’Escargot Des Grands Crus in Bouzy, near Reims, said its entire stock of fresh and frozen snails had been sold out, a “real hit” for the holiday season.

Thieves broke into the farm overnight on Monday, cutting through the border fence and then breaking into farm buildings, but only lodged a complaint with police later this week, news website Franceinfo reported.

Officials are tracking and farms are working to replenish inventories to meet customers’ year-end demand.

Edible escargots (or escargots) are a French delicacy usually cooked in garlic butter or wine before being removed from the shell.

French producers expect sales to rise around December as people spend money on the delicacy during Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.

“This is definitely not the type of post we thought we would write as the holidays approach,” L’Escargot Des Grands Crus wrote in a statement announcing the theft Thursday.

The company went on to describe the incident as “shock, incomprehension and a real blow to the entire team,” adding: “We are doing our best to replenish inventory to meet your holiday needs.”

The farm supplies restaurants including Michelin-starred Les Crayères in Reims, as well as delicatessens and private customers, Franceinfo reported.

Photos of the farm after the theft showed shelves and refrigerators nearly cleared of snail products.

“A whole block of finished products was stolen from the shop and raw materials were stolen from my laboratory,” farm manager Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne told the news site.

Here’s my year-end inventory…we have enough to get through the holidays worry-free. “