A CUDDINGTON woman is cooking up her own online cottage industry after quitting her ten-year career as a chef.

Gracie Healing, 27, established the homemade cake and chocolate brand Old School Favourites, from her Crowmere Close home six months ago.

It has been so successful that she is planning to open her own outlet by the end of 2018, somewhere nearby.

Gracie, who has worked as a chef at eateries and restaurants including Relish Cafe Bar, the Riverside Inn and the Blakemere Craft Centre decided to give it all up after she cooked up some special treats for her seven-year-old daughter Megan and after friends tasted some of her cakes.

“My sponge cake which I cover with hundreds and thousands and my chocolate crunch proved very popular not just at home but with my friends who suggested I should set up a business.

“I haven’t got a shop but I set up a Facebook page and it has been so successful that I have had a lot of interest and have branched out into baking all sort of other products including cheese cake, chocolate brownies, tiffin and even a white chocolate unicorn bars which has been popular with the children and included swirls, mini-Smarties and edible glitter.”

Gracie is currently baking up to 40 large cakes a week, which can then then be sliced into 360 smaller portions before being delivered to customers in and around Northwich.

Last November she came fourth in the town’s equivalent of Dragon’s Den (Salters Den), where she competed for a first prize of £2,500 plus one year’s financial and legal mentoring.

Determined to ensure that she succeeds, Gracie added: “I have come a long way in quite a short space of time and I am hoping that in 12 months time I can expand the business still further by getting bigger premises in Northwich.”

To contact Gracie go to her Facebook page - Old School Favourites or find her on Twitter - @OldSchoolNorthwich