€90,000 Worth of Snails Stolen From French Farm Supplying Top Restaurants
Police in northern France are investigating a major theft after a farm specialising in gourmet escargots reported that thieves made off with its entire stock – worth an estimated €90,000.
L’Escargot des Grands Crus, located in Bouzy near Reims, said the burglars struck overnight between Sunday and Monday, cutting through a perimeter fence before breaking into storage buildings. The farm supplies high-end restaurants, delicatessens and private clients, including the Michelin-starred Les Crayères in Reims.
The owners said they filed a police report later in the week after realising the full scale of the loss. Photographs taken after the break-in show shelves and refrigerators left almost completely empty, with both fresh and frozen snail products taken.
Farm manager Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne described the theft as devastating, noting that the stolen goods represented their entire end-of-year inventory.
“A whole section of finished products was taken from the shop, as well as raw materials from my lab,” he told Franceinfo. “It was all the stock we had prepared for the holiday season – we had just enough to get through without any problems.”
The timing is particularly damaging. Demand for escargots typically surges in December, when the delicacy – often cooked in garlic butter or wine – features prominently on Christmas and New Year menus across France.
In a statement posted on Thursday, the farm called the incident “a shock” and “a real blow to the entire team,” adding that efforts are underway to rebuild supplies as quickly as possible.
Police are now investigating as the farm races to restock ahead of the holiday rush.
