A GOURMET North Yorkshire food business has received orders for thousands of its luxury cakes and puddings from national retailers.

Lewis and Cooper, which has its kitchens in Northallerton, has received orders from kitchenware specialist Lakeland for 6,000 plum puddings and 5,000 of the gluten-free variety.

The National Trust has also chosen the firm to supply its fruit cake as part of a drive to increase its range of locallyproduced items in its 11 retail outlets across Yorkshire.

It comes as a significant boost to Lewis and Cooper, which has stores in Northallerton and Yarm and makes more than 20,000 fruit cakes and 44,000 plum puddings.

They are sold online and in hampers.

They are made by production manager Wendy Robinson and her team of eight women.

Victoria Howard, Lewis and Cooper’s general manager, said: “We’re delighted to be able to take our top-tasting puddings – which are all made in our kitchens here in Northallerton – to a wider audience across the country.”