Langoustine thief strikes again: ‘Porch pirate’ is caught on camera taking £400 of orchids after yet more shellfish thefts at high-end eateries

A thief who stole more than £1,000 of steak and crayfish is thought to have struck again after taking £400 worth of orchids and more shellfish.

The brazen ‘porch pirate’ appears to have targeted at least four high-end businesses in London last month, making profits of almost £2,000 in luxury groceries and flowers.

He is believed to have first stolen around £800 worth of prime meat from the doorstep of Spitalfields restaurant Galvin La Chapelle on November 4; The footage shows a woman rummaging through a delivery box in the early hours.

Another similar theft occurred at Chelsea food joint Elystan Street, just five miles away, and a video was shared earlier this week of a woman setting off with £300 worth of crayfish.

Chris Galvin, owner of the Michelin-starred brasserie in east London, said he would “put money” on the fact that it was the same women in each case and that both suspects had similar long brown hair.

Since then, two more London businesses have come forward claiming they were targeted by so-called ‘fine food thugs’.

Max Cansdale, who runs Petals in Bibendum with his father, believes the same woman stole £400 worth of orchids from their shop near Sloane Square, just yards down Elystan Street.

Meanwhile, Notting Hill’s 104 Restaurant was similarly targeted for its quality seafood after a thief made off with two boxes of crayfish worth around £200 each.

Max Cansdale, who runs Petals (pictured) in Bibendum with his father, believes the thief was a prolific ‘porch pirate’ who targeted various restaurants in London

Richard Wilkins, owner of 104 Restaurant, claims he has reported more than 20 cases of theft since the restaurant opened in 2019.

However, he believes two recent incidents in which two tins of crayfish were stolen in the early hours of the morning were committed by the prolific ‘fine-eating thug’.

He said a similar trend in thefts – one woman targeting early morning deliveries with little deterrence – was a complete betrayal.

He told the Telegraph: ‘It seems really odd, why would they steal the crayfish? But I think these people know what it is.

‘They have people who will take this money and then sell it to restaurants or bars. ‘This is a network of people’

Mr Cansdale, of Petals in Bibendum, also believes the same woman stole nearly £400 worth of white orchids from his shop; CCTV shows a brazen thief breaking through the doors and stealing the flowers.

He told the newspaper: ‘If I say so myself, our flowers are very beautiful. I’m sure you’d like one of our orchids, and if you can get some crawfish, I’m sure they’d taste better if they had a five-figure discount.

‘Me and my dad work hard seven days a week, so why would anyone think they could take advantage of us and get a free ride?’

CCTV captured a woman dressed in jeans and slippers walking towards the front of Elystan Street at around 8am on Tuesday.

The footage was posted online by angry chef Phil Howard, who owns the restaurant (pictured), after discovering that his shellfish delivery for the day had disappeared.

The thief first hit the headlines when chiefs on Elystan Street released CCTV footage of a woman calmly grabbing a tin of fresh crayfish and walking away with her head bowed at 8am on Tuesday morning.

The clip of the porch pirate, allegedly wearing a navy blue jacket, 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 establishing a formidable reputation at his 25-year-old Mayfair restaurant The Square.

Phil wrote on Instagram: ‘I was caught stealing our precious crayfish this morning you vile scumbag. I hope you rot in hell with the rest of your hard-working friends.’

Restaurant manager Becky McLaughlin added: ‘This is a cost that some people didn’t realize will now have to be swallowed.

‘It’s incredibly different for restaurants in these times, so these things can be so damaging that people don’t realize it. I don’t know what they’ll do with them, but they’ll have a very nice dinner.

‘You can tell that in the records they could see what was written on the box, the contents of the contents, and if they were smart they would know how valuable the box was.’

The footage went viral within hours, causing Galvin La Chapelle to re-examine his own footage from Nov. 4.

Footage of a woman lifting bags of meat outside Michelin-starred Spitalfields restaurant Galvin La Chapelle earlier this month

Entrance to Galvin La Chapelle restaurant in London

While Chris Galvin, the owner of the Michelin-starred brasserie, announced that he experienced a similar theft, those inside claimed that the thief was the same woman.

Footage shows a hooded figure in a white top, black trousers and trainers darting up and down stairs, mixing up deliveries and making off with £800 worth of high-value meat.

They said: ‘The same woman appears to have stolen £800 worth of meat from a delivery using almost the same method as the Chelsea theft currently making headlines.

‘This shows London is facing a constantly targeted restaurant burglar – he is fast becoming known as the “fine-dining thug”.’

The four thefts come amid a record wave of package thefts across the UK, dubbed ‘porch pirates’.

Police data shows £666.5 million worth of packages were stolen in the 12 months to July; This affected nearly five million households, up from £377 million the previous year.