A London chef has criticised the Metropolitan Police for failing to solve burglaries after thieves stole produce from his restaurant for the 20th time.
Richard Wilkins, who runs 104 Restaurant in Notting Hill, Kensington said officers are yet to visit him a day after robbers stole soft drinks and pantry supplies from a storage area in broad daylight.
Opened in 2019, the Michelin-recommended establishment is labelled London's smallest fine dining restaurant with just five tables, serving offerings such as French guinea fowl and Kagoshima wagyu beef.
But the restaurateur of Swansea, South Wales, who aspired to move to the capital when he was a child, reckons his business has been targeted 20 times in the last four years.
On Wednesday, a crook was caught on CCTV stealing a stack of Coca Cola and a pack of butter from the restaurant.
An hour later, the same man returns with an accomplice to the small wicker enclosure off of the main road and steals bottles of water.
Criminals previously made off with Scottish langoustines and a food mincer, with one using bolt cutters to steal Mr Wilkins’s £2,000 bicycle.
Mr Wilkins, who has worked at Gordon Ramsay's Pétrus in Belgravia, Westminster, said he has reported every theft to Scotland Yard — only for officers to close cases in days with no arrests.
He is often alone as he prepares the restaurant for the day — so cannot keep a constant eye out for deliveries.
Mr Wilkins told MailOnline: “London shouldn't feel lawless but it is lawless when it comes to petty crime like theft.
“People are just doing things in broad daylight — and nobody stops them because they're worried about being stabbed. London has become a low trust society.
“You can't leave things outside anymore because someone will steal it. I don't wear anything nice out, my Apple Watch or anything, because it's becoming a matter of life or death.”
He added: “The core values of the police have been obliterated. It's a failure of organisation.
“It's the breakdown of society if it takes a member of the public to try to solve the crime themselves. I don't want the world to be like Mad Max.”
“You've won the lottery being born in the UK but that doesn't mean we shouldn't want to make things better. 'There is stuff here worth saving, worth fighting for.”
The Standard has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
