Shell-shocked thieves steal €90,000 worth of fine French snails destined for the country’s top restaurants this Christmas
France was stunned after thieves took off with some of the country’s finest historic jewellery from the Louvre museum last month. And it has now been left shell-shocked by an even slipperier case—the disappearance of almost £80,000 worth of luxury snails.
In This Article:
- 450kg of fresh and frozen snails ripped from a Champagne farm
- Enough snails for 10,000 meals and a €90,000 loss
- Police describe snails as worth almost as much as Champagne; criminals appear experienced and professional
- Rare snail thefts: last heist in Haute-Savoie saw cooks snails
- Sourcing snails for Christmas: Dauvergne scrambles to supply restaurants from other farms
- La Table du 18 chef weighs up menu if snails don’t come from L’Escargot des Grands Crus
450kg of fresh and frozen snails ripped from a Champagne farm
Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne said he is facing a 'tough blow' after 450kg of fresh and frozen snails were taken from his farm in Bouzy, in the eastern Champagne region. He had been due to supply some of France’s most prestigious restaurants over the Christmas period, including the Michelin-starred Domaine les Crayeres in Reims. Mr Dauvergne, who owns L’Escargot des Grands Crus farm, said he had lost his entire year’s work in the theft on Sunday night. 'They cut the wire fence, broke open the door with a pickaxe, smashed the motion sensor lighting and then helped themselves. It’s incredible to have stolen so much. It must be for a very well organised network,' he told the newspaper Le Parisien.
Enough snails for 10,000 meals and a €90,000 loss
There were enough snails for 10,000 meals, estimating that he lost €90,000 (£78,000). It is a blow to the sector, because while the French consume up to 14,300 tons of snails each year, about 95 per cent are imported - mainly from Belgium, Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Greece and Indonesia.
Police describe snails as worth almost as much as Champagne; criminals appear experienced and professional
Commander Remi Dubois, a police officer based in Epernay, told The Times that Mr Dauvergne’s snails were ‘worth almost as much as Champagne’. He said the criminals appeared to be ‘experienced’ and ‘professional’.
Rare snail thefts: last heist in Haute-Savoie saw cooks snails
The last escargot heist was in December 2024, when thieves in Haute-Savoie stole nearly 2,500 cooked snails. Mr Dauvergne, who has now installed cameras at his farm, said: 'It’s a fairly rare phenomenon as there are only 300 producers in France. But in times of crisis, it risks becoming more and more frequent.'
Sourcing snails for Christmas: Dauvergne scrambles to supply restaurants from other farms
He is now scrambling to supply restaurants in time for Christmas by purchasing snails from other farmers. But because his own produce is so highly sought after, not all chefs are pleased.
La Table du 18 chef weighs up menu if snails don’t come from L’Escargot des Grands Crus
Cesar Petelot, the owner of La Table du 18 restaurant, usually serves the snails in puff pastry with parsley cream and confit garlic. But he told television station TF1 that he would remove the dish from the menu if the snails did not come from L’Escargot des Grands Crus.
