Sweet dreams are made of this – superbaker Jodie Perkins has gone from making a few coffeetime treats for pals in the office to opening her own town centre shop in Devizes, where her business is booming.

Jodie’s Gourmet Brownie Kitchen is now selling around 2,000 brownies a week and she’s supplying customers as far away as the Orkneys.

Jodie, 29, was working in an employment agency nine years ago when a colleague brought in some home-made brownies to share in the office.

“I thought I could bake that, so I asked her for the recipe,” said Jodie, from Seend.

She began baking at home and has never looked back. Her first stall at a village hall Christmas fair in Potterne sold out in a couple of hours and she found the same success with her exotic brownies at markets and food festivals.

Such was the public’s craving for her baking that Jodie left her office job and launched the Gourmet Brownie Kitchen, opening a bakery at Lodge Farm in Poulshot in 2019. There, her selection of more than 25 types of brownies, cookies, tiffin, blondies and cakes regularly sell out before lunchtime.

Now, to cope with the huge demand, Jodie has opened The Gourmet Brownie Kitchen in Maryport Street, Devizes, which is also to be a tea room.

“It’s my dream come true,” said Jodie, who now also supplies outlets in Melksham and Trowbridge.

“I’m delighted that demand is so high for what we make, we’re now selling around 2,000 items a week. Wiltshire definitely has a sweet tooth and I think the popularity of a brownie is that it’s a treat, it’s not expensive and people like the variety.

“We usually have around 25 different items for sale, but our full range stretches to 100 and I am always looking for new ideas; vegan brownies are a big hit at the moment.”

One of the most popular items is Jodie’s cookie crust filled with chocolate and chocolate spread. Although it’s around 1,000 calories a slice, locals can’t get enough of it.

Jodie, whose favourite is the triple-chocolate brownie, is delighted that the gourmet brownies are proving a nationwide hit.

“The mail order side is also very busy and we’re sending brownies to customers all over Britain, a lot to London and even as far as people in the Orkneys,” she said.

“It’s all very exciting but I couldn’t possibly cope with the demand without my fantastic team. I love what I do and I’m following my dream; I’ve always said that if you find a job that you love then you never have to work again in your life. I never get the Monday morning dread doing this.”