A Great British Menu star had sent a seven word message to thieves after £25,000 of pies were stolen. Tommy Banks was stunned when he discovered the 2,500 mince pies which were destined for York Christmas market had gone along with the van they had been packed in.
In a post on Instagram the chef urged anyone offered the pies to contact police. And he sent a message to the thieves telling them: “You are a thieving piece of ****.”
The chef, who owns a string of restaurants and business ventures across North Yorkshire, has previously notched up three Great British Menu wins. He is now a regular chef judge on the show.
He runs the Michelin-starred restaurant The Black Swan on the edge of the North York Moors as well as Roots in York and The Abbey Inn at Byland, which last month was named as the best place for a Sunday Roast in the UK.
But his other ventures include Tommy’s Pie Shop which was where the pies had been made for. Speaking on the social media platform Tommy looked disheartended as he broke the news of the thefts.
He told followers: “Good morning, I thought I would fill everyone in on this morning’s dramas. We’ve been robbed.
“So, Matt’s gone … this morning to pick up the van full of pies for York Christmas market. Full van, 2,500 pies, has been stolen from our unit, so out there somewhere is our van and, well, nearly a tonne of pies with my name written all over ’em, somewhere in the north of England.”
“So, yeh, a bit of a pain really. It’s horrible being robbed but what I can’t get my head round though, these guys probably stole the van because that’s what they do, they steal vans or cars or whatever, but probably didn’t bargain for the nearly tonne of pies that is in the back of it.”
He added: “It’s kind of sad. That’s a lot of meat, a lot of flour and eggs, and a lot of work, like so much work. It’s like £25,000 worth of stock in the back of this van.”,
“So I guess they probably will watch this video because they are driving round with boxes of pies with my name written all over it. So they might think who the hell is this guy who makes these pies.
“So if you see this video. I know the pies have gone and I know you’ve nicked my van and I’m probably not getting it back. But you can’t do anything with these pies because they’ve got my name written all over ’em. So can you drop them off somewhere? Like drop them off at a community centre or somewhere and at least someone can eat them, someone who needs them can eat them.
“I know you’re a criminal but maybe just do something nice because it’s Christmas. And maybe we could feed a few thousand people with these pies that you’ve stolen.
“Do the right thing. and also, if you’re out there and someone offers you some pies and it’s not me they’re stolen and tell the police.”
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said they had received a report on December 2 that a refrigerated vehicle containing valuable food stock including pies, had been stolen from a business park in Melmerby near Ripon over the weekend of 29 November to 2 December 2024.
They said: “The vehicle, a white Fiat Ducato van, was found abandoned with false number plates in the Hemlington area of Middlesbrough and was recovered by Cleveland Police on 29/30 November. An investigation is ongoing into the theft and anyone who has any information is asked to get in touch.
“Please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and pass information to the Force Control Room. If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Please quote reference 12240219809 when passing on information.”