Michelin-star heist from Chelsea restaurant sees £200 shellfish stolen

A woman was caught on CCTV walking off with a box full of £200 shellfish from a Michelin-starred restaurant in Chelsea.

Elystan Street staff were left shell-shocked when they realised their seafood delivery was brazenly taken from their porch on Tuesday morning.

Footage shows a woman dressed in jeans and slippers picking up the package at around 8am and walking off with her head down.

Inside the package were langoustines – a type of shellfish distinguished by its sweet, firm flesh and long claws.

Sarah Rhone, operations director for the Elystan Street restaurant, told Metro: ‘We realised the langoustines were missing when checking the deliveries yesterday morning, we quickly turned to our CCTV footage and saw a lady stealing the box of langoustine, to the value of £200.

‘We have been operating since 2016 and this is the first time we’ve had produce stolen.

‘We were unable to put langoustine dish on the menu for the day, which was quite frustrating.’

The dish is the French soup Bisque and grilled extra-large Scottish langoustine with chilli, spring onions, lemon zest and garlic.

‘A shame to see someone behave in this way, targeting an independent restaurant in a time where the hospitality industry is facing many a difficult hurdle,’ Sarah added.

The restaurant shared the footage on Instagram to help identify the woman.

Many commented on the post, including chef Aaron Middleton, who joked: ‘Right, that’s it!! Get the cling film.’

Another commented: ‘Hope she brings it back en plaice!’

The restaurant’s owner, chef Phil Howard, also shared the footage on his Instagram account with the hashtag #seeyounexttuesday.

He said: ‘Caught stealing our precious langoustines this morning – you low-life scumbag.

‘Hope you rot in hell with your other hard-working mates.’

This ‘fine dining bandit’ is a prime suspect in another alleged high-end food theft after footage from another Michelin-starred spot shows a woman stealing £800 of meat.

Galvin La Chapelle in Spitalfields, East London, rechecked their CCTV footage after seeing the Elystan Street restaurant’s social media post.

The French restaurant’s footage, from November 4, shows a woman dressed in a white hoodie, black trousers and trainers, swiping bags of meat outside their eatery.

Metro has contacted Galvin La Chapelle for comment.

The police told Metro that an investigation has been launched. 

‘The victim reported to police on Wednesday (November 26),’ the force added.

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