Chestnut House in Pooley Bridge has literally been bringing Christmas cheer to hundreds of people across the county.

Cumbrian bosses have been working with the company to bring bespoke Taste of Cumbria Hampers to thank their hard working staff and as an effective alternative to the staff Christmas party this year.

The grocers and off-licence - owned by Andrew and Emma Kaye - collated and packed more than 300 Christmas Hampers for businesses across Cumbria in the week before Christmas, and delivered them in time for the holidays.

Companies including Allan Stobart Fuels, Raughton Head, Dowson Blades in Workington, British Gypsum at Kirkby Thore and David Britton Estates Penrith, selected Cumbrian treats to make very personal hampers and also helped several Cumbrian businesses at the same time, as the hampers are filled with Cumbrian products.

Steve Hindmarsh, general manager at Allan Stobart Fuels Limited said: "We wanted a special thank you for our staff this Christmas, so when one of our team heard of Chestnut House from someone who had visited the shop, we gave them a ring. They were excellent at helping us with a pick and mix selection that would be right for our staff. Very friendly and helpful from start to finish and what's more, it's a Cumbrian Hamper. Our staff were delighted with them - and so were we.”

Cumbrian Estate Agent, David Britton, ordered hampers from Chestnut house for the second successive year – and this time, doubled up the size of the hampers for his staff. David said: “Throughout the lockdowns I’ve shopped local and was really impressed with how the Chestnut House team supported the community. Our staff loved the products included in the hampers last year and I know they will do the same again.”

Jane Warner, senior administrator at British Gypsum said: “We wanted to provide all 190 employees with a thank you gift as we can’t get together to celebrate this year. We wanted to support a small local business and so we chose Chestnut House.

"Andrew came up with the great idea of filling them with local produce and so we managed to support nine local businesses and not just one! We’d just like to say thank you to everyone involved for pulling it off at such short notice it was great working with them - Andrew and his team at Chestnut House have been fantastic!”

Andrew Kaye said “British Gypsum wanted something quickly and we were able to jump right on it because we’d anticipated demand for purely Cumbrian hampers in the summer when shop visitors were enquiring and because we work with so many local producers, we’ve been able to come up with a great range of ‘pick and mix’ items.

“It is also good to know that choosing one of our hampers means several other local artisan food and drink producers benefit too. We’d like to say a big thank you to our suppliers who pulled out all the stops to get the goods to us and to our fab team of staff who pulled the hampers together and delivered on time.”

Pam Critchley from Dowson Blades Limited said: “This year more than ever, we wanted to treat our staff over Christmas. After Chestnut House pulled out all the stops, supplying and delivering essential groceries during lockdown, we felt that supporting local producers and suppliers was the only way forward. The team at Chestnut House could not have been more helpful from beginning to end. The hampers they created for our staff were stuffed with local products and beautifully presented. It was a real pleasure to deal with them and I highly recommend them.”

Chestnut House Hampers also proved to be popular with families who had to make last minute changes to their on-line gift ordering, after Christmas plans were changed.

Emma Kaye said: “It seems that even when they can’t visit, people still want a taste of Cumbria – and we know that when they do come back – they’ll pop back to Pooley Bridge when they can, so it’s a win for everyone.”

The shop is open all year round. The on-line shop is at: chestnuthouseonline.co.uk