A FOOD company is creating 45 jobs as it offers shoppers a taste of the good life.

The Tanfield Food Company will launch a range of gourmet ready-meals this month.

The brand, called Look What We Found, is aimed at people who want the finest cuisine, but do not have time to prepare it.

Director Cassandra Williams said: "Our target market is people who are cash rich but time-starved, or those who want a wholesome meal, but don't know how to prepare one."

The company will market the brand to delicatessens, but is also having discussions with department store Harrods, in London.

"We are not targeting supermarkets at the moment, but are not ruling them out, either," said Ms Williams.

The company was set up last March in nine units on the Tanfield Lea Industrial Estate, near Stanley, County Durham.

The entrepreneurs behind it are Keith Gill and Roger McKechnie. They previously founded the successful Derwent Valley Foods, in Consett, County Durham, which makes the Phileas Fogg brand of snacks, and which was bought out by United Biscuits in 1993.

The company received a £135,000 grant from regional development agency One NorthEast to help with the expansion.

Mr Gill said: "This grant will help us expand operations and build on the hard work of our excellent, skilled workforce."

Staff have spent a year perfecting the product range, which includes smoked haddock potage, cheese soup, braised mutton and venison meatballs.

The main ingredient in each dish has been sourced in the North-East, generally from small producers in Northumberland.

Mr Gill said: "Obviously we can't get all the ingredients locally, but a large quantity does come from the North-East.

"We use venison from Alnwick, cheese from Blagdon, beef from Wallington and fish from Seahouses in our dishes.

"We put the producer's face on the product too. People can read where the food originates from and it raises the profile of local producers as well as us."

One NorthEast business finance senior specialist Pete Cocker said: "This is an innovative company that has discovered a niche in the market for high-quality convenience meals.

"We are delighted that One NorthEast can assist forward-thinking companies like this in expanding operations and building on an already successful skills base. The directors of The Tanfield Food Company have shown a great deal of commitment to this part of County Durham and it is only right that we should match their commitment with this grant."