For one man, the holiday season isn’t shaping up to be easy as pie.
Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks is issuing a plea after thieves stole his refrigerated van—and the 2,500 meat and vegetable pies he’d had inside all ready to go for a Christmas market.
“Full van, two and a half thousand pies has been stolen from our unit,” he said in an Instagram video shared Dec. 2. “So out there somewhere is our van and, well, nearly a ton of pies with my name written all over them, somewhere in the north of England. So yeah, bit of a pain, really.”
He continued, “What I can't get my head around is these guys probably stole the van, right? Because that's what they do. But they probably didn't bargain for the nearly ton of pies that is in the back of it.”
The English chef also lamented the amount of time and ingredients—estimated to cost about $30,000—that were now wasted with the loss of the pies. As he told the BBC, “The team are very gutted because it’s days and days of work gone.”
Yet, Tommy was able to cook up a silver lining. Given that the pies are in boxes with his name on them, he hoped the thieves might search him and happen upon his video, and he issued a plea accordingly.
“If you see this video, I know the pies are gone. I know you've nicked my van,” he said. “We're probably not getting it back, but you can't do anything with these pies because they've got my name written all over them. So can you drop them off somewhere, like a community center, and at least someone could eat them. Someone who needs them.”
He added, “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 stole. Do the right thing.”
While Tommy mentioned in an initial update shared to his Instagram Story that local police had been unable to locate the stolen van—nor what he called the “pie hostages” inside, noting the limited shelf-life for the steak and ale, turkey and butternut squash pies—he then shared a sweeter update.
As he shared in a Dec. 3 Story post, “They think they’ve found the van.”
And indeed, a statement shared by North Yorkshire Police that same day noted, “The vehicle, a white Fiat Ducato van, was found abandoned with false number plates. An investigation is ongoing into the theft and anyone who has any information is asked to get in touch.”
However, as Tommy noted, the status of the missing pies was still up in the air. “The health of the pies and the whereabouts,” he said, “are still, as yet, unknown.”
But while he may never recover his beloved pies, Tommy—who owns the Michelin-starred restaurant The Black Swan in York, in addition to The Abbey Inn and premium food box business Made In Oldstead—expressed his gratitude for the way the community rallied around him.
“Thank you very much for the lovely messages,” the 35-year-old said on his Story. “I know everyone’s been vigilant out there, keeping their eyes out trying to find these pies.”
He also noted how his friends and peers in the industry have offered to help, including lending him a van. “Everyone’s been super kind,” he added. “And hopefully it turns up soon—at least the pies anyway.”