Cheese Heists

The news that Victoria’s beloved cheese shop, Charelli‘s, will close their doors in May after 22 years in business has me musing that maybe moving away for work might not be so bad.

Bur then I started thinking about cheese and crime.

British Columbia has had a spate a “cheese heists,” which may seem less Canadian than a maple syrup crime spree, for instance, but there are an awful lot of good Canadian cheeses and they’re likely getting a boost from the Buy Canadian movement. And apparently (from the same source) “In 2022, cheese was the second-most stolen grocery store item in Canada, following meat.” I would have guessed something both pricier and more essential, like baby formula. (And if folks are lifting formula from grocery story shelves to feed hungry infants, I hope they’re encountering more mercy and assistance than chastisement.)

A reader let me know that Newfoundland and Labrador had an earlier spate of cheese heists: back in 2004, the public was cautioned by the police that “cheese theft is a growing problem in our province.” Less contentious than the relocation of outport community members, the cod moratorium, or the ongoing debate about whether Confederation was really such a good idea, the cheese capers seemed to unite St. John’s, so perhaps that was worthwhile.

Cheese in crime fiction is sufficiently prominent that a diligent researcher has composed a much more serious post than this one. There’s a helpful overview of the various cozy series based around cheese shops, and a rather hair-raising account of cheese-related murders, some of which were quite inventive.

Another author identifies some of the “cheesiest” mystery titles: Cheddar Off Dead or Up to No Gouda, anyone?

One of the pleasure of the first novel in Janice MacDonald’s new series is that her heroine samples delectable Parisian cheeses that readers can enjoy vicariously; Three Pines, of course, also has its share of brie on baguettes and croissants.

And now I shall settle down for an episode of Midsomer Murders: “At the factory where the world-famous Midsomer Blue Cheese is made, a dairy worker is brutally murdered by a giant round of weaponized cheese.”

Perfect.