A KITCHEN nightmare has led to a dream come true for an Essex company.

Four years ago, Emma Wicks and husband Iain were running Vineyard Delicatessen in Colchester.

They were let down by a chutney supplier, which led to a minor crisis as it was one of their biggest-selling lines.

Trained chef Emma soon got to work in the kitchen to create a batch of her own chutney, which went down a storm with their customers.

Fast forward to 2008, and that home brand chutney is about to go on the shelves at 35 Tesco stores throughout Essex and Suffolk.

Iain, 34, explained the journey from then to now.

"We decided to close the delicatessen," said the father-of-two from Great Bromley.

"We moved to our current premises on the Oakwood Industrial Estate in Clacton to concentrate on producing hand-made chutneys, relishes and pickles, which are made using local ingredients where possible.

"These are now sold in more than 200 outlets across the country.

"When we heard that Tesco was looking for local products, we met them.

"From those discussions, Bromley's Pickle Company was launched, and this week sees our first two products - sticky onion chutney and classic apple chutney - reach the Tesco shelves."

If the range proves successful, more will be added and sold throughout all 85 Tesco stores in East Anglia.