People come from far and wide to sample Birkhill Inn’s famous steak pies, but there was a flurry of activity in the kitchen on Sunday after an early-morning thief made off with a haul of meat.
One of the restaurant’s chefs arrived around 6am to find the fridges had been raided for steak, chicken and other meaty goods.
Manager Callum Whiting said: ”There was no mess. We think it was just the one thief and he didn’t get past halfway through the kitchen because there’s another scanning system in place there.
”All he took was some stock and we don’t keep any money in the kitchen.”
On discovering the theft, the inn’s staff made some quick phonecalls and managed to acquire ingredients from the Invercarse Hotel and one of the Dundee butchers.
Mr Whiting said: ”It was a relief. We were actually very busy on the Sunday. We had a little bit of extra prep to do as our pies are normally made between Saturday and Sunday morning, but we had an extremely busy day on Sunday.”
The thief made his way into the Inn under cover of darkness to steal the food. However, he was caught on security cameras.
Managing director Gordon Whiting said: ”We have got very good CCTV coverage of the incident and I am expecting the police to be able to identify the person.
”We have two external cameras and two internal cameras. He might have been able to circumvent some of it, but I am optimistic the police will catch him.”
The video images show the thief making his way around the outside of the inn and spending more than two hours making his way back and forth around the outside and kitchen areas of the restaurant.
At one point he can be seen carrying a large can of olive oil out of the building. In another shot he brings a sign into the inn to cover a security sensor.
It is thought the brazen thief kept a vehicle parked round the back of the inn, out of shot of security cameras.
Police are now investigating the incident.
A spokeswoman said: ”We are appealing for information following a break-in to the Birkhill Inn between 1.38am and 3.40am on Sunday.
”Stolen from the property on Coupar Angus Road was more than £400-worth of meat, including steak, chicken and sausages.
”A man wearing a white hooded top and dark trousers was seen acting suspiciously in the area at the time.
”Anyone with information that could assist inquiries should call 0300 111 2222, or speak to any officer.”