A HAMPSHIRE confectioner is enjoying the sweet smell of success.

Jan Bennett of Fredericks Chocolate in Southampton is celebrating her second award from the Guild of Fine Food.

Her creamy vanilla fudge won a two star award in the guild’s Great Taste Award – a rating achieved by only 300 of the 10,000-plus products submitted for a blind tasting.

Judges described Jan’s fudge as a “buttery melt-in-the-mouth experience”.

This is the second time Fredericks’ products have won a two star award, last year their lemon burst chocolate tickled the tastebuds of the testers.

Jan, 46, makes all her own chocolate and fudge on the premises in her store in The Marlands centre with the help of her partner Mark Wilmott.

She started the business seven years ago after working in the insurance industry as a compliance manager.

“Now my job is to make people laugh rather than bore them to tears,” she said.

Jan, a self-taught fudge-maker, said she was proud of the fact that she used fresh ingredients whenever possible to flavour her sweets.

In addition to 20 varieties of chocolate and seven flavours of fudge the shop also stocks traditional sweets and has a cafe.

As a sideline Jan runs chocolate pizza parties.