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- Do YOU know the fine dining bandit? Email: dan.woodland@dailymail.co.uk
A thief who stole more than £1,000 of steaks and langoustines is thought to have struck again after taking £400 of orchids and even more shellfish.
The brazen 'porch pirate' appears to have targeted at least four high-end businesses across London in the past month, making off with almost £2,000 in luxury food items and flowers.
She is believed to have first stolen around £800 of premium meat from the doorstep of Spitalfields restaurant Galvin La Chapelle on November 4, with footage showing a woman rummaging through a box of deliveries in the early hours.
Another similar theft took place at Chelsea food joint Elystan Street, just five miles away, which shared a video earlier this week of a woman taking off with £300 of langoustines.
Chris Galvin, the owner of the Michelin-starred brasserie in east London, said he would 'put money' on it being the same women in each incident, with both culprits having similar long brown hair.
Since then, two more London establishments have come forward claiming to have been targeted by the so-called 'fine dining bandit'.
Max Cansdale, who runs Petals at Bibendum with his father, believes the same woman stole £400 of orchids from their shop near Sloane Square, just metres down the road from Elystan Street.
Meanwhile, Notting Hill's 104 Restaurant was similarly targeted for its fine seafood after a thief made off with two boxes of langoustines worth about £200 each.
Richard Wilkins, the owner of the 104 Restaurant, claims to have reported more than 20 incidents of theft since opening the restaurant in 2019.
But, he believes two recent incidents, in which two boxes of langoustines were stolen in the early hours of the morning, were committed by the prolific 'fine-dining bandit'.
He said the similar pattern of the thefts - a woman targeting early morning deliveries with little deterrence - was a dead giveaway.
He told the Telegraph: 'It seems really bizarre, why would they steal langoustines? But I think these people know what it is.
'They have people they can palm it off to who will then sell it to restaurants or pubs. It's a network of people,'
Mr Cansdale, of Petals at Bibendum, also believes the same woman stole around £400 of white orchids from his shop, with CCTV showing a brazen thief reaching through the gates and stealing the flowers.
He told the newspaper: 'Our flowers are very nice, if I may say so myself. So I’m sure you would like one of our orchids and if you can have some langoustines, I’m sure they taste a bit better if they have a bit of a five figure discount.
'Me and my dad work hard seven days a week, so why should somebody feel they can take advantage of us and get around for free?'
The thief first hit headlines when Elystan Street chefs released CCTV showing a woman calmly picking up a box of fresh langoustines at 8am on Tuesday and walking off with her head down.
The clip of the alleged porch pirate, who wore a navy jacket with blue jeans and white shoes, was posted online by chef Phil Howard, who owns the restaurant.
The South African-born chef trained under the Roux brothers and Marco Pierre White before earning a formidable reputation at The Square, his two-star Mayfair restaurant of 25 years.
Phil wrote on Instagram: 'Caught stealing our precious langoustines this morning - you low-life scum bag. Hope you rot in hell with your other hard working mates.'
Becky McLaughlin, restaurant manager, added: 'It's a cost that somebody just doesn't realise, where it's now going to have to be swallowed.
'In these times it's incredibly different for restaurants so things like this can be so damaging which people don't realise. I don't know what they'll do with them but they'll have a very lovely supper.
'You can tell in the footage that she can see what's written on the box, the contents of what's inside it, and if they were smart then they would know how much it was worth.'
The footage went viral within a few hours, prompting Galvin La Chapelle to re-examine their own footage from November 4.
Chris Galvin, the owner of the Michelin-starred brasserie, revealed he had experienced a similar theft, with insiders claiming the thief is the same woman.
Their footage shows a hooded figure in a white top, black trousers and trainers darting up and down steps, rummaging through deliveries and making off with an £800 haul of high-value meat.
They said: 'The same woman appears to have stolen £800 worth of meat from the delivery, using an almost identical method to the Chelsea theft now making headlines.
'This suggests London is dealing with a repeat, targeted restaurant thief - quickly becoming known as the "fine-dining bandit".'
The four thefts come amid a wave of parcel thefts across the UK, with so-called 'porch pirates' striking in record numbers.
Police data shows £666.5 million worth of packages were stolen in the 12 months to July, up from £377 million the year before, affecting nearly five million households.