OPERA lovers in London sing their praises and New York socialites can't get enough, and now the future looks even rosier for Elspeth Biltoft's Rosebud Preserves.

She has been visited by Mr Dave Baron, a vice-consul at the British Consulate in Seattle, who has discussed exports to west coast America.

Not bad for someone who is based at home at Rosebud Farm in the tiny village of Healey, near Masham.

But, while her trans-Atlantic trade looks set to blossom, she is still a firm believer in local trade.

Her chutneys may have been snapped up by the Royal Opera House in London to accompany the British traditional cheeses it serves to opera lovers and her mint jelly, in particular, goes down a storm with shoppers in Dean and Deluca, a top New York deli - but you will still find her stall at farmers' markets throughout the area.

"I am a great supporter of them," she said. "It is good to be part of a local economy. It is important that people who live locally buy locally and use services which are local.

"I have discovered it is far better if you can use local firms because it keeps the whole local economy bubbling."

She arrived at Healey 11 years ago and had always made preserves for family and friends and as presents.

An 1830 stone barn was ripe for conversion and is the centre of a business which today produces a range of 43 chutneys, relishes, pickles, herb jellies, marmalade and lemon curd to genuine homemade recipes.

No preservatives, additives or colourings are used and, wherever possible, organically grown produce is bought. Best quality malt and cider vinegars, without colouring, are used and unrefined sugar is used for everything.

The jars are filled with as many fresh ingredients as possible and the whole aim is to produce bold natural flavours.

Last week a wonderful smell of elderflower filled the air. The flowers had been picked locally from trees well away from the roadside and were being used to make an elderflower and gooseberry jam.

The gooseberries were from a walled garden which lies ten miles from Rosebud Farm. All the gooseberries had to be topped and tailed by hand, just as all the fruit is manually peeled and cored.

In August, mountain ash berries are picked to make rowan jelly, which is the perfect accompaniment to venison.

Quality is always uppermost so no wonder the likes of Terence Conran and Harvey Nichols have sought out her products. The Black Sheep Brewery has also got Rosebud to produce for them and other leading names put their own name on Rosebud goods.

Although she does not have a shop on the farm, a mail order delivery service operates and a web site may also soon be set up.

"We do not do any supermarket work, we aim for the niche market and are looking to develop more sales, particularly within a 50-mile radius of here," said Elspeth.

Rosebud produces 3,500 to 4,000 jars a week over ten or 12 products. "If we did just one or two, we could double that production," said Elspeth.

Her exports to the east coast of America arose out of her attendance at an exhibition at Olympia a few years ago when the daughter of an importer in Newport, Rhode Island, visited the stand and sent her father a leaflet.

"He contacted me out of the blue and has been very good," she said. "All I do is pack the boxes and deliver them to Bradford, from where they are shipped to the US. The distributor does everything else and he has been fantastic."

Fifteen per cent of her production goes to the US - 2,000 to 3,000 jars of mint jelly and jams - but Mr Baron, the vice consul, is convinced there could be a huge market on the west coast.

"We love anything that is of British or Celtic origin and there are even stores dedicated to selling these kinds of goods," he said.

Rosebud has just introduced new packaging and labelling for the preserves and an organic range is planned for autumn.

Mr Baron's visit was arranged through Business Link North Yorkshire.

"What they had to say has given me plenty of food for thought and I will look to develop a strategy specifically aimed at growing exports to North America," said Elspeth. "I believe there is plenty of room for expansion."

To find out more about Rosebud Preserves or to place orders, contact 01765 689174.