The Great Wagyu Heist

 

Did you know that June is officially National Crime Reading Month in the UK? To celebrate, we are bringing a bit of classic British detective mystery right here to the heart of Knowle. We have a massive “Whodunnit” playing out across our shop floor and our weekly newsletters this month. Someone on our team has “stolen” our prized new arrival, and we need your help to track them down.
If you fancy yourself a bit of a Sherlock or an Agatha Christie, look closely at the clues, study our staff, and help us crack the case. We will be announcing the grand prizes halfway through the month, so keep your eyes peeled! Grab a pie, put on your detective hat, and look at our very first official piece of evidence.

How to Play: The Rules of the Game

We will be updating this blog every time a new clue drops in our weekly emails. To make sure you don’t miss a single piece of evidence, sign up for our newsletter and we will send the clue to you. There is a prize at the end so you can either, keep your theories to yourselves or discuss them in the comments with the others.

 

CLUE ONE: The Scene of the Crime

🕵️‍♂️ Detective’s Log: 3rd June

“We have a crisis! Our shipment of Limited Edition British Wagyu arrived yesterday at 5:00 PM, but when we opened the shop this morning, the prime cuts were gone. The shop was locked tight, with no signs of a break-in. I found a single muddy footprint near the back door and a faint, sweet smell of… cinnamon?

Delivery Driver Dave says he was back from making deliveries at 5:00 PM, so he should have seen the shipment come in, but he claims he saw absolutely nothing. To make matters worse, the spare keys were hanging in the office all night. James from the Office claims he was home, yet the office window was left unlatched. Someone with a key was here.”

CLUE TWO: Caught on Camera

Detective’s Log: 8th June

“We’ve reviewed the grainy CCTV. A shadowy figure wearing a black apron was seen lurking near the pie oven at 11:15 PM. Tyler the Baker claims he was home sleeping, but his work apron is missing from its usual hook. Suspiciously, Pete from the Counter’s apron was also missing. Interestingly, that muddy footprint from the scene matches a size 10 work boot, which is exactly the same size worn by four of our employees: James from the office, Tyler the baker, Pete at the counter, and Driver Dave. Pete has a fresh scuff on his left boot that looks suspiciously like he was kicking a heavy door shut. The plot thickens.”

CLUE THREE: The Shaky Alibi

Detective’s Log: 16th June

I caught up with Pete. He was seen at the local pub until 11:00 PM, and he lives just around the corner. When I questioned him, he had white flour on his apron. He claimed he just took it home and was making homemade bread, but I noticed something else: a delivery manifest on the counter with James’s handwriting on it and a fresh smudge of BBQ sauce. Why was the office paperwork out by the butcher’s block? When I asked James about it, he got defensive, saying he was just checking the inventory for a big Father’s Day order. And then Pete let something slip: “I saw the van lights on late, thought Dave was just doing a late drop.” Why would Pete be watching the car park at midnight? And was it really Dave? Was he still out there even though he said he wasn’t?

CLUE FOUR: The Damning Flour Trail

Detective’s Log: 20th June

The flour trail is damning. It runs from the prep table, straight past Pete’s station, to the back exit. Pete has no alibi after 11:00 PM. His boots match. He had flour on his apron the next morning. He even admitted to watching the car park. It has to be him.
Then I checked his receipts. Pete’s bank card pinged at an ATM on the High Street at 11:47 PM, two miles away. He couldn’t have been here. So whose flour is this? I went back to the prep table. The flour sack had been moved. It is usually kept on the left, but now it is on the right. Tyler is very particular about his kitchen and would never move it. The new produce goes into the cold storage where the Wagyu beef was kept, and the storage room outside holds the flour, which Tyler always keeps on the left. Someone had been in that kitchen after closing, and it wasn’t Pete.
I found one more thing: a single, cinnamon-dusted fingerprints on the inside of the walk-in fridge door. Not BBQ sauce. That sweet smell from night one is back.

CLUE FIVE: Checkmate!

Detective’s Log: 27th June

This is it. Five clues. Four suspects. One answer.
Just when I thought I had the answer, something made me look twice at James from the office. Someone logged into the office computer at 10:52 PM on the night of the theft and pulled up the Wagyu delivery details. James has a key and knows that unlatched window better than anyone, but he swears he wasn’t there. So who was on his computer?
Then there is Dave’s van. The engine was still warm first thing in the morning. Dave is a creature of habit: he parks, locks up, and goes home. If it wasn’t him, then someone else borrowed it that night to move something heavy. Something that needed to be kept cold on the way home, like the Wagyu beef.

But here is what I keep coming back to. This morning, behind the kitchen bin right next to the prep table, I found a crumpled wrapper for a pie that doesn’t even exist yet: our upcoming July Pie of the Month- Chicken Bacon Tarragon Pie. This pie hasn’t been announced or sold, and Tyler has only test-baked a few for the staff to try. The wrapper could only be used to pack and store items by Tyler, to be costed by James, or to be tested for home delivery package stability by Dave. All of that is done during working hours. No one would do that after hours.

One person stayed late in this kitchen, shifted the flour sack to frame Pete, used the office computer, borrowed the van, and took a July test-pie for the road.

I know who stole the Wagyu beef! Do you?

The mystery has been solved now but if you’re still wondering who stole the Beef, it was Tyler the baker.

We like your company…
You’ve made it through the blog, so we clearly make good company. Let’s not let it end here. Drop your email below if you’d like to explore more with us. We’ll send you nothing but top-tier value: educational info to sharpen your knowledge, first dibs on new arrivals, and giveaways with prizes you actually want to win. Plus, free tickets, community events, and recipes that don’t require a culinary degree.
(P.S. No strings attached—you can slice ties and unsubscribe anytime you like).

June has been an incredibly busy month, but we truly hope you’ve enjoyed playing along with this little mystery! It’s been brilliant hearing your theories over the counter in Knowle all month long.
Don’t forget to take a look at our newly launched website arrivals. Due to your fantastic feedback, we have just listed our premium Wagyu Sirloin and Wagyu Ribeye cuts online. If you want to experience the absolute peak of rich, buttery flavour on your grill for the next match, they are ready for you.